Actor/writer Ryan O'Connell created and played one of the most huggable, lovable and complicated gay characters I've ever seen in a series. I blogged about him back in May of last year. He played Ryan Hayes, a Southern California intern at a hipster website in SPECIAL, an original Netflix series.
The character, like his creator and the actor who plays him, is a young gay man with cerebral palsy. The series and the delightful, talented, smart Ryan O'Connell have not received anywhere near the attention they should be getting from gay media. He is an original and a most creative trailblazer. But does he get the attention of an Andy Cohen, a Carson Kressley or a Lil Nas? No.
Rarely do we see current gay life through the eyes of someone with a physical disability. Let's face it -- the gay male community can often make a newcomer feel like he's on a rollercoaster that's constantly going down while he screams. No matter how good your manners are, no matter how spiritually substantial you are, if you're not a "hot-looking guy," you're not on the A-list of dating. Good looks are currency in the gay male community. You could have saved a half dozen orphans by pulling them out of a burning building. But, if you're not hot-looking and young...you could catch on fire while sitting at the bar and the bartender would not pick up the seltzer gun to put you out. In the last 25 years, I've had that feeling in some Manhattan and West Hollywood bars. Ryan Hayes is a guy who wears thick glasses and has cerebral palsy.
His mother, wonderfully played by Jessica Hecht, loves living with her gay soon. However, he needs to step out and became an independent citizen. And she clings to him because he's her buffer against loneliness. She's unmarried and afraid to step out into the world, meet a guy and start a new life for herself. We follow Ryan in his workplace and see the co-workers who become friends and we see him on some awkward dates. Ryan knows what the emotional and social obstacles are in his case, but he bravely moves forward.
Last season, in the spring of this year, Ryan O'Connell was absolutely charming and funny as a guest on CBS MORNINGS one weekday morning. He was on to promote his new book, a novel called JUST BY LOOKING AT HIM.
I don't recall seeing gay media giving him lots of attention for his book. In the touching final episode of Season 2, Ryan says to his mother "We deserve big, gorgeous lives." So does Ryan O'Connell. As I wrote earlier, he is a trailblazer actor, writer and activist. I recommend you go to Netflix and watch the two seasons of SPECIAL. Those episodes are entertaining, enlightening and provocative. He gives us a fresh view of gay life that you can relate to even if you're straight and feel like an outside on the field of love.
Ryan O'Connell is someone who deserved to be in the spotlight for Pride month. Here's a peak at the show's Season 2.
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