Ryan O'Connell

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Ryan O'Connell (born September 2, 1986 in Ventura County , California ) is an American author , actor , film producer , LGBTQ activist and campaigner for the rights of people with disabilities .

Life

Private

O'Connell grew up in Ventura County, California . Since he was born, he has had a mild form of infantile cerebral palsy (ICP), which manifests itself in the fact that the right half of his body is paralyzed. Because of the ICP, she was hospitalized several times as a child and was often treated with physiotherapy.

O'Connell began writing as a child, and he also starred in various plays in high school. He later decided against acting because he lacked positive role models with disabilities.

At 17, O'Connell came out as homosexual , saying about his discovery of homosexuality:

"I remember seeing Ryan Phillippe 's ass and being like," That's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life. " And then being, like, “Oh, fuck me. I'm gay and disabled, this is so rude. ””

“I remember looking at Ryan Philippe's ass and thinking that's the most beautiful thing I've seen in my life. And then: "Oh damn, I'm gay and disabled, that's so mean." "

- O'Connell : Vulture

At 20, O'Connell was hit by a car and had to undergo four hand operations. As a result, he developed a compartment syndrome on his left hand . Nine months later, he moved to New York and enrolled at The New School .

O'Connell has been in a relationship with producer Jonathan Parks-Ramage since 2015.

Act

In 2011, O'Connell began working as a blogger for Thought Catalog . He has published articles on Vice , BuzzFeed, and the New York Times . At the age of 25, the Simon & Schuster publishing house became aware of in and made him an offer. In 2015 he wrote the column "Coming Out of the Disabled Closet" (German: Coming-out as a person with a disability) for Thought Catalog , which is about how he hid his own disability with the consequences of the car accident. This column was the basis for his autobiography. While he was writing this autobiography, he moved to Los Angeles and worked as a screenwriter for the MTV series Awkward .

In 2015 he published his autobiography I'm Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves.

In 2016, O'Connell developed the script for the first season A special life based on his biography . The series is produced and funded by Jim Parson's production company That's Wonderful Productions , with O'Connell as executive producer . Due to the tight budget, he decided to cast the role of Ryan Haynes himself. In 2017, O'Connell wrote a screenplay for the satirical series Daytime Divas .

The Human Rights Campaign presented O'Connell with the HRC Visibility Award in 2019 for his commitment to people with disabilities and LGBTQ. In June 2019, A Special Life was nominated for Best Short Series - Comedies and Drama at the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards , while O'Connell received a nomination for Best Actor in a Short Series - Comedy or Drama.

Publications

Fonts

  • I'm Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves . New York: Simon and Schuster, 2015.

Filmography (selection)

As a screenwriter

As a producer

  • since 2019: A special life ( special , TV series)

As an actor

  • since 2019: A special life ( special , TV series)

Awards

Primetime Emmy Awards 2019

  • Nomination in the category Best Short Series - Comedy or Drama for A Special Life
  • Nomination for Best Actor in a Short Series - Comedy or Drama for portraying Ryan Hayes in A Special Life

Writers Guild of America Awards 2020

  • Winner in the category Best New Short Series for A Special Life

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alamin Yohannes: # Pride50: Actor, producer and disability advocate Ryan O'Connell . In: NBC News . Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  2. ↑ Don't be sorry. Tagesspiegel, April 10, 2019, accessed June 19, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g Maria Elena Fernandez: 'You Don't Have to Have Cerebral Palsy to Relate to My Story'. Vulture, April 12, 2019, accessed June 19, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Gregory Ellwood: Special's Ryan O'Connell On Problematic Auditions And Extra Emmy Nods. The Playlist, August 9, 2019, accessed June 22, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Jalal Haddad: Emmy-nominee Ryan O'Connell on Bringing 'Special' to TV, Gay Disabled Sex and All. In: Awards Daily. August 13, 2019, accessed June 22, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Will Thorne, 'Special's' Ryan O'Connell Talks Centering a TV Series on Character With Cerebral Palsy. In: Variety. April 5, 2019, accessed June 22, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Jenny Kutner: Ryan O'Connell on Thought Catalog, trolling & the Millennial angst tipping point: "The more you write about your personal life, the less you have one". Salon, May 24, 2015, accessed June 22, 2020 (English).
  8. ^ Viet Tran: HRC to honor Ryan O'Connell with the HRC Visibility Award. Human Rights Campaign, April 26, 2019, accessed June 22, 2020 .
  9. ↑ a b Ryan O'Connell, Star of Netflix 'Special', Will Be LA Pride Parade Grand Marshal. In: WEHOville. May 30, 2019, accessed June 22, 2020 .
  10. ^ Viet Tran: HRC to honor Ryan O'Connell with the HRC Visibility Award. Human Rights Campaign, April 26, 2019, accessed July 5, 2020 .
  11. ↑ Yvonne Villarreal: Netflix's 'Special' lands Ryan O'Connell a surprise Emmy nomination: 'I'll take it, honey!' LA Times, July 22, 2019, accessed July 5, 2020 .
  12. ↑ 2020 Writers Guild Awards Nominees & Winners. Writers Guild, accessed July 5, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME O'Connell, Ryan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American author, actor, and film producer
DATE OF BIRTH 2nd September 1986
PLACE OF BIRTH Ventura County , California, United States