If you are a Gleek like I am (a fan of the new Fox series “Glee”), you’ve probably noticed the popular show about a high school glee club features quite a diverse group of characters. Puck and Rachel are Jewish, Artie is in a wheelchair, Tina is an Asian with a stutter (albeit fake), Quinn is the popular but pregnant cheerleader, Kurt is gay, and Mercedes is African American and overweight. Even the guidance counselor, Emma, is a germaphobe.
This week, the show introduced a new character – Sean. Sean is a football camp friend of Finn’s who has suffered a spinal cord injury and is paralyzed from the chest down. When Rachel loses her voice temporarily and begins to panic, Finn takes her to visit Sean to teach her that even if you lose what you think defines you most; you can overcome it and move on.
While the Kevin McHale, the actor who plays wheelchair bound Artie, can walk in real life, Zack Weinstein, who plays Sean, is paralyzed from the chest down. He was at a river outing the summer between his freshman and sophomore year at Skidmore College when the spinal injury occurred.
After a year of rehab, he returned to college to continue studying theater, saying, “”It was the only thing I wanted to do, I had to see if I could do it.” Despite the spinal cord injury, Weinstein said, “I can’t remember ever wanting to do anything other than act.” After he graduated, he and his wife Anna-Maija moved to Los Angeles so he could pursue his passion.
One of his scenes in this week’s episode called for him to sing from a hospital bed. “It’s the only time I’ve ever been nervous,” the actor admitted.
Weinstein feels no animosity towards able-bodied actors like McHale who play paralyzed characters. He feels “everyone should have an equal opportunity to try for parts” and that the best actor should get the role, whether they are really injured or not.
Weinstein is an ambassador the foundation founded by another actor who suffered a devastating spinal cord injury – Christopher Reeve.