Q&A Excerpt — Disability Inclusion & Representation in Canada’s Film, TV & Modelling Industry

Posted by Dean Askin | Reading time: 5:00 | Filed under Inclusive Hiring

Canada is known as “Hollywood North.” That’s because so many television shows and series, and theatrical and television films have been, and are filmed, in this country. They include Supernatural, Schitt’s Creek, Hudson and Rex, Deadpool, Star Trek Beyond, Star Trek Discovery and Hot Zone: Anthrax.

According to figures from the Motion Picture Association, film and television production in Canada employed over 240,000 people in 2021/2022. That includes everyone from acting talent and extras, to sound editors and technicians, to camera operators, to makeup artists, to set carpenters.

But of all the people who work on all these productions in all these capacities, how many are people who have a disability? What exactly is the state of disability representation and inclusion in the film, television and modelling industry in Canada? And how is disability portrayed in it?

That’s what we explored in Episode 18 (Season 4) of You Can’t Spell Inclusion Without a D, in the second of a two-part series on disability in the media.

This conversation with three industry insiders — actors Natasha Urkow and George Alevizos, and agent Katie MacMillan — is one of our top five most-download episodes.

Natasha and George are both actors who have a disability. Katie heads the only talent agency in Canada that represents only performers who have a disability.

Here’s an excerpt from this insightful “insider” conversation about the state of disability inclusion and representation in Canada’s film, television and modelling industry.

JEANNETTE CAMPBELL: How would each of you describe the current state of disability representation and inclusion in the industry in Canada today?

George Alevizos: There was a stat back in 2019, saying that, less than 2% of all roles in the 100 top-grossing films, featured a character and television featured a character with a disability. And out of that 2%, over 95% of those roles were given to an able-bodied actor. So representation has been severely lacking…it’s still quite apparent that there’s still a lot of work to be done.

Natasha Urkow: I began working with theatre companies, mostly writing our own work, creating our own characters, because there were not characters out there written for us. And nobody really could have that open mind to see…a Cinderella in a wheelchair, when the story isn’t about the wheelchair…I’m not surprised that there are professionals and artists in wheelchairs, I’m surprised that they’re obtaining these opportunities. Because in my mind…the industry is very ableist.

Katie MacMillan: From the view that we’ve seen as agents is that everyone is having this conversation about inclusion. Everybody….wants to be inclusive. And they have no idea how in an authentic way…changes right now are happening on the tail end of projects…And our hope, and…it will take time, is to start that process a lot earlier. 

DEAN ASKIN: What have been or are still the biggest barriers to getting auditions and landing roles or even being considered for roles?

Natasha Urkow: Before Kello…the auditions that I did get were scary. And at times there was always a huge risk. And it all it all wrapped around accessibility…I would take a manual chair, something that could be potentially lifted up stairs, which I had to do many times…It was those kinds of barriers that limited me to the auditions that I could go to, and how I could go to them.

George Alevizos: When it comes to actually booking a job, a lot of the time, it’s still heavily biased, around accessibility. And, you know, a lot of the terms that they use on production is liability…And it’s so annoying, because they look at us as a liability, more than an actual performer that’s trying to do a job.

DEAN ASKIN: As an agent, what’s it like trying to book people?

Katie MacMillan: People will say, Oh, we’d…really like to include disabled talent…but then…we send in some self tapes that aren’t quite what they’re expecting…And then to translate that into actual booking is difficult…the difference is relationships…As soon as we have a champion in that stream of decision making…there’s a casting director in Vancouver who’s learned about our agency who loves us, and she has she has booked work for our talent every time we send her submissions, that were not necessarily for roles with people with disability.

Jeannette Campbell: You’re the only agency of your kind in the country. What’s been the response from your peers; the other talent agents and booking companies?   

Katie MacMillan: When we speak to other agencies…they’ve kind of gone Oh, yeah, this is really needed. And when we get roles that are asking specifically for disability or diversity…we are going to come to you guys, because we just don’t have that…somebody did ask me, what’s to stop these giant talent agencies that have been around for decades from just swooping in and doing this? And it’s the same answer…because disability scares people.

DEAN ASKIN: Even though things are far from perfect yet, what do you think is being done right now that maybe wasn’t being done right even two or five years ago?

George Alevizos: I think one major thing is the fact that I’m given the platform a lot more now to talk about the problems that we’re facing more than ever before… Like during COVID. Because Zoom is very accessible for a lot of people, I was able to do a lot of different panels…I think having the platform and being an elected council member, for ACTRA…it’s been giving me the platform to actually…have these conversations happening all the time…there’s little movements happening within the community…
more than ever before…we still have ways to go, but I think they’re we’re headed in the right direction.

Natasha Urkow: I agree with George, we’re headed in the right direction that is…progress, not perfection…So even though we’re mostly casting, people with disabilities, for specifically disabled roles, and slowly moving that needle towards could be any role doesn’t matter at all…I still take those as important steps in this journey… this is social change. It’s slow, and it’s painful.

Dean Askin: What’s your vision or hope for the state of the industry and how it will look five or 10 years from now? 

George Alevizos: I would like more of us to be celebrated at a bigger level…building a star system in our country…and having disability being a part of that…in five to 10 years, I would love to see more of us being represented, more of us being celebrated, more of us winning awards on so many different stages.

Natasha Urkow: I want other people on the other side of the industry to know that people with disabilities have something valuable to offer something that they can use something tangible…I don’t…need to be tokenized…I want to be valued for something that I can offer…I want to see [a relationship] built between the non-disabled professionals and the professionals [with disabilities]…and normalized.

Katie MacMillan: My co-partner, co-founder Austin…said, if we had done this five years ago, we wouldn’t have wouldn’t have gone anywhere. And if we do this five years from now, it might be overdone…I don’t think it can be overdone. I mean, if a quarter of people identify as disabled then a quarter of people in any and all advertising campaigns should also identify as disabled. So…there isn’t a future that I see that we can overdo it. It just needs to reflect reality.

Check out the full conversation with George, Natasha and Katie about their insider insights on the state of disability inclusion in their industry — listen to or download Episode 18.

Dean AskinDean Askin is the Communications Strategist for the Ontario Disability Employment Network, and the Co-Host and Associate Producer of ODEN’s You Can’t Spell Inclusion Without a D podcast.