Top 10 Physically Disabled Movie Characters
They may have a physical handicap, but man, do they pack a punch on the screen! Join http://www.WatchMojo.com as we count down our picks for the top 10 physically disabled movie characters. For this list, we're taking a look at the most popular, well performed, and memorable film characters that also happened to suffer from a physical disability. Anything from blindness to hearing loss to the inability to walk qualifies, but we've excluded animated characters.
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Top 10 Physically Disabled Movie Characters
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They may have a physical handicap, but man, do they pack a punch on the screen! Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 physically disabled movie characters. For this list, we’re taking a look at the most popular, well performed, and memorable film characters that also happened to suffer from a physical disability. Anything from blindness to hearing loss to the inability to walk qualifies, but we’ve excluded animated characters.
#10: Jerome Eugene Morrow “Gattaca” (1997)
Confined to a wheelchair and living in a world ruled by genetic engineering, Jude Law plays a man with perfect genes but without a body to match. An ex-swimming star who finds himself paralyzed from the waist down after an automobile accident, Morrow partners with Ethan Hawke’s genetically inferior lead character to help the latter reach his dream of going off into space. Bitter with his life situation and eager to find a way to lash back at the system, Law’s character drives the plot in this sci-fi thriller and keeps us cheering for him throughout.
#9: Lincoln Rhyme “The Bone Collector” (1999)
Denzel Washington proves here that you can still be an amazing detective even if you happen to be a quadriplegic. Paralyzed from the neck down after an accident involving a falling beam, Lincoln Rhyme is bedridden and relies totally on others, though he’s written a dozen books on forensics and solves crimes from his Manhattan apartment with the help of some high-tech devices. When a serial killer ends up striking close to home, it’s up to this genius detective along with his hot partner, played by Angelina Jolie, to find the killer and save the day.
#8: Zatōichi “Zatōichi” (2003)
Though most of us would want to have pretty good eyesight before engaging in swordplay, Zatōichi is one character that doesn’t need his sense of sight to kick butt. Played by Japanese actor Takeshi Kitano, it doesn’t take long for the humble and unassuming masseur at the center of the story to cross paths with the fierce Ginzo and his gang. It also doesn’t take long for us to realize that Zatōichi’s defined instinct and hearing make up for any other deficiencies, and we can’t help but gawk as he duels his way to the top in a movie that combines action with humor and musical numbers.
#7: Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade “Scent of a Woman” (1992)
Here’s Al Pacino playing a blind, disgruntled, alcoholic ex-army officer in one of the most challenging performances of his career. Smell like an Oscar? That’s exactly what he nabbed in his portrayal of Slade in this 1992 American drama. Though the miserable, retired colonel who partners up with a young Chris O’Donnell first find themselves at odds, Slade teaches the young prep student much about life, love, and women in just a few days. And we can’t help but enjoy watching an unlikely friendship blossom between the two.
#6: Ron Kovic “Born on the Fourth of July” (1989)
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Tom Cruise shines in this Oliver Stone war drama that documents the true story of a young man on his way to the Vietnam War and showcases the tattered ruins of his life on his arrival back home. In addition to breaking his spirit, the war left him paralyzed from mid-chest down, and the film chronicles his journey of self-discovery as he later becomes a prominent anti-war activist. Though the character’s story was powerful on its own, Cruise’s Oscar-nominated portrayal breathed emotion and life into this award-winning film.
#5: Jake Sully “Avatar” (2009)
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After his twin brother dies, former marine Jake Sully, a paraplegic, takes his place as the operator of an alien-human hybrid to explore the extraterrestrial planet of Pandora. Though the initial mission has to do with mining a mineral vital to solving Earth’s depletion of resources, Sully, played by Sam Worthington, finds himself falling in love with the planet’s blue-skinned tribe and their way of life. When he is forced to choose between the humans he came with and the gentle natives of Pandora, we can’t help but cheer for Sully as he fights for what’s right in this pro-green, anti-war epic.
#4: Christy Brown “My Left Foot” (1989)
Ironically, it was Daniel Day-Lewis’ portrayal of the disabled real-life Irish artist and writer that won the Best Actor Oscar in 1989 over Tom Cruise’s disabled war veteran. Based on his autobiographical novel of the same name, the drama lets us watch Brown’s life unfold from a youngster plagued with cerebral palsy in a rough world to a crass and difficult yet brilliant adult genius that refuses to let his lack of physical movement stifle his creativity. Chronicling his search for love, his art and his alcoholism, Day-Lewis’s performance as Brown is both moving and inspiring.
#3: First Lieutenant Dan Taylor “Forrest Gump” (1994)
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This is the role that defined Gary Sinise’s career as an actor. As a platoon leader during the Vietnam War, Dan Taylor loses his legs and is left crippled after an enemy trap in the jungle. Though he wished to die at the time and resents Forrest Gump for saving his life, the film follows him through his depression, his job at the Bubba Gump Shrimp company, and a happy ending where he recaptures both his will to live and his ability to walk. Sinise’s Oscar-nominated performance also nabbed him several other supporting actor awards.
#2: John Merrick “The Elephant Man” (1980)
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This is the tragic story of the real life Elephant Man, a horribly disfigured and disabled Englishman who lived during the late 1800s. Disowned by his family and rejected by most of the public, the unfortunate man, played by John Hurt in this film, was left to fend mostly for himself, and became a sideshow attraction in a freak show. The biographical drama showcases his gentle heart, wit, struggles, and his relationship with physician Frederick Treves in a movie that’ll pull at your heartstrings. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions: - Darth Vader “Star Wars” original trilogy (1977-83) - Sarah Norman “Children of a Lesser God” (1986) - Jean-Dominique Bauby “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (2007) - Joe Bonham “Johnny Got His Gun” (1971) - Dr. Strangelove “Dr. Strangelove” (1964)
#1: Charles Xavier / Professor X “X-Men” franchise (2000-)
You just can’t get more epic than this mutant professor. Played alternately by Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy, and Laurence Belcher at different stages of the superhero’s life, he’s a peaceful superhero known for his telepathic prowess. Leading a group called the X-Men, whom he keeps safe from humans and trains to reach their full potential, his goal is to unite humans and mutants in a treaty of peace, while often finding himself at odds with the evil Magneto. In other words, Professor X is the man! Do you agree with our list? What are your favorite film characters with physical disabilities? For more entertaining top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
