[Shaun]

Originally Posted by MTVN

I'm sure there are autistic actors but I would have thought that acting is a pretty challenging profession for people with autism so it's not easy to cast for a role like that if you refuse to select people who are 'neurotypical'

It's not like 'neurotypical' people are incapable of portraying such a role sensitively, surely a film like Rain Man did a lot of good in that regard?

Yeah I'm unsure about how well people on the spectrum are able to deliver acting performances tbh. Not to tar everyone with the same brush or anything, but it strikes me that the self-analysis, channeling other characters, finding different motivations etc. would be difficult for some?

I wouldn't compare it to Hollywood casting heterosexual people in homosexual/transgender roles though. There are plenty of gay and trans actors capable of those roles and the argument that always pops up about that particular issue is really a demand for LGBT actors to get more work, rather than continue to lavish praise on straight/cis people for donning on a story that isn't theirs. Obviously it's fine in doses, and there have been many instances of excellent and earnest performances (Sean Penn in Milk, Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club, to name two recent-ish ones), but the whole thing only gets so heated a discussion because gay actors are often overlooked or pigeon-holed as "only gay roles" unless they're living in the closet.