The Brady Bunch of Autism
Join Navah and Matt Asner as they discuss topics relating to the world of autism and family. Navah and Matt have six children. 3 who are autistic. They are the founders of the Ed Asner Family Center. A center that provides arts and vocational enrichments and counseling services and support groups to special needs individuals and their families.
The Brady Bunch of Autism
Encore- Authentic Voices: "As We See It" Cast on Representation
What happens when authentic voices tell their own stories? Magic—the kind that changes how we see the world.
Amazon's groundbreaking series "As We See It" breaks new territory in autism representation by casting actually autistic actors in autistic roles. In this powerful conversation, the cast and creators open up about the challenges, triumphs, and revolutionary approach that makes this show unlike anything we've seen before.
Creator Jason Katims (known for his work on "Parenthood") reveals how his experience as a parent of an autistic son informed his storytelling, while going further by ensuring neurodivergent voices were present at every level of production—from the writer's room to behind the camera. "Authenticity in every aspect was the goal from the very beginning," Katims explains, describing how the trust between neurotypical and neurodivergent team members created a unique creative environment.
The heart of this discussion lies with the three lead actors—Sue Ann Pien, Albert Rutecki, and Rick Glassman—who share remarkably candid insights about portraying characters whose autism presentations sometimes differ from their own experiences. Sue Ann describes finding safety in the structured environment of filming, while Rick opens up about the challenge of playing a character hiding his autism when his own late-in-life diagnosis brought such relief.
Joe Mantegna brings powerful perspective as both an actor playing a father to an autistic son and as the real-life father of an autistic daughter. His emotional reflection on his character's cancer diagnosis—"What's going to happen when I'm no longer here?"—resonates deeply with special needs parents everywhere.
What emerges from this conversation isn't just talk about representation—it's a blueprint for how meaningful inclusion can transform storytelling. As Sue Ann beautifully puts it, the set itself became "a microcosm of what life could be like" when environments are thoughtfully designed for neurodivergent individuals.
Whether you're part of the autism community, a fan of groundbreaking television, or simply interested in authentic storytelling, this discussion will transform how you think about representation in media. Watch "As We See It" on Amazon now, and join the conversation about this show that's changing hearts and minds through honest, unflinching storytelling.
www.teafc.org From Our Family To Yours
Welcome to the Brady Bunch of Autism, your source for family parenting and all things. Autism and special needs Created by our family for your family Live from the Ed Asner Family Center and now your hosts, Nava and Matt Asner. Who wants?
Speaker 2:to start, harrison smells. It's probably because he's so fat, jack please take out your headphones.
Speaker 3:They could be in the kitchen, that's rude.
Speaker 2:How am I supposed to get a boyfriend and get married if I'm in the kitchen?
Speaker 3:Squirting mustard on sandwiches Violet.
Speaker 2:He said the fat word, Violet.
Speaker 3:watch your language, Jack. Is that how friends talk to each other?
Speaker 2:No, but he's not my friend Branson's preschool. You're not even qualified to live here with us.
Speaker 3:Of course he is your family's rented this apartment for all three of you and you know that.
Speaker 2:So we could become independent. Harrison will never be independent or have a job, Harrison. Don't listen to that, Jack. His parents are filthy rich and they pay for most of the rent, Otