Johnson champions rights of disabled
Dwayne Johnson plays an amputee in his latest movie. Now he’s helping people with disabilities in real life.
Johnson, who plays a former FBI agent with a prosthetic leg in the new action thriller “Skyscraper,” said Thursday he’s joining the Boston-based Ruderman Family Foundation, a leading voice in calling for more inclusion and opportunities for the disabled.
The actor released a short video calling for more inclusion and opportunities for people with disabilities in the entertainment industry. Johnson said Hollywood has excluded characters and actors with disabilities for too long.
“Our industry has a responsibility to tell inclusive stories, and I hope my character in ‘Skyscraper’ is an example of that commitment,” he said. “I certainly encourage the entire (entertainment) industry to take steps forward to audition and cast actors with disabilities to play characters with and without disabilities. Disability is an essential piece of diversity, and our characters and actors should definitely 100 percent reflect this.”
Foundation President Jay Ruderman said Johnson’s influence in the entertainment world will help bring about positive change inside and outside Hollywood.
The foundation received a disability awareness award in 2017 from the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.