Steve Way Calls 'Furious' Disability Romance 'Beautiful'
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- Steve Way, who has muscular dystrophy, said his "Furious" role as Alden let him explore a romantic side he'd never played before, contrasting it with his "Ramy" character who was "the funny, outspoken, empowered friend"
- Way argued disabled romance on screen is rarely portrayed in a "beautiful, healthy way," saying the genre usually centers on a man who "wants to lose his virginity or wants to kill himself"
- Liz Meriwether, creator of "Furious," gave Way freedom to improvise and worked his notes into the script after every table read, before every shoot day, and during filming
- On "Furious," Alden's late mother hired Catherine (Lola Petticrew), a sex trafficking survivor who kills wealthy men, as his home-healthcare aide — sparking the show's unconventional romance
- Way called on the industry to hire and award more disabled talent, noting "we make up a quarter of the population" and adding, "We're everywhere. Stop being weird about it"
- New episodes of "Furious" stream Mondays on Hulu, with the season finale debuting Aug. 31
Why it matters: Way, a disabled actor with muscular dystrophy, landing a leading romantic role on a major Hulu thriller puts a working example behind his call for more disabled casting — a community he notes makes up roughly a quarter of the population. By explicitly naming the tropes he's rejecting (the "losing-virginity or suicide" disabled-romance template) and crediting Meriwether for collaborative writing, Way frames the show as both a personal first and a template other writers and casting directors are being asked to follow.
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