Favorite Movie Star Aspies

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Why the following: Renee Zellwegger, Lara Flynn Boyle, Gregory Peck, Hilary Swank, Angelina Jolie? Russell Crowe may have an anger management problem but does that equal AS? Just curious how people come up with these lists.

I agree for the most part. Even when you see these people in interviews---they might not be good at interviews, they may even be socially phobic, having a bad day, or whatever but that doesn't mean they're AS. Neither does being a deep thinker, having been picked on as a kid (I'm always reading where celebrities say this, like they'll say they were homely or wimpy-looking as a kid. I think they do this so people with average looks and physical builds can identify with them. Plus, not everyone who is picked on is Aspie. I read where Hilary Swank was picked on because she was much poorer than the other kids and couldn't dress well like they could. Not all NT's have it easy socially.)

Neither does high intelligence, not liking the spotlight (some actors are introverts. Introvert doesn't not equal AS either.) Not even awkwardness means someone is an Aspie.

I'm not saying that there probably aren't AS actors, but like you said, how can we diagnose them just from what we see on the screen (which is acting) or what we read, or even what we see in their interviews.

Yeah! He has said he is Aspie and also Tourette's.

Yes! I'm glad you're not going to leave. You have said what I've so often felt, but could never express so articulately.

But depression and social anxiety do not equal Asperger's, nor do coming from abusive upbringings or broken homes, or being a victim of prejudice for any reason. Not even being introverted or sometimes awkward.

If this was a topic about celebrities who seemed as if they had, or had talked about, having had a very hard life growing up for any number of reasons, then I don't think that anyone would argue with you that these people fit the bill. Probably the drive to become an entertainer is much stronger in someone who has had an extremely tough time growing up. But it still doesn't make them Aspies. I'm not saying they absolutely couldn't be Aspies,
just that having depression or introversion or social anxiety doesn't mean someone is an Aspie.

But actors and musicians don't usually just get dropped into being stars with all those people to help them. They have to work their way up, at least most of them do, and when they're working their way up they don't have any of that support staff to help them. It seems like if they have massive social, sensory or other Aspie-type issues, the performer's life would be very hard for them, and many of them might quit. That's not to say that many actors might not have depression or mental illnesses, and they may or may not have had these when they started up. But these things don't equal AS.

Does anyone watch "America's Next Top Model"? It's a reality show. Whatever you may think of reality shows, there is an Aspie character on the current cycle. I don't have a TV so haven't seen the show, plus am really scared to see her because of issues of my own (not being able to get diagnosed). But I've read most of the threads about her on IMDb, plus what people have written about her on here. She is definitely Aspie. She has a much harder time getting along with the other girls in the house they have to live in, and they apparently have ganged up on her a few times. Most people who talk about her mention her awkwardness and difference from everyone else who has ever been on that show. A lot of people who watch seem to like her, but they all say how different she is. Of course they know about her AS, but even if they didn't, sounds like she would stick out like a sore thumb. She also has had some meltdowns and sensory overloads where she kind of spaces out, I guess. She forgets to eat and passes out. She forgets to take her meds if someone doesn't remind her. (I realize that these traits could occur in a non-Aspie too, but she is diagnosed so I guess it's fair to say she's an Aspie.)

I know she has had a lot of problems with anger management, but does she lack social skills? What else qualifies her as an Aspie besides getting angry easily? Someone with anger issues is probably going to lose friends, but that alone doesn't make them an Aspie.

Last edited by Norah_W on 18 Nov 2007, 11:58 am, edited 2 times in total.

I'm glad to see more than one person defending the not-an-aspie side of the argument. People want to believe these actors are aspies because it makes them feel better about themselves....not a healthy or lasting way to achieve self-confidence.

I'm beginning to post more and more about how we need to stop saying that everyone who is socially akward is an aspie (much to the dismay of most on this site), because that makes AS look like an excuse and a rationalization. People like to justify their shortcomings so they claim to be an aspie because it gives them an alternative reason for why they are a certain way. This obviously does not apply to everyone.

