Disabled creators

Disability

Disabled characters

Disabled creators

Disabled creators have always been part of Star Wars—in starring roles, as extras, and writing the universe.

Please note: the people described here have at least one condition that is classified as a disability, but each person does not necessarily self-identify with the term "disabled" for various reasons. They may otherwise use different language to describe themselves and their language usage may change over time. We've also provided warnings in the reference citations when outdated language is used within a source.

This article is a list. It will always need expanding!

Creators with disabilities

Aaron Allston

Aaron Allston, who wrote the Wraith Squadron books as well as other Star Wars books, based aspects of the character Ton Phanan on his own experience after being diagnosed with diabetes.

CPT Max Tallon

Is there anything you specifically used to base Ton Phanan on?

Aaron Allston

Not one thing, but a bunch of things. Particularly acerbic family members and friends, for instance. But if there's one detail that contributed the most to Ton, it was an event in my own life, when I was diagnosed with diabetes. Realizing that some part of the machinery of my body was fundamentally broken and would never work correctly again was a profound shock, and, years later, when I created Ton, I was able to draw on those emotions, to explore them in directions that I never personally went.

— Aaron Allston interview with Rebel Squadrons - Internet Office

Carrie Fisher

So having waited my entire life to get an award for something, anything (okay fine, not acting, but what about a tiny little award for writing? Nope), I now get awards all the time for being mentally ill. I'm apparently very good at it and am honored for it regularly. Probably one of the reasons I'm such a shoo-in is that there's no swimsuit portion of the competition.

Hey, look, it's better than being bad at being mentally ill, right? How tragic would it be to be runner-up for Bipolar Woman of the Year?

— Carrie Fisher found the humor in being mental ill

Carrie Fisher portrayed Leia Organa and was public about her diagnoses with bipolar two (formerly known as manic depression), drug addiction, and alcoholism. She told jokes and was frank about her experiences, such as: naming her mania "Rollicking Roy" and her depression "Sediment Pam" (Pam is for "piss and moan"), twelve-step programs ("I'm as addicted to all the things A.A. has to offer as I am to the things that made me need those groups in the first place"), emergency room visits, voluntary treatment at "the mental hospital", and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT, formerly known as electroshock treatment). She was an advocate for other people living with mental illness, especially bipolar disorder:

One of the things that baffles me (and there are quite a few) is how there can be so much lingering stigma with regards to mental illness, specifically bipolar disorder. In my opinion, living with manic depression takes a tremendous amount of balls. Not unlike a tour of duty in Afghanistan (though the bombs and bullets, in this case, come from the inside). At times, being bipolar can be an all-consuming challenge, requiring a lot of stamina and even more courage, so if you're living with this illness and fuctioning at all, it's something to be proud of, not ashamed of.

They should issue medals along with the steady stream of medications one has to inject.

— Author's Note by Carrie Fisher

Daisy Ridley

Daisy Ridley portrayed Rey. She has Graves' disease.

Deep Roy

Deep Roy is the professional name of the performer Gurdeep Roy, who has dwarfism. He portrayed many roles in the OT. He performed some uncredited Yoda shots in Empire Strikes Back, and in Return of the Jedi was a puppeter. He may have also had an uncredited role as Droopy McCool.

Harrison Davis

Harrison Davis, the son of Warwick Davis, portrayed the son of Warwick's iconic Wicket W. Warrick character, Pommet Warrick, in The Rise of Skywalker. He is represented by Willow Management.

James Earl Jones

You know, I've told that story so much that I'm still fascinated by it 'cause I don't understand it. I didn't want to talk bad enough that I just gave up. I couldn't introduce yourself [sic] to people who visited the house, and it was too painful. I am still a stutterer, by the way. I don't say I was cured. I'm still a stutterer. I just work with it.

— James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones, the voice of Darth Vader, had a stutter that developed in his childhood; he attributed it to early childhood traumas related to family upheaval and to having an uncle with a stutter. As a result, he became selectively mute for almost eight years. He also had type two diabetes.

Keira Knightley

Keira Knightley, who was twelve years old when she portrayed Sabé in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, is dyslexic. She was drawn to her father's acting profession when she was a child, so she used to mask her inability to read and write: "I actually tricked them. I was listening to book tapes, memorizing them and pretending to read." Her grandmother recognized it when Knightley was six years old. To help encourage Knightley to practice reading and writing every day over the summer, her mother made a deal with her to get her an agent. She also wore colored glasses that help with unscrambling letters.

Kenny Baker

Kenny Baker portrays R2-D2

Kenny Baker, who had dwarfism,^[source?] portrayed R2-D2 in the Original Trilogy, and to a lesser extent in the Prequel Trilogy. He was a consultant about the R2-D2 role for The Force Awakens.

As well as his work as R2-D2, Baker portrayed Paploo, an Ewok appearing in Return of the Jedi.

Kiran Shah

Kiran Shah is a little person who helped launched the Kenyan Association of People with Dwarfism and is a spokesperson for The Disability Network. He has been portraying 'creature characters' in Star Wars since Return of the Jedi, in which he performed as various stunt Ewoks and portrayed the Ewok using stormtrooper helmets as drums (Bretthup), along with the "tortured dustbin droid" in Jabba's Palace. Despite the many contributions, the film only credited him under the listing "Ewoks". He has had numerous roles in Star Wars projects since then: The Force Awakens, Rogue One, The Last Jedi, Solo, The Rise of Skywalker, and Andor.

Matthew Stover

Matthew Stover wrote Star Wars: Legends books such as Shatterpoint and the Revenge of the Sith novel. He has ADHD.

Peter Mayhew

Peter Mayhew portrayed Chewbacca in film from 1977 (A New Hope) to 2015 (The Force Awakens). He had gigantism, and identified as a giant, not a person with "giantism". The Marfan Trust and an Associated Press obituary stated that he had Marfan syndrome.

Warwick Davis

Warwick Davis as Weazel in Solo

Warwick Davis, who has spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SED), a form of dwarfism, has played many roles in Star Wars, and "has earned a near-mythic reputation among LP actors". His first Star Wars role was as Wicket W. Warrick in Return of the Jedi, in 1983. He has had cameo roles in all subsequent Star Wars films, as well as initially portraying Yoda in work for The Phantom Menace. Among his Star Wars achievements is playing a human, Weazel, who appeared as a gambler in The Phantom Menace and as a freedom fighter in Solo. Weazel is the first time a person with dwarfism has been depicted in Star Wars as a human.

Davis "has dedicated his life to improving conditions for LP actors." He co-founded Willow Management, a talent agency for actors who are short (under 5 feet) or very tall (above 7 feet). Willow Management's website states that "Peter [Burroughs] and Warwick found that short actors were not being properly represented in the industry, treated like a commodity rather than the individual actors they are. Willow set out to address this issue," and "Willow continues to excel in finding the best actor for a particular role, not just someone who is 'the right size for the job'."