Breakout Ezra star William A. Fitzgerald isn’t afraid to roast Robert De Niro
Ezra stars Fitzgerald as an autistic kid growing up with his grandfather, played by De Niro, and parents, played by Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale
Aux News Ezra
You might think stepping onto set with a legendary talent like Robert De Niro would be intimidating for any actor, much less a pre-teen kid taking on the very first role of their career. Even Bobby Cannavale cowed slightly when asked about working with his famous co-star at a recent panel for their film Ezra, hosted by the Tribeca Film Festival and producing studio Bleecker Street. “I’m embarrassed and I don’t want to embarrass him, but it’s incredible,” the veteran actor said during the Q&A, which was attended by The A.V. Club.
But breakout star William A. Fitzgerald, who plays the film’s titular, autistic 11-year-old, had no such qualms. “This is your first acting role. How did you prepare?” the moderator asked, to which Fitzgerald responded: “Well obviously I read the script.” When the crowd laughed, he added without missing a beat, “If you think that’s funny, you should see De Niro getting roasted at the Oscars!” De Niro, sitting beside his young co-star, seemed incredibly amused to be the butt of the joke, but Fitzgerald still added, “My parents are gonna kill me for saying that.”
The film, which premieres May 31, is a sensitive tale of two divorced parents’ (Cannavale and Rose Byrne) different approaches to raising their neurodivergent son. It’s also the story of Cannavale’s character, Max, struggling to reconcile his relationship with his own complicated father, played with typical unhinged flair by De Niro.
“Whether someone’s neurodivergent or not, that’s really a metaphor for what everyone feels in life—wanting to conform, wanting to fit certain societal norms,” director Tony Goldwyn, who also appears in the movie, said at the panel. “If people can watch this movie and say whether I’m a member of the autistic community, whether I have a child who is, it really doesn’t matter because we can all relate… It’s all of our superpower when we accept, ‘oh, we’re not supposed to be like everyone else.’”
De Niro and Cannavale were drawn to the script for similar reasons to the ones Goldwyn laid out, and cited their respective experiences with fatherhood as an inspiration as well. Not so much for Fitzgerald. “This might be a little embarrassing, but I was trying to start a YouTube channel and I thought this would be a good way to start,” he said. Watch out for this one, folks. He’s going to be a star.
12 Comments
“played with typical unhinged flair by De Niro.”This is ROBERT de Niro we are talking about, right? WTF is his typical ungunged flair? WTF are you talking about?
My eyes kinda glazed over the headline and was wondering what the hell Ezra Miller was doing with De Niro…
Worth pointing out that the actor, William A. Fitzgerald, is autistic himself. I did get that impression from reading, but confirmation might be useful to other readers:https://thinkingautismguide.com/2023/09/ezra-is-hollywood-getting-better-at-autistic-representation.htmlRegardless of whether you believe neurotypical actors should be “allowed” to play neurodivergent characters or not, I think it’s nice that the director insisted on casting a neurodivergent actor.This is the first I’m hearing about this movie, and the description sounds very interesting to me. It sounds like they’re making the effort to portray an authentic look at what living with someone with autism can look like. I’m pretty tired of people equating autism with “social awkwardness,” so I hope it’s good and, if it is, that a lot of people see it.
I have pretty mixed feelings about the generally positive upswing in representation for and acknowledgement of neurodivergence. Like I think it’s an overall boon that people are more open and accepting but I also feel like an *awful lot* of people are attributing to neurodivergence what sounds, to me, like social awkwardness, stubbornness, asshole behavior, etc. I could be weirdly sensitive to it or maybe it’s overrepresented in the social media I consume for a variety of reasons. I dunno. At a certain point if enough people attribute their behaviors or preferences or traits or whatever to “neurodivergence”, doesn’t that just mean that the standards for “neurotypical” are actually bunk and there is no actual “divergence”? If enough people are “on the spectrum”, that implies to me that there is nothing BUT the spectrum.
I’m at a complete loss of words. Like, that’s exactly what I’m talking about when I said, “I’m pretty tired of people equating autism with ‘social awkwardness.’” This isn’t me lashing out at you, this is me frustrated at how portrayals of neurodivergence in the media is heavily weighted toward high-functioning adults (who probably not coincidentally are overwhelmingly portrayed by neurotypical actors). There are many people with autism who aren’t just “socially awkward;” they need lifelong care. And there are many high-functioning adults too, but media rarely shows that they often struggle too. A typical Sheldon-from-Big Bang Theory-like character might unintentionally make an offensive comment, and the show will just brush it off. Haha, he doesn’t care about other people’s feelings! And in real life, he might have immediately realized he hurt the other person’s feelings and spent the rest of the day ruminating and kicking themselves inside.I understand that increasing representation inherently means that characters from underrepresented groups won’t always be the center of the story, and that it’s not helpful if every story about them is a “woe is me” struggle story. But I hate that we’re at the point where this specific example of a misunderstood, complicated diagnosis has become the prevailing portrayal.At a certain point if enough people attribute their behaviors or preferences or traits or whatever to “neurodivergence”, doesn’t that just mean that the standards for “neurotypical” are actually bunk and there is no actual “divergence”? If enough people are “on the spectrum”, that implies to me that there is nothing BUT the spectrum.Yes? There’s a reason it’s a spectrum to begin with. People with autism are all different. Some even like pizza (a stereotype I didn’t know existed until recently…). There’s really no reason to think that the spectrum “ends.” People on the autism spectrum have historically been socially ostracized and horribly mistreated because other people didn’t understand why they didn’t just behave like “everyone else.” It’s only as more and more research has been done over the past few decades that we’re understanding that not everyone’s brain functions the same way. We think everyone around us has the exact same colors in their 64-crayon box, but some people are coloring with a different palette.And yes, maybe the people you’ve come across have exhibited stubbornness or behavior that you perceived as social awkwardness or assholishness that can be directly linked to neurodivergence. Maybe they’re very good at masking but occasionally slip. Maybe they have a very mild case of a specific diagnosis. We’re literally talking about people’s brains. How can you know how someone else literally thinks unless you know them very well?
Exactly. This is largely why I say it’s mixed feelings. Because I’m aware that I may be misreading things. And/or that I may have some neurodivergent tendencies myself! I suppose it depends on how we define it. I know that traditionally depression and anxiety are not considered a neurodivergence but there is discussion of that possibility from a diagnostic standpoint. I also believe that there’s a tendency to pathologize every behavior in a way that’s not always helpful in an effort to BE helpful. I’m not skeptical of everyone’s good intentions but I am cynical enough to believe that some people use this tendency to behave in ways that they are otherwise capable of avoiding because of selfishness or laziness or the human desire to belong to a particular group. Having said that, I try to err on the side of acceptance, empathy, and believing people when they make a claim like this. I just also won’t lie, at least to myself, and pretend that there’s no voice of skepticism in me. (And to be very clear, that’s on ME. That’s not on anyone else. Nobody has to prove shit to me.) (Except a couple of particular AV Club commenters who constantly get on my fucking nerves. If that shit is because they’re on the spectrum I would like to know.)
I’m ready for the adult neurodivergent character who fucks things up, and has to deal with the consequences. I just had to shut down a project for the day, send about 15 people home, and pull that team member into a private meeting so we could deal with the consequences of their very public meltdown. It wasn’t empowering or a chance for personal growth. It was a mess. And now they are very embarrassed and I can’t console them and tell them that things are ok, because they are a grown adult and know better. Watching them navigate through through real world situations like this makes me less than patient with what is usually on our tv/movies.BTW: I have worked with this person before and the reason that I keep bringing them in is that they are not a asshole, or socially awkward. Quite the opposite. I also would like to see that reflected more in our media.
I also believe that there’s a tendency to pathologize every behavior in a way that’s not always helpful in an effort to BE helpful.I think I know what you mean, and if I do, I agree. This crossed my mind when I was replying to you before but it wasn’t directly connected to anything: I’m also seeing an annoying (to me, anyway) tendency by some to use the smallest of quirks or behaviors to diagnose fictional people with autism (and some real-life people too, but that’s a different can of worms IMO). A few quirks or mannerisms does not autism make. And to come around to your point about depression and anxiety not being considered a neurodivergence – maybe that’ll change someday, but research (and common sense, really) indicates neurodivergent people experience higher levels of D&A more frequently because of the constant pressure to conform to society. So I think some small behaviors that we consider abnormal may be caused by the D&A most people experience at some point in their lives.There’ll always be bad actors, grifters, attention-seekers, etc. so I can understand skepticism. There’s just so extremely little to gain that if it wasn’t about being on the spectrum, they would be lying about something else. And I think as we learn more about neurodivergence and as people continue opening up about their mental health, it’s natural for people who not long ago would have dismissed their own behaviors as stubbornness, social awkwardness, etc. to contextualize their own behavior differently. For example, I’ve noticed that the posts that tend to resonate with a lot of people aren’t about a specific behavior, but the train of thought that runs through a person’s head that leads to that behavior.
There are many people with autism who aren’t just “socially awkward;” they need lifelong care.
This. I’m glad we are constantly challenging how neurodivergent people are portrayed only a few decades after Rain Man and Gilbert Grape. But as often as we are reminded there is a spectrum (which doesn’t go from 0-10, rather more like a rainbow that loops), the reality is only a small percentage of the spectrum can comment on themselves. There also happens to be a good amount of cross-over with the trans community, which has recently inspired persons with high-functioning autism to declare “this is who I am” and reject having their ability to “function” qualified or their behavior adjusted. And that is totally great and works for them, they should feel seen for their unique self. But that doesn’t work for a person who can’t communicate well, a person who is banging their head against a wall for attention, or a kid who refused to wear clothes. Those behaviors are harmful and unsafe, and actually obscure the person that they are. And they aren’t able enter a forum to voice their experience and they get drowned out by those who can. The only people who can speak for them are family or those who work very hard to care and provide services for them and they get drowned out by a very loud community of peoples with autism who can communicate. It has lead to a movement against ABA therapy, claiming it “changes” a person from who they “are”, which is dismissive and reductive and doesn’t help those who have no voice. It’s put a spotlight on them and how they are portrayed in popular media, which is a positive thing in many ways. I mean, also, a story about a person who can’t communicate is going to have a smaller audience and appeal, but it’s kind of put a sizeable portion of the spectrum further into the shadows. And the whole point should be everyone’s experience is unique, not just normalizing one color or the spectrum.
There’s a reason it’s a spectrum to begin with. People with autism are all different. 100% If you know one person with autism… you know one person with autism.
Even with a stacked cast, the movie is fated to be compared to similar movies, films that are objectively superior. Films that are better. Better than Ezra.(thanks Norm)
I’ll best it’s number two on the college movie charts! Know what’s #1?