Different normality

Ari Jay Mitt, star of the series “Grief”, tells how he became an actor

A special guest of the VIII International Festival of the Life of People with Disabula of Cinema without Barriers closed yesterday in Moscow was American actor Ar Jay Mitte. He speaks, fastens slightly and stretching the words, and his left hand twitches uncontrollably - signs of cerebral palsy. But this does not interfere at all - after the opening of the girl, they line up in line to take a picture with him and get an autograph. Vince Gilligan, the creator of the series “All Great”, could not resist his charm-he actually searched for an actor with a more serious form of cerebral palsy, but in the end he chose Ar Jay. TD talked with him about the festival and about cinema inclusive

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-Have you already managed to see something?

- We arrived only last night, and this morning already here. I managed to see only a few shorts, they are amazing.

- Why did you decide to come to this festival?

-Firstly, I have long wanted to visit your country, get acquainted with culture and people. I have a few more interviews, and then I plan to walk around Moscow, see Red Square, go to museums, I have several Russian friends here, they promised to show me different fashionable places. Therefore, when I was invited to participate in the Russian festival, I gladly grabbed this opportunity. Although they told me that the situation is difficult, it is not worth going, they will look at me askance. But here everyone is very pleasant and open, and such cool people gathered at the festival. And I was also interested to see how things are in Russia with the life of people with disabilities.

- And what are your impressions?

- Of course, a lot is not enough to consider the environment accessible. But so not only in Moscow, so around the world. And with you, I even saw people with disabilities in the subway. And here at the festival I talked with many, and after all, they arrived here! The availability for people in a stroller is what all countries should work on. And everyone else has a lot of work ahead: it can be very difficult to redoing old buildings. In Moscow, the situation is the same as in any historical city with rich culture.

- Do you travel a lot?

- Yes, a lot. Both along the cinema line and within the I Am PWD program (InClow in the Arts and Media of People with Disabilites, “attracting people with disabilities into art and media.” - TD) .

- And where are the best people with developmental features?

- It seems to me that Great Britain did an amazing job for people with features - in inclusion, in working with the media. They are even more advanced than the United States. But the whole world does not fully understand what specifically means “with features”, we have an idea, an idea, but there is no clear, unequivocal understanding.

Each person does not matter whether with features or not - has its own definition of "normality"

After all, it is important to realize that each person does not matter whether with features or not - has its own definition of “normality” . What is normal for you is not normal for another. And therefore it is important to talk about “different normality” - both in life and on the screen. We want to convey these thoughts to people of different ages who go to the cinema, watch TV, somehow influence their perception of people with disabilities.

- Do you often encounter stereotypes about people with cerebral palsy?

- Every day! For example, people think that cerebral palsy makes a person less intelligent and smart, and this is not so, even the other way around. Many believe that this is genetics. But this is not so. Any person can have cerebral palsy, there are different forms of cerebral palsy. But it seems to me important to break not only stereotypes associated with cerebral palsy, but in general stereotypes associated with disabilities.

Ari Jay Mitt, star of the series "All Great" photos: Gennady Shingarev

- How did you decide to become an actor?

-When my younger sister got a role in the commercial, my mother decided that we had to move to Los Angeles. And in this city it is impossible not to be involved in the film industry. I went to acting courses to make friends and get acquainted with peers. And then I went through the casting in the series "All Great." The creator of the series Vince Gilligan had a close friend with a heavier one than mine, the form of cerebral palsy, who died. He decided in memory of him to create a hero and was looking for an actor with such a form of cerebral palsy for the role of Walter White Jr.. I had five auditions, and in the end Vince still gave me this role. Now he says that he would never have shot another actor.

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- When the series came out, were you ready for such a success?

- No, absolutely not. I began to act in this series at the age of 13-14, to be honest, I could not imagine that it happens. Suddenly such a hype that covered the whole world. It was incredible. We were very lucky with this project that he is still in demand, that people have loved him very much and watching him. My career began with him.

- And what happened then?

- I participated in the series “They were confused in the hospital”, starred in the film “The driver is required”, the project “Gods and Secrets” will soon be released - this is such a parody of the “Justice League”. Sometimes I participate in fashion shows, for example, in a definition of Vivienne Westwood.

-When you started acting, there were no awkwardness, your colleagues on the set studied how to communicate with people with disabilities?

- I am very open and straightforward and never refuse to talk about my disability. If they ask me, I always tell everything about myself and about my illness. But on the set, I was treated, as any other actor, there was no special food, prejudice, and awkwardness. And this is how it should be. If you have some kind of feature, this does not mean that communication should somehow go differently, awkward moments arise. And we strive to convey it.

-As a child, you wore an applause-worker, and what did you do to learn to walk without them?

- I really studied a lot. These were a variety of types of exercises: physical therapy, ergotherapy, speech therapy. And all three types complement each other, so it is important to combine them. If you are only listening, but do not say, it’s difficult for you to explain and express thoughts. Ergotherapy and physiotherapy help when you try and want to do something, but your body physically does not allow, you must train it to obey and do it. And I still do: stretching and various exercises. In general, even if you do not have disability, any person is useful for exercises.

- We had a discussion, whether it is necessary to endure pain and perform therapy that causes pain.

- Any therapy is painful. It’s just that different people have a different pain threshold, I have very high. They cut me, pricked me, name any operation - I went through it . My feet were broken to collect it back later - it's all terrible, but it was necessary to go through it to get better. So arranged if you want to achieve something, you need to sacrifice something. Physiotherapy is very painful, everything hurts me constantly.

What is any operation - I went through it

But you can’t just whine, you need to overcome this pain. To analyze what she gives you, to understand that she makes you stronger and better. Even when a person is running, for example, his legs hurt after that.

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So here. The more you do, the less pain. When I was thirteen, I went through all the procedures to learn how to walk. And it was very painful, but if I did not do this, I would not go now.

-Some advice, what can you give parents with children with cerebral palsy?

- We need to do a lot. Therapy. And even if there is no way to go to specialists, you need to learn exercises and do them at home. And yes, it will hurt the children, they will not want to make them, but they must be forced to force them. Because if they want to become stronger and better, you need to overcome yourself and constantly engage. Then they will be able to grow up and do everything they want. Just for this you need to make efforts. And yes, it will take more time than the average person, but you can achieve everything you want.

cerebral palsy people with disabilities