Ryan O'Connell
Ryan O'Connell | |
---|---|
Born | September 2, 1986 |
Education | The New School (BA) |
Occupations |
|
Known for | Special |
Ryan O'Connell is an American writer, actor, director, comedian,
Early life and education
O'Connell grew up in Ventura County, California with what he described as his "liberal" family.[3] He has a mild form of cerebral palsy (CP) since birth, which affects the right side of his body with a noticeable limp.[4] Because of his CP, he had ten or eleven surgeries as a child, spending time in the hospital, and received much physical therapy.[3][5]
Growing up, O'Connell requested TV scripts for Christmas, and watched shows with the
On discovering his sexuality, O'Connell said,
The moment I realized I was gay was—truly—[seeing] Ryan Phillippe's ass in Cruel Intentions. 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."[3][9][10][11]
He remained closeted until he was 17 and felt he needed to come out, to pursue another boy who was already out.[3] His family was supportive when he did; his sister, uncle, and grandfather had already identified as LGBTQ.[5]
When O'Connell was 20, he was hit by a car and required four hand surgeries.[12][13] The accident resulted in compartment syndrome, and affected mainly his left hand.[3] Nine months later, he moved to New York City to attend The New School. There, peers assumed his limp was from the car accident, and he chose not to correct them.[3] He described feeling in limbo about his CP, not really fitting in with disabled or non-disabled people. Additionally, disabled representation in popular culture was nearly non-existent.[5]
Career
Early career
O'Connell worked as a blogger for three years, first serving as editor of Thought Catalog in 2011.[14] He contributed to Vice, BuzzFeed, and other publications including The New York Times and Medium.[15][16] Some of his writing went viral and when he was 25, he was offered a book deal from Simon & Schuster.[3] At the time, he kept his disability private.[3] In 2015, he wrote a column for Thought Catalog called "Coming Out of the Disabled Closet" about hiding his disability with the car accident. He later expanded the article into his book,[17] which he publicly revealed his disability.[3] While writing the book, he moved to Los Angeles and at 27,[13] started his television writing career with MTV's Awkward.[16]
Just as his second season with Awkward wrapped in 2015, his memoir I'm Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves was published.
2016 and Special
In 2016, O'Connell received a go-ahead from
In Special, the lead character Ryan misleads his coworkers that his limp was the result of a car accident instead of his cerebral palsy.
Although he looked for an actor, ultimately he took the role himself due to budget constraints.[3] The eight-episode season was shot over 19 days.[26] Producers filmed with Austin, Texas doubling for Los Angeles, also due to budget constraints.[7] He found in particular the sex scenes were emotionally taxing but also rewarding as disabled people having sex is rarely seen, and among LGBTQ people even rarer.[3] O'Connell also "set out to depict onscreen sex in an authentic way, something rarely shown with LGBTQ people".[27] He said, "I also want to live in a world where it's not groundbreaking to show an accurate sex scene between two men."[28] Special also shows the lead character Ryan losing his virginity to a male sex worker in what O'Connell characterized as "a beautifully honest and sweet sex scene".[28] Digital Spy noted "it's probably the first-ever TV show to tackle gay, disabled sex with authenticity, while destigmatising sex work at the same time."[29] USA Today called the episode a landmark for disability representation and noted "O'Connell hope(s) to destigmatize sex work with the graphic scene, but also normalize gay sex for mainstream audiences who aren't used to seeing it in Hollywood movies or popular TV shows".[30] O'Connell and the show were commended for his "standout performance and quippy prose".[29]
2017 to present
O'Connell wrote for a season of Daytime Divas in 2017.[17] He then worked as executive story editor on the 2017 reboot of Will & Grace, which taught him to keep stories grounded in the characters even if the action gets "wacky". Additionally, he was co-host of the seminal podcast Babe? with the iconic Lara Marie Schoenhals.[23]
In May 2019, O'Connell was honored with the HRC Visibility Award by the
In July 2019, Special was nominated for four 71st Primetime Emmy Awards taking place in September: Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series; both Punam Patel and Jessica Hecht for Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series; and O'Connell for Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series.[33][34] This is the most nominations for a short form piece this year.[6]
In August 2019, it was announced that O'Connell and Anna Dokoza, an Australian director and producer who worked on Special, as well as Flight of the Conchords, and Lady Dynamite, will be mentoring prospective producers in Australia. The effort, sponsored by
In June 2022, O'Connell had his fiction debut with the book Just by looking at him, also published by Simon & Schuster in New York.
Personal life
O'Connell has been dating Jonathan Parks-Ramage since 2015.
