Hollywood is usually the first to embrace the do-gooder cause of the moment, with the elite often sporting colored ribbons to indicate their solidarity with those affected by diseases like AIDS, multiple sclerosis and breast cancer.
But actors who suffer from the diseases say that when out of the spotlight, the industry tends to ignore those with disabilities and chronic illnesses, leaving many actors and crew members fighting to get work.
"The only time I get sent out is if they're specifically looking for people with a disability, and that's absurd," said "Deadwood" actress Geri Jewell (left), who has cerebral palsy. "The minute a show ends, I'm at square one again." (For more on Jewell, see accompanying sidebar.)
Hardest hit are the lower-level performers who privately fade from sight. (When A-listers get sick -- see accompanying story.) It's the type of discrimination Mike Hastings knows well.
Hastings suffers from fibromyalgia, a disorder that causes chronic muscle and connective tissue pain.
After securing bit parts in films like "Freaky Friday" and the TV show "Friends," Hastings landed his biggest gig to date: a job on season 4 of "The West Wing " as a military figure who appeared regularly in the show's situation room and White House scenes.
"I felt the illness was controlling so much of my life, and I needed to start functioning in society and focus on something other than what I was feeling physically. It pulled me out of myself," Hastings (below) told TheWrap.
Soon, a fibromyalgia magazine took note of Hastings and featured him in three-page spread. After the piece ran, Hastings asked a number of his friends if they felt he should send copies of the story off to Central Casting.
"Half of the people said, 'No way. If they know you even have a headache, they don't want you.' Others said it would make for incredible publicity," he said.
He sent the magazine off to 30-40 casting directors and waited.
The phones stopped ringing," Hastings said. "Now I realize it was a big mistake. I never got any work or calls after I sent the magazines out. It would be nice if there was a string of of disabled people who casting directors kept in mind for a shoot, but people in Hollywood need to be able to work 12-hour days and be healthy, beautiful and talented. That'll always be the challenge."
While Hollywood prides itself as being on the leading edge of social mores, many argue that when it comes to serious illness, the industry often exempts itself from the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The act passed in 1990 bans discrimination in hiring a qualified person due to a physical disability. The act also requires an employer to make reasonable accomodations for the disabled.
But Hollywood is an industry that by nature requires able-bodied performers who can be reliable parts of complex and fast-moving - not to mention expensive - productions.
