The Fundamentals of Caring features Trever who struggles with the condition of
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and is left wheelchair-bound. Since his parents have
to work to support him, he is cared for by a carer named Ben who Trever is his
first client. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the connection between
the two characters and how their relationship develops, watch the trailer at
The Fundamentals of Caring.
Trever is played by actor Craig Roberts. After a review of Craig Roberts IMDb
and Wikipedia page it is evident that his role as Trever did not significantly
impact his personal or professional life. It is merely listed as a role his
partook in, which is wonderful, yet presents a major issue for many in the
disability community. In his mere act of playing the role, simply as a piece to
add to his resume demonstrates how not only did he take that space away from
wheel-chair bound actor, yet he did not let the role impact him. While not every
able-bodied actor who plays a character with a disability is going to take that
role to heart and let it change their life or connect with those in the
disability community, a bit of recognition for the space and the challenges of
living with a condition is an element of the role I would consider necessary. It
deeply saddens my heart upon looking into this case that Craig Roberts played
the role of Trever as simply another acting job. However, to a certain sense
this proves a point for those in the disability community concerned with
able-bodied actors playing characters with conditions they cannot connect with.
In a brief review of Craig’s preparation for the role, I discovered that his
comments about preparation are vague in saying that he read about the condition
and spoke to individuals who had the condition. In my interpretation, this is
simply a means of him justifying his role as Trever. I personally feel that
based on my review of Craig’s personal and professional journey, he took a space
and played a role that was not meant for him. As someone who has been
temporarily disabled numerous times, I simply feel as though Craig did not take
the role of Trever seriously enough and missed out on an opportunity to connect
or better the disability community through his work. Therefore I would conclude
that this is a case that would need careful revision for directors to consider
how the individuals who play the role interact with the disability community and
require that an actor who plays a role without having the condition better
connect with those living with the condition prior to playing such a role.
Additionally, I feel this serves as evidence that directors need to be more
careful about who they are asking to play various conditions because I feel that
it would not have been too difficult for the directors of this movie to cast a
wheelchair-bound actor.
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