Ruderman Foundation Honors 5 Shows for Disability Casting
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- Ruderman Family Foundation will award its Seal of Authentic Representation to five productions: 'Code of Silence,' Netflix's 'Pulse,' 'Good Bad Things,' Apple TV's 'We Might Regret This,' and HBO Max's 'A Different Man,' for authentic portrayals of characters with disabilities.
- To qualify for the seal, productions must feature actors with disabilities in a speaking role with at least five lines and must be in or close to general release, per the foundation's criteria.
- 'Code of Silence' features deaf actress Rose Ayling-Ellis as Alison Woods, while Netflix's 'Pulse' cast Jessy Yates, an actor with cerebral palsy, as wheelchair-using character Harper Simms — a pairing casting director Vickie Thomas called both rare and exciting.
- Apple TV's 'We Might Regret This' stars Kyla Harris, who has tetraplegia, as Freya; co-creator Lee Getty said her 'lived experience, humor and creative authority' shaped the character in ways only she could.
- 'Good Bad Things' lead Danny Kurtzman, who has facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, also wrote and produced the Music Box Films title, while HBO Max's 'A Different Man' cast Adam Pearson, who has neurofibromatosis, as Oswald — a performance casting director Maribeth Fox called one of the finest by any actor working today.
- Jay Ruderman, president of the foundation, framed the recognition as part of a broader push for 'a widely adopted standard of authentic representation,' timed deliberately around the Academy Awards to maximize industry attention.
Why it matters: By tying its seal to a concrete casting standard — a speaking role with at least five lines — the Ruderman Family Foundation gives producers a measurable benchmark for disability inclusion rather than a vague aspiration. The five honorees span major streamers and indie film, proving authentic casting is achievable across budget levels, and the Oscars-week timing keeps pressure on the industry during its highest-profile visibility moment.
