Actor with Dyslexia: The majority of children with disabilities who are of school age have learning difficulties. Among students with learning difficulties, more than half receive educational services under the federal Individuals with Difficulties Education Act. This number exceeds the support given to students with speech impairments and chronic health problems, according to the Pew Research Center.
Reading, writing, arithmetic, speaking, listening, and focusing are all negatively impacted by learning difficulties, which are neurodevelopmental diseases. Depending on the individual, people with multiple learning disabilities may experience overlapping symptoms or may experience symptoms that are “isolated,” as reported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
About 20% of the American population has dyslexia, which manifests as difficulties with reading, spelling, and writing. Another prevalent diagnosis is dyscalculia, which makes it hard to understand numbers and do math computations.
A proper diagnosis and course of treatment can be achieved by visiting a trained clinical specialist, as not all learning disorders are the same. It is important to remember that just because someone has a learning disability does not imply they are unable to succeed in life.
Whether they were diagnosed as children or adults, many of the most famous actors, musicians, and sportsmen in the world have managed to live and prosper while learning differently. Read on to discover the stories of renowned people who overcame learning disabilities to achieve great achievement.
Actor with Dyslexia
Jennifer Aniston
Dyslexic is one of America’s most beloved TV friends—who knew? It wasn’t until Aniston was well into her twenties that she found out. She attributes her decision to play the role of class clown rather than teacher’s pet to the realization that reading was so challenging in elementary school.
Many questions were addressed by the diagnosis. There was an explanation for “all my childhood trauma-dies, tragedies, dramas,” as she put it to The Hollywood Reporter.
Steven Spielberg
This film magnate has personal experience with dyslexia; he was unaware of his diagnosis until he was 60 years old. He dropped out of college in 1968 after struggling through school due to childhood bullying. In the time after, the renowned director took to the big screen to counter the attack.
As a teen, Spielberg identified as a “nerd” and an “outsider,” traits he later reflected in the cult classic The Goonies, which he co-wrote and produced.
Whoopi Goldberg
Meeting this feisty co-host of The View when she was a child would have been a complete surprise. She was nicknamed “stupid” by her classmates when she was a girl named Caryn.
Goldberg, who possesses a multitude of talents, was unaware that she was dyslexic until after she had already left school. Among her many accolades since then is a rare hat trick: she has won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony Award.
Henry Winkler
This actor-turned-author, who became famous as “The Fonz” on Happy Days, was noted for his penchant for improvising while filming. Winkler says that deviating from the script was mostly due to his reading difficulties. “Dyslexia also taught me kindness,” he says.
His discussion of the protagonist of his dyslexia-themed children’s novels, Hank Zipzer, who he calls the “world’s greatest underachiever,” makes this point clear.
Muhammad Ali
The renowned heavyweight boxing champion could “float like a butterfly” and “sting like a bee,” but he had trouble reading. Ali initially battled dyslexia.
He was also a consummate wordsmith, whose work was cited all over the globe. He pointed out, “A man who has no imagination has no wings.”
Richard Branson
His high school principal had a prediction for this British entrepreneur: either he’d go to jail or he’d get rich. Millionaire (with a “b”) is another option.
A combination of dyslexia and what Branson calls “a different way of thinking” allowed him to achieve great success, according to him. The creator of Virgin Group has started over 400 businesses, including an airline and record label. Queen Elizabeth has also knighted him.
John Irving
The author’s life and works are intertwined with wrestling. Another prominent figure is dyslexia. When high school conversations got too tough, Irving would head to the gym. He followed his wrestling career to university, where he got the literary bug. His claim to fame since then has been the name of his books.
Jay Leno
“Smarten up” was the common response from his high school classmates when he had dyslexia, according to the comedian and former Tonight Show host.
His fortunes turned around when his creative writing instructor recommended that he start writing down some of the anecdotes he frequently shared. A first for Leno, “that was the first time in my life I focused on something,” he told 60 Minutes.
Danny Glover
This leading man was unaware of his dyslexia until he was thirty years old, and he didn’t experience the acting bug until he was in his late twenties.
At the time, he felt “unworthy to learn” because he had no diagnosis. According to Glover, acting “gave me a way of expressing some of that inner life that was raging inside of me” and provided him with an outlet from his inner turmoil.
Keira Knightley
Oscar contender born in the UK, Dyslexia was both a blessing and a curse. She was eager to please because her moment on stage was contingent upon her grades.
However, other students were just as anxious to tease behind the scenes. “It’s incredible how a child’s insult could motivate you to read very fast,” Knightley reflects. She attributes her success as an actress to her dyslexia.
Conclusion
Having trouble reading is a common symptom of dyslexia, a learning disability. Yet, until the late 20th century, most people didn’t get it. Doctors still face challenges when trying to make a diagnosis. Even for adults, some treatments have been proven to be beneficial.
Our current understanding suggests that many well-known figures may have suffered from dyslexia. This includes Saint Teresa of Avila, Napoleon, Winston Churchill, Carl Jung, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, and Leonardo da Vinci.