Actor Zack Weinstein stars as Sean, a quadriplegic ex-football player.
Photo Credit: Brad Buckman
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Last night, May 11, 2010, Zack Weinstein guest-starred on "Laryngitis," the eighteenth episode of FOX's TV show Glee. He gave an excellent performance playing the character Sean, who is paralyzed from the chest down. Sean suffered a spinal cord injury after a bad tackle during a football game. Rachel (Bronx-born Lea Michele), who has lost her singing voice, is brought to Sean by Finn (Canadian-born Cory Monteith) for encouragement. Sean commiserates with Rachel that it is disheartening to lose the thing you love most. However he reminds her that it is not the end because there are many more talents they both have.
Sean's character hits home for Zack Weinstein, who has been paralyzed since July 12th, 2005 from an accident. He was working as a summer camp counselor in Maine, a couple months shy of his 20th birthday. One day, while playing around with a friend by the Saco River, he broke his neck and shattered the C4-C6 of his spine. Initially, he was totally paralyzed. He regained almost total movement in his arms, making him a C5-C6 quadriplegic, through extensive therapy, visualized healing and willpower.
Prior to the accident, Zack had just completed his freshman year as a theater arts major at Skidmore College in Sarasota Springs, NY. After the accident, he took a year off and then returned to Skidmore to continue his theater arts studies. He even sang in one of the college's a capella groups, the Dynamics. With supportive family, friends and faculty, he graduated magna cum laude in 2009. Despite his new disability, his dreams of becoming an actor since he was four years old never left him. He chose to stick with acting even when some of his professors suggested that he would make a great director. He said, "I could still talk, I could still think, and I could still feel. Well, I could still feel emotions at least...Besides, I would sometimes joke, being a successful actor is a completely unrealistic life goal anyways so what's the difference?"
After graduation, Zack and his supportive wife, Anna-Maija Webb, moved out to Los Angeles to pursue his dreams. They picked an apartment in Studio City, right across the street from the Universal Studio's entrance. He had been cast several times, but a 2009 Buy.com holiday season commercial opened up new opportunities for him. Working with an agency, he was notified about an audition in Glee, his favorite TV show, for a person who had suffered a spinal cord injury. He spent an intense weekend with his acting teacher to prepare for the audition and was notified he got the role after waiting an agonizing week and a half. In The Wrap, he writes about his on set Glee experience.
Rachel (Lea Michele) and Sean (Zack Weinstein) sing "One" by U2.
Zack's accomplishments are phenomenal. His physical limitations never "disabled" his dreams. It would have been the easy road to give up and let life's misfortunes prevail. Instead, it made him a stronger, more dedicated and focused person. When Zack is not busy with his acting career, he is a committed ambassador for the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. In an interview with Boston's WCVB TV, he said, "Breaking my neck didn't break me. Just broke my neck." Zack is a role model for all of us. Perhaps next year we will see Zack Weinstein on Time Magazine's "Time 100: The World's Most Influential People", where this year Lea Michele placed #13 on the Artists section of the list.
Dream big. Anything is possible if you put your mind to it.
You can watch the Glee episode "Laryngitis" and other previous episodes on Hulu.com. Also check out Glee: Season One Volume 1 - Road to Sectionals now available on DVD.
Tune in next Tuesday 9/8c pm to see the nineteenth episode "Dream On" directed by Joss Whedon and guest-starring Neil Patrick Harris as Bryan Ryan!
Left to Right: Neil Patrick Harris as Bryan Ryan, Matthew Morrison as Will Schuester and Director Joss Whedon
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Comments
Wow, what a moving story. I'm a big Glee fan, and I had no idea the actor was really paralyzed. I'm glad to hear he's still working towards his dreams.
Jenn, I am a big Glee fan too. His story really is a great motivation to everyone who has dreams and wonders if those dreams may be unreachable at times.
Glee
like you Friend Movie
ms. chu, you're writing skills leave much to be desired; run-on sentances, murky style, unclear usage...
'...broke his neck and shattered the C4 through C6 of his spine...'
'...returned back to skidmore...' returned BACK?
learn to write!
Hey Randy,
I have an idea for you. Hows bout you take your trolling arse under another bridge, this one is a no troll zone. This article was moving and informative, and lets see you write something up. With your lack of spelling and lack of ability for capitalization, I'd bet you have an excellent career lined up as a full time 2nd grade student.
Annie,
I loved the article and Glee is one of my favorite shows.
Randy,
If you are going to talk about writting skills, you might want to learn the difference between your and you're!
Barb, thank you very much. I haven't missed any Glee episodes yet. Definitely can't wait to see what they come up with for next season!
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