Filmography
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2019–2021 | Special | Ryan Hayes | Main role; also creator and executive producer |
2022 | Queer as Folk | Julian Beaumont | Main role |
References
- ^ a b c Johannes, Alamin (4 June 2019). "#Pride50: Actor, producer and disability advocate Ryan O'Connell". NBC News. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
- ^ a b c d e Galassi, Josh (2019-06-15). "Ryan O'Connell has received a "surplus of DM's from hot men in Brazil" since becoming a Netflix star". Queerty. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Fernandez, Maria Elena (April 12, 2019). "Ryan O'Connell on Special, gay culture, and cerebral palsy". Vulture.
- ^ a b "Has Ryan O'Connell got cerebral palsy?". PopBuzz. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^ a b c "Monica, Ryan O'Connell". RuPaul. Season 1. Episode 8. June 19, 2019. Fox.
- ^ a b c Haddad, Jalal (12 August 2019). "Emmy nominee Ryan O'Connell on bringing Special to TV, gay disabled sex and-all". Awards Daily. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
- ^ a b c d Elwood, Gregory (9 August 2019). "Special's Ryan O'Connell on problematic auditions and extra Emmy nods". The Playlist. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
- ^ Berman, Miranda (December 14, 2015). "High School with Miranda Berman: High School With Ryan O'Connell". High School with Miranda. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- ^ Romano, Nick (April 11, 2019). "Ryan O'Connell on Netflix's Special and the importance of his sex scene: 'Gay sex is a TED talk'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
- ^ Li, Shirley (March 21, 2019). "Cruel Intentions cast spills all the details on making the seductive teen drama". Entertainment Weekly. Exclusive. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
- ^ Grant, David (2019-03-22). "Ryan Phillippe is the latest celeb to flex 'power bottom energy'". Queerty. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
- ^ Yandoli, Krystie Lee. "Ryan O'Connell from Netflix's Special revealed the terrifying pressure he felt representing gay people with disabilities". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
- ^ a b Thorne, Will (2019-04-05). "Specials' Ryan O'Connell talks centering a TV series on character with cerebral palsy". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
- Salon. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^ a b Tran, Viet (26 April 2019). "HRC Announces Rep. Lucy McBath, Cynthia Erivo, & Ryan O'Connell to headline the 2019 HRC Atlanta gala" (Press release). Human Rights Campaign. Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ a b c "Ryan O'Connell, Star of Netflix 'Special', Will Be LA Pride Parade Grand Marshal". WEHOville. 2019-05-30. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^ a b Romano, Nick (April 11, 2019). "Ryan O'Connell on Netflix's 'Special' and the importance of his sex scene: 'Gay sex is a TED Talk'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (May 2, 2019). "Ryan O'Connell on Why Jim Parsons is "Revolutionary" in Hollywood: "He's America's Sweetheart and Gay"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^ a b c Grobar, Matt (August 20, 2019). "'Special' Creator/Star Ryan O'Connell On The 'Blood, Sweat And Queers' That Went Into Making Emmy-Nominated Short-Form Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
- ^ "Out100: Ryan O'Connell". Out. 2015-11-09. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^ Host: Kim Masters (20 April 2019). "Ryan O'Connell on his new Netflix comedy series Special". The Business. NPR. KCRW. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ "BH90210". IMDb. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- ^ a b c d Moser, Joey (10 June 2019). "Ryan O'Connell is gaving a gay ole' time with Special". Awards Daily. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ Hod, Itay (12 April 2019). "Special creator Ryan O'Connell is changing Hollywood". TheWrap (video). Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ Reid, Tashauna (11 August 2019). "How actors with disabilities are changing the narrative in Hollywood". CBC News.
- ^ Villarreal, Yvonne (22 July 2019). "Netflix's Special lands Ryan O'Connell a surprise Emmy nomination: 'I'll take it, honey!'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
- The Advocate. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ a b Sarachan, Risa. "Ryan O'Connell's Special on Netflix is a relatable story told by a never-before-heard voice". Forbes. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- ^ a b Phillipson, Daisy (1 July 2019). "Great LGBTQ+ TV shows that may have gone under your radar". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
- ^ Ryan, Patrick (12 April 2019). "Special creator on show's gay, disabled sex: 'People don't acknowledge we're sexual beings'". USA Today. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
- ^ "Queerty Pride 50 2019 honorees". Queerty. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- ^ Galassi, Josh (4 June 2019). "Ryan O'Connell disables our stereotypes and swells our pride in Special". Queerty. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- ^ Jarvey, Natalie (16 July 2019). "Emmys: Netflix's Special nabs 3 short-form nominations in category dominated by established IP". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
- ^ O'Connell, Michael (19 July 2019). "Emmys: 'State of the Union', Special score surprise noms after 'Saul' short form disqualification". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
- If Magazine. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
External links
- Ryan O'Connell at IMDb