Jake Gyllenhaal's new movie Stronger has been criticised for casting him as a double amputee.
Stronger tells the story of Jeff Bauman, who lost both his legs during the tragic 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, but The Ruderman Family Foundation – which fights for the rights of people with disabilities – has argued the movie could have cast an actor with disabilities.
"The casting of Jake Gyllenhaal as the lead in the movie Stronger is the perfect example of Hollywood's ongoing systemic discrimination against actors with disabilities," the foundation's president Jay Ruderman told PA.
"Gyllenhaal may have been the best actor for the part, but if actors with disabilities are never given a chance to audition they will never have the opportunity to reach the success that someone like Gyllenhaal has achieved."
The issue about Stronger is that it will show Gyllenhaal both pre- and post-explosion, but Ruderman notes that technology could be used to make an actor with disabilities have legs, like it will make Gyllenhaal appear as a double amputee.
"Gyllenhaal is made 'to have a disability' through the latest in Hollywood's technology, but an actor who is an actual double amputee could be made to walk through the same technology that was used to make Gyllenhaal disabled," he outlined.
"We are frequently told that Hollywood big pictures need a marquee name to succeed, but this is simply not true. Great films with unknown actors have been box office successes and have achieved critical acclaim."
Stronger is released in US cinemas on 22 September and UK cinemas on 8 December.
