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 "That sounds a little strange,"
Raci said in an interview, "but they're just
happy that you're showing them in a light that
makes them normal, like you and I. They have the
same struggles."
Advocates hope that praise for "Sound of Metal,"
one of the best picture contenders at Sunday's
Academy Awards, and other films will lead to
more movies featuring people with disabilities.
Hollywood's under-representation of women, Black
people and others has faced scrutiny in recent
years. Movie studios and the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences, the group that awards
the Oscars, have taken steps to increase their
presence in front of and behind the camera.
Activists have pushed to make those efforts also
include people with disabilities of all types.
In the 100 highest-grossing films of 2019, just
2.3% of speaking characters were shown with a
disability, according to the University of
Southern California's Annenberg Inclusion
Initiative. That percentage, far below the 26%
of U.S. adults with a disability, had not budged
in five years.
"Hollywood still has a long way to go," said
Lauren Appelbaum, vice president of
communications at RespectAbility, a nonprofit
group that advocates for people with
disabilities.
The only deaf actress to win an Oscar was Marlee
Matlin, for 1986's "Children of a Lesser God."
This month, Hollywood stars, including Amy
Poehler and Naomie Harris, signed a letter
urging studios to hire disability officers to
push for inclusion on and off screen. The effort
was led by a talent agency that represents
disabled artists and athletes.
"Sound of Metal" stars Riz Ahmed as Ruben Stone,
a drummer who suddenly loses his hearing. Four
years into recovery from addiction, Stone goes
to a sober-living community for deaf people that
is run by Raci's character, named Joe.
Raci, 73, grew up with deaf parents and said his
first language was American Sign Language.
Before "Sound of Metal," he was working as a
sign-language interpreter and acting at Deaf
West Theatre in Los Angeles, which incorporates
spoken English and sign language in its
productions.
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 The filmmakers encountered some
criticism, including from the National
Association of the Deaf, for casting two actors
with hearing - Ahmed and Raci - in lead roles
instead of deaf actors. Several others in the
cast were deaf.
Ahmed has been nominated for best actor for his
performance in the film. Raci
said his background in deaf culture helped him
play the role, and he hopes "Sound of Metal"
will open doors for deaf actors. "There's plenty
of deaf actors, tons of them that are talented,
that deserve to work," he said.
Also in the Oscars race are best documentary
contender "Crip Camp," about the disability
rights movement, and short film "Feeling
Through" starring deaf and blind actor Robert
Tarango.
"People who have never known anything about the
deaf-blind community come out of it feeling an
actual personal connection," director Doug
Roland said. "That's the power of cinema."
RespectAbility connects producers and writers
with people with disabilities to inform their
portrayals and provides input on scripts. The
group has worked with Walt Disney Co, Netflix
Inc, NBCUniversal and others.
Appelbaum's team consulted on a dozen projects
in 2019, and 70 in 2020, she said. Some writers
sent scripts back multiple times for feedback.
"More and more we can tell that the people we're
working with are asking us not just to check off
a box that they had the script reviewed, but
because they really want to get it right," she
said.
The increased interest "does give me hope that
in the next few years we're going to see a lot
of other really great films," she added.
One highly anticipated movie is scheduled to hit
theaters in November. Disney's Marvel Studios
will introduce the first deaf superhero in one
of its action-movie spectacles when deaf actress
Lauren Ridloff plays Makkari, a character with
super speed, in "Eternals."
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; additional
reporting by Rollo Ross; editing by Jonathan
Oatis)
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