Animals were harmed in these films
Al Pacino plays Lt. Col. Frank Slade, a blind, highly decorated Vietnam War veteran, in 'Scent of a Woman.'
In this biographical drama, Daniel Day-Lewis portrays Christy Brown, an Irishman born with cerebral palsy, who eventually could control only his left foot.
In James Cameron's 3D blockbuster, 'Avatar,' Sam Worthington plays Jake Sully, a paralyzed former Marine.
James McAvoy, seen here flanked by Hugh Jackman and Nicholas Hoult, portrays a younger wheelchair-bound Charles Xavier/Professor X in 'X-Men: Days of Future Past.'
The hit crime TV series 'Ironside' featured Raymond Burr as Robert T. Ironside, a consultant for the San Francisco police department who was paralyzed from the waist down after being shot while on vacation. The character in fact debuted in a 1967 made-for-television movie.
In 'Coming Home,' Jon Voight stars as Luke Martin, a Vietnam veteran whose injuries have left him a paraplegic. He's seen here with co-star Jane Fonda.
Oliver Stone's biographical anti-war film stars Tom Cruise as paralyzed Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic. Willem Defoe makes an appearance as his buddy Charlie, also wheelchair-bound.
In 'Gattaca,' a dystopian science fiction film, Jude Law plays former swimming star Jerome Eugene Morrow, who is paralyzed after being hit by a car.
Kenneth Branagh portrays Dr. Arliss Loveless, a legless ex-Confederate officer and engineering genius who is also the film's villain, in 'Wild Wild West.'
Patrick Stewart portrays Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men franchise, which first hit the big screen in 2000. Restricted to a wheelchair, his mutant powers are vast.
In this movie, James McAvoy stars as Rory O'Shea, who suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The film was also released under the title 'Rory O'Shea Was Here.'
Rip Torn plays paralyzed dodgeball coach Patches O'Houlihan in the comedy 'DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story.'
'Wait Until Dark' stars Audrey Hepburn as a young blind woman, Susy Hendrix, who is terrorized by a trio of thugs.
Anne Bancroft portrays Anne Sullivan, blind tutor to Helen Keller (Patty Duke), in this biographical drama. Helen Keller was an acclaimed American author, disability rights advocate, political activist, and lecturer.
Written and directed by Jane Campion, 'The Piano' stars Holly Hunter as a mute Scottish woman sold by her father into marriage to a New Zealand frontiersman.
Sculptor Ken Harrison (Richard Dreyfuss) is paralyzed from the neck down after a car accident. Confined to a hospital bed, he demands the right to end his own life.
In 'Children of a Lesser God,' Marlee Matlin portrays Sarah Norman, who is deaf. William Hurt is her hearing speech therapist. Matlin herself has been deaf since childhood.
Gary Sinise appears in 'Forrest Gump' as Vietnam veteran Lieutenant Dan Taylor, a double amputee confined to a wheelchair.
Sources: (HistoryNet) (Irish Central) (The New York Times) (Poetry Foundation) (Biography)
See also: Celebs you didn't realize were amputees
In real life, adult magazine publisher Larry Flynt ended up paralyzed from the waist down due to injuries sustained in a 1978 assassination attempt. Woody Harrelson portrays him in this entertaining drama.
In this touching and poignant drama, French actress Emmanuelle Riva portrays Anne Laurent, who ends up in a wheelchair after a stroke paralyzes the right side of her body.
Music legend Ray Charles lost his sight at seven years old, but went on to become one of most iconic and influential singers ever. Jamie Foxx portrays him in this biographical musical drama.
Rinko Kikuchi plays the rebellious deaf teenager Chieko Wataya in the Japanese segment of 'Babel.'
Alan Arkin plays John Singer, a deaf-mute, in this 1969 film that introduced cinema audiences to Sondra Locke, later better known as Clint Eastwood's long-term partner.
Eddie Redmayne portrays theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking in this biographical romantic drama. Hawking was diagnosed with an early-onset slow-progressing form of motor neurone disease, which eventually paralyzed him and robbed him of speech.
Among the three roles undertaken by Peter Sellars in Stanley Kubrick's black comedy is that of Dr. Strangelove himself, a nuclear war expert and former Nazi who uses a wheelchair.
Sam Claflin plays William "Will" Traynor, a once successful banker and active sportsman now tetraplegic after being hit by a motorcycle, and who is looked after by Louisa (Emilia Clarke).
One of the most memorable characters in David Lean's epic romantic drama 'Ryan's Daughter' is the crippled mute Michael, played by John Mills. He's seen here with Trevor Howard, who portrays Father Hugh Collins.
John Hawkes portrays real-life poet Mark O'Brien, who is forced to live in an iron lung due to complications from polio. In order to lose his virginity, he employs the services of sex surrogate Cheryl Cohen-Greene (Helen Hunt).
John Malkovich portrays Mr. Will, blinded by injuries sustained in the First World War, who relies on the assistance of a handyman called Moses (Danny Glover) in order to get around.
Physical disability in its many forms, including deafness, blindness, and paralysis, has provided a central theme for numerous movies. Many of these films are biographical, based on real people and real events. Others, while works of fiction, have served to inspire and motivate us. The actors chosen for these roles are tasked with portraying their characters as realistically as possible, an incredible challenge and one that requires exceptional talent if it's to be accepted and believed.
Click through and take a look at the actors who have articulated physical disability on screen.
Talented actors who have played physically impaired characters
Disability in its many forms depicted in cinema
MOVIES Cinema
Physical disability in its many forms, including deafness, blindness, and paralysis, has provided a central theme for numerous movies. Many of these films are biographical, based on real people and real events. Others, while works of fiction, have served to inspire and motivate us. The actors chosen for these roles are tasked with portraying their characters as realistically as possible, an incredible challenge and one that requires exceptional talent if it's to be accepted and believed.
Click through and take a look at the actors who have articulated physical disability on screen.