Netflix Show 'Special' Will Introduce TV's First Gay, Disabled Male Character • GCN

Contents:

• 'SPECIAL' CREATOR ON SHOW'S GAY, DISABLED SEX: 'PEOPLE DON'T ACKNOWLEDGE WE'RE SEXUAL BEGS'
• RYAN O'CONNELL IS GAY, DISABLED, AND NOT YOUR 'INSPIRATN PORN'
• NETFLIX SHOW 'SPECIAL' WILL INTRODUCE TV'S FIRST GAY, DISABLED MALE CHARACTER
• I’M 43 – BUT I’M MA TO FEEL LIKE A DOSR BY YOUNGER GAY MEN

'SPECIAL' CREATOR ON SHOW'S GAY, DISABLED SEX: 'PEOPLE DON'T ACKNOWLEDGE WE'RE SEXUAL BEGS'

" Like many people the LGBTQ muny, the "Special" creator/star was disappoted the 2017 Osr-nomated drama, specifilly s pictn of gay sex between El (Timothee Chalamet) and Oliver (Armie Hammer).

More: Netflix's 'Special' hop to break new ground for disabily reprentatn on TV"It speaks to how as gay men, we’re ndned to accept the scraps of reprentatn, " says O'Connell, who unflchgly portrays gay sex his new Netflix show, streamg Friday. "I’m not throwg sha at ‘Call Me By Your Name’ bee I thk is an credible movie, but I feel like that pan away to the moon is homophobic – ’s weird. And ’s directed by a gay man (Lu Guadagno)!

RYAN O'CONNELL IS GAY, DISABLED, AND NOT YOUR 'INSPIRATN PORN'

"O'Connell, 32, plays a loose versn of himself "Special, " which is based on his 2015 memoir about his experience as a twentysomethg gay man wh d cerebral palsy. Not only do O'Connell hope to stigmatize sex work wh the graphic scene, but also normalize gay sex for mastream dienc who aren't ed to seeg Hollywood movi or popular TV shows. "It really is a difference of makg gay ntent for straight people like ‘Bohemian Rhapsody, ’ or makg gay ntent for yourself and (other) gay people that's accurate how you experience thgs, " O'Connell says.

The 34-year-old is the star and creator of Netflix’s Special, which chronicl the gs out of a twentysomethg gay wrer wh cerebral palsy. Like his lead character, he’s also gay and has cerebral palsy.

Though he had a storybook experience when g out as gay at 17 (He immediately entered a relatnship), O’Connell hid his disabily as his wrg reer soared. A gay disabled kid om Ventura, California, don't move to New York to go to liberal arts llege.

NETFLIX SHOW 'SPECIAL' WILL INTRODUCE TV'S FIRST GAY, DISABLED MALE CHARACTER

A gay disabled kid om Ventura don't have the urage to pursue televisn you for beg hont about, transparency around money is so important bee I thk a lot of creativ e om money, and no one lik to talk about . Courty of NetflixWhat I would say is relatively new to TV shows about queer people is that you're lettg gay men be toxic, which we kd of are but have not always been held acuntable, we n be for sure.

If you're trated wh him and you don't like that, you should thk about what that says about open relatnship that's explored the send season, tly I don't thk I've seen a gay open relatnship explored that way that wasn't, as you said,, that was a really tertg story to tell. As a gay man a relatnship, most people that I know are some versn of an open relatnship.

I’M 43 – BUT I’M MA TO FEEL LIKE A DOSR BY YOUNGER GAY MEN

I love nversatns around monogamy or, terms of gay men, nstctg monogamy [and] really qutng why 's there. If ’s about gayns or disabily, mt be my diary entry that I prted out. I’ll jt go where the news tak me, and right now ’s takg me to disabily gay sex land aga and aga, which I Longo has wrten about pop culture for Vany Fair, Vulture, Entertament Weekly, The Associated Prs, and more.

The only thg more difficult for Ryan O'Connell than g out as gay? The TV wrer-turned-star told his iends and fay he was gay when he was 17, but waed until he was 28 to let his new iends and -workers know that he has cerebral palsy.

As real life, on-screen Ryan tri to hi his cerebral palsy om his work BFF (Punam Patel) and skeptil supervisor (Marla Mlle) when he starts a new job as a blogger, while also stgglg wh body image as he enters the gay datg scene.