Ruth Madeley once believed screenwriting was more realistic than acting. Born with spina bifida and raised as a wheelchair user, she rarely saw disabled actors or characters who resembled her. She told IndieWire that she “never saw anyone who looked like me,” making an acting career seem out of reach.
That changed in 2009, when she auditioned for a wheelchair-user role in the children’s crime comedy series “Half Moon Investigations.” She initially went to the audition out of curiosity and to expand her network, but landed the part. The opportunity began a film and television career that has now led to “Being Heumann.”
Directed by Siân Heder, the film follows disability rights activist Judy Heumann and the 1977 Section 504 sit-ins. Madeley plays Heumann, a prominent figure in the disabled community, in a performance that could bring wider recognition to both the actor and the film if they receive Oscar nominations.
Madeley said the possibility of making history is significant to her and to the disability community, particularly because young disabled girls have often lacked comparable representation onscreen. At the same time, she does not want conversations about representation to overshadow the work involved in the performance. “This is my job,” she said, emphasizing the importance of discussing the craft as well as the film’s cultural impact.
The role required Madeley to portray a real person while working on Heumann’s Brooklyn accent and using American Sign Language. She also appears in nearly every frame. Capturing Heumann’s voice was especially important because her Brooklyn background was closely connected to her identity and personality.
Madeley and Heder also focused on how Heumann moved through the world. They explored the contrast between Heumann’s speed and freedom in her wheelchair and the vulnerability she experienced when she was out of it. A scene involving Heumann waiting for an in-home attendant highlights how dependent she could become once she was in bed and unable to reposition herself.
Authenticity extended to the production’s depiction of accessibility in 1977. The film presents barriers faced by wheelchair users, blind people and deaf people, while the wheelchair-using cast worked with wheelchairs from the 1970s. Madeley said the older chairs were heavy and difficult to maneuver, giving the actors a clearer sense of the physical challenges involved.
The experience also reinforced that disability is not uniform. Madeley described herself as an ambulatory wheelchair user who can stand and stretch when needed, unlike other performers who could not. The cast therefore had to leave the cumbersome chairs periodically to relax their bodies during filming.
Madeley was also pleased that the script does not soften Heumann’s personality. Her portrayal includes Heumann’s impatience, stubbornness and occasional rudeness alongside her warmth, humor, joy and vulnerability. Madeley said she valued playing a disabled woman whose edges had not been rounded off to meet expectations that disabled women should always be agreeable, grateful or easy to accommodate.
Looking ahead, Madeley wants to be guided by character rather than limited to disabled roles. She said disabled actors should also be able to play flawed, complicated characters whose stories are not defined solely by disability.
“Being Heumann” opens in select theaters on Apple TV starting November 6 and begins streaming on Apple TV on November 13.
Sources: IndieWire.