Good for you! It's so hard though because there's still so much to find out about AS and autism. There's still no easily-available physical test for AS, like a brain scan that identifies AS brain waves. As far as I know there's not even a definitive test for adult Aspies yet. So different doctors could be using the same criteria even, and have differing opinions on whether someone is AS or not, especially if their AS is mild.

Because not a lot has been known about AS, there have been people who could not get diagnosed say, 5 to 10 years ago when they first thought they had it, then were able to get diagnosed later or even referred for diagnosis by a regular therapist as more became known. Seeing this makes it hard to know if one wasn't diagnosed earlier because of doctors' lack of knowledge, or because one isn't AS in the first place.

Then I think there is a lack of knowledge about NT's by younger Aspies--there seems to be a conception among some people that NT's are almost never awkward socially, never physically uncomfortable or klutzy, don't think too much about things just do them, things come easy for them but they are never passionate about anything but socializing, sex or money, and they are always extroverts who put the social above doing a good job or finding out about anything intellectual unless it affects their livelihood. (That's exaggerated, but honestly it does sometimes sound like some people have an exaggerated view of NT's because NT's are better able to put on a facade.) So if there is an actor or writer or famous person like a scientist who doesn't quite fit this stereotype (like maybe they're a little shy or awkward, or they are deep thinkers or write songs about teen angst or alienation), they must be an Aspie.

I don't know where some of the more unusual guesses on this board are coming from though, like Angelina Jolie or Bono on another thread! Sure these people are different, but probably not Aspie.

Or George W. Bush! He doesn't seem Aspie at all, but people on here and other AS boards keep bringing him up. I think it's because, sometimes Aspies don't appear to our best advantage to other people, and we may come off as being dumb when we're not. I think some people, and maybe they're mostly outside the U.S., who can't believe the people here would have elected someone so dumb and not fitted for the job twice, or even why people thought someone like that should run for president of a major country. So I think people think he must be really very intelligent, but maybe unable to show it very well because of AS.

Wrong! We did elect him twice, which doesn't say much for us as a country, and he is too dumb to be president. He doesn't seem like an Aspie at all.

Last edited by Norah_W on 18 Nov 2007, 11:59 am, edited 1 time in total.

Another thing that makes it harder is the percentage of people thought to be autistic seems to go up quite a bit as more is found out about autism and more people are able to be diagnosed. And there are psychologists or people who study autism who are always coming out with people from the past that could have been Aspie, like former US president Thomas Jefferson or the writer Janet Frame or the Irish politician from the early 20th century, Eamon De Valera (spelling?) So it's easy, I think, for Aspies to go from there and find living people who might turn out to be AS.

95% of the people mentioned in this thread doesn't have AS. The only actors that has AS that I know about are Keanu Reeves, Woody Allen and Darryl Hannah. Tim Burton and Steven Spielberg also has it. There may be a lot of actors that are aspies, but actors are trained in body language, intonation, etc., so you will have problems telling the difference between an aspie movie star and a NT movie star.

i've always seen woody allen and tim bourton as being a little aspiesh.

We're no allowed to talk about this.

I don't know of any movie stars with AS.

Holy cow. Apparently I should have checked into this thread a week ago. I'm glad things seem to have calmed down.

Personally, I don't see what's so offensive about speculating what sorts of personality traits and tendencies certain celebrities might have. This has always been one of the most passionate arguments on the boards here and I fail to understand what makes the "don't diagnose celebrities!" crowd ... um... so insistent?

Nor do I think that those who do enjoy such speculation because it makes us feel better about ourselves. I like who I am just fine and I don't need Nicole Kidman to be like me. But playing spot-the-aspie is fun! I've been playing it my whole life long even though I only encountered the term for the condition a year ago. The most wonderful friends I had in school were ones that I sought out because I spotted their social difficulties from afar.