Rob Delaney has shared a powerful message about fighting for change as he opened up on his family life, drawing on personal experience with the disabled community.
The American-British actor stars in Being Heumann, an upcoming film that tells the story of disability rights advocate Judy Heumann, who led the historic Section 504 sit-in in 1977, the longest nonviolent occupation of a federal building in U.S. history. The sit-in lasted for 26 days and led to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act being signed into law, which guarantees certain rights to people with disabilities.
Fighting for what you believe in
Delaney, who plays Congressman George Miller, a real-life California politician who served as a key ally to disability rights activists, spoke to The Standard about the importance of fighting for what you believe in.
“If somebody can throw themselves out of their wheelchair and knock their own teeth out on the steps of a federal building, and then pull themselves up with their hands, then you can do more to enact change in your life than merely vote when you're given permission every few years,” he said.
Personal experience with disability
He explained that he has personal experience with the disabled community, with he and his wife meeting at a camp for people with disabilities. “I served as a care attendant and counsellor for kids and adults who had disabilities like Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and others. I had spent very little time with people with disabilities of any kind prior to the camp,” he told VICE back in 2011.
Delaney’s son, Henry, also became disabled following surgery for a cancerous brain tumour. He later died in January 2018 at the age of two after a long battle with brain cancer.
A call to volunteer
The actor encouraged people to go and volunteer in order to have a “better life”. “I always tell people like when you do volunteer work, when you do good stuff, when you go build something with your community, the secret sauce is that it's fun. So be selfish and do volunteer work and work with people with disabilities. You're gonna have a good time and you're gonna have a better life.”
Asked what he wishes audiences will take away after watching Being Heumann, directed by Coda filmmaker Siân Heder, he said: “My sincere hope, and I think it's a very real possibility with this film, because it is so inspiring and it's not ancient history. People are gonna be like, ‘Wait, I can do, I can do what?’ That is my hope for this film.”
