Bryan Cranston actually had to defend playing a disabled character in his latest film "The Upside," saying his casting as a man with quadriplegia was "a business decision."
"The Upside," an American remake of the French film "Les Intouchables," has the actor playing a wheelchair-using billionaire who hires a former criminal, played by comedian Kevin Hart, to be his caretaker.
"As actors we're asked to play other people," says the Breaking Bad star.
There has been a major push for Hollywood to expand casting in movie roles and perhaps even hire someone who is quadriplegic to play the role of a quadriplegic. Cranston does admit the subject is "worthy for debate" and there should be "more opportunities" for disabled actors, however, he does also say that he should still be entitled to play characters whose attributes may differ from his own: "If I, as a straight, older person, and I'm wealthy, I'm very fortunate, does that mean I can't play a person who is not wealthy, does that mean I can't play a homosexual?" adding, "I don't know, where does the restriction apply, where is the line for that?" he told the Associated Press.