Interview: Ryan O'Connell On 'Special'

It's Been a Minute

NPR

News Commentary, Society & Culture, News, Spirituality, Religion & Spirituality

4.6 • 8.8K Ratings

🗓️ 11 June 2019

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Coming out as gay was easy for Ryan O'Connell. Coming out as disabled — admitting the cause of his limp was cerebral palsy and not, as he lied, a car accident — was a lot harder. Ryan tells Sam how that experience became the basis for his Netflix show, 'Special.' Email the show at [email protected].

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey y'all from NPR, I'm Sam Sanders, it's been a minute.
0:08.6	Here on the show we talk about representation and film and TV.
0:12.9	A lot.
0:14.7	Race, gender, sexuality, you know.
0:17.0	Well, today we're going to talk about a kind of representation.
0:19.8	If you of us think about enough, disability.
0:23.4	I was in my closet about being gay and I was in my closet about being disabled and now
0:27.7	no more closets.
0:30.5	That is a voice of Ryan O'Connell.
0:32.1	He is a creator and star of special, a new show on Netflix.
0:36.6	Special is all about Ryan and his character coming to grips with life as a gay man with
0:41.0	cerebral palsy.
0:42.0	Mom, you don't get it.
0:43.7	My whole life CP has been like the main course.
0:46.4	And really, it just needs to be like an appetizer.
0:49.6	For better or yeah, just taking off the menu altogether.
0:53.9	Your disability is part of you.
0:56.4	It's what makes you special.
0:59.6	I know.
1:00.6	And I should embrace it.
1:02.8	I know.
1:04.4	Special's first season is out now.
	...

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