'Being Heumann'; Gino at the Movies

We're in San Francisco today, where hundreds of the handicapped have gathered to protest. That's right. The federal government cannot steal our civil rights. They see you in front of the stairs and they think that you're the problem. The stairs are the problem. I'm not just talking, it's done. Okay! Joseph Califano, please. This is Judy Heumann. Judy Heumann. Judy Heumann. Who is this person? Do you have any idea what it's going to cost to implement these regulations? $2.4 billion. Billion! I feel sorry for these people. Somebody's got to go out there and tell them. Tell them yourself. They're coming inside. I got a hundred cripples in my office. Mark Ruffalo there. Yeah, I saw that. All right, so in a fight for accessibility laws and equality rights, disability rights activist Judy Heumann leads a historic 28-day occupation of the federal building in San Francisco. Yeah, being Heumann. It comes to Apple TV tomorrow. Janelle, you talked with the actress who plays Judy. I can imagine what she was thinking and had to portray when brought into life. Right, because she is in a wheelchair herself. And to play this role, also you'll notice she's British. And being Heumann, she is not British. And you'll hear the difference. She mastered the Brooklyn accent. What did it mean to you in taking this role on? I mean, the privilege of a lifetime to be trusted with something this big, this important, this timely. It truly, not just from an acting perspective, but as a disabled woman myself, it truly meant more than I could ever put into words eloquently. Well, and I'm so impressed because hearing you talk now, that is not how Judy spoke. No, I'm from Manchester. In the UK, so very different. I traded Manchester for Brooklyn for a minute. Well, let's talk about that. Mastering an accent and making it convincing is not easy, but you did it. How did you do it so well? Oh, thank you so much. And I'm saying this as somebody who does not find accents easy, and I really have to do the science. I have to do the work. But when I worked with my dialect coach at home before I even I did my first audition because I knew how much of nailing the accent would unlock so many other character things and Judy was such a, being from Brooklyn was such a proud part of her identity. She was so proud to be where she was from. So yeah, I had to make sure that I nailed that. And I stayed in it the whole time. So for the whole thing, in between like lunch breaks, when we were turning around on camera, I stayed in the Brooklyn accent the whole time because I thought the second I come out of it, I'm not going to find it again. So yeah, it was a very specific choice to stay in it the whole time. Very interesting. So this is a large cast. Did she talk about working with that special group of people, too? Yeah, because when you, you know, there was a sit-in that happened, so you need a lot of actors, and they really cast it well. And also, it's an amazing story of when she first started out acting, she thought she was only going to do one role. Watch what happens. And you said it so, that's what I was thinking, too, that when you hear that voice, there's an attitude with a Brooklyn accent. Yes. That was who Judy was. Absolutely. And as well, the... She had such a specific sound to her voice as well. It wasn't just like General American or just Brooklyn. She was so specific with her voice. And also her accent changed slightly depending on when she was in front of press or when she was in front of people of influence to contrast that to when she was just having fun with her friends. So all of those tiny nuances were really important for me from an acting perspective to really nail. And what a great group of actors you have. Oh, I know. Maybe you weren't acting before. Talk about them. Yeah, I mean, I've been doing this for over a decade now. And I saw so much of myself in so many of these cast, so many members of the cast who it was their first time on set. And they learned so much. And what a privilege to be able to share the screen with so many phenomenal actors who I know are going to go on and do amazing things. Your story is so incredible. I read something that made me so happy that you took a leave from a job to do some acting and then you got another job and wanted to take another leave. What did your boss say to you? I think you're an actor now, Ruth. And I remember being like, that was To do this for a living, what a privilege But I remember when she said that to me, my boss, she was like I think you might be an actor now. The feeling of fear and like, oh my goodness, no security Don't know where your next job's coming from but I'm a firm believer that you end up where you're meant to end up and I was 1,000% meant to be doing this He seems like a natural. Yes, and here's the other thing. You know, sometimes when you are in a wheelchair, you do just that type of role, or you are only considered for those type of roles. There have been characters that she's been cast in that they had no intention of having someone who was disabled in that role, and that's how good an actress she's become that they've cast her So good for her Good for her Really, really amazing story, this movie And I appreciate that they're telling this Yes Gina, thank you Thank you. Thank you, man. All right, more from Milwaukee after the break Apple TV today Apple TV. Sweet