ALPHAS - THE WASHINGTON TIMES: He's not autistic, but he plays one on TV: Ryan Cartwright on Syfy's Alphas
by Jean Winegardner
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
About halfway through the second episode of Syfy's new series "Alphas," Dr. Lee Rosen, played by David Strathairn, says, "[His] ability is an integral part of him, as is the color of a person's skin or you being left handed. You can't extract that."
Rosen is referring to a character with special neurological abilities and is basically talking about neurodiversity, but taken to the nth power.
"Alphas" is a science fiction series focused on exploring people whose neurological anomalies give them special powers—super strength or the ability to hyper-intensify one sense at a time, for example—at the same time that they deal with the deficits and difficulties brought on by their differences. These people are the titular Alphas.
It is fitting then, that one of the show's five main Alphas is Gary Bell, an autistic adult who can read a wide range of electromagnetic frequencies, including television, radio and cell phone signals. The inclusion of an autistic character brings an interesting layer of neurodiverse reality to a show almost entirely made of fantasy...
... Gary, as played by actor Ryan Cartwright, is described on the show as a "high functioning autistic." Cartwright sees him as more complex than just his diagnosis and says, "I like that he has a voice, an attitude and a developing sense of humor. He's an innocent in certain ways, which makes him endearing, but he's also finding himself in a position of great appreciation and admiration for the first time in his life, so he's strutting a little."
Naturally, the autism community carefully watches portrayals of autistic characters on television, something the show's creators seem to be aware of. "Everyone involved in the show is taking great pains to be sensitive to the autistic community," says Cartwright...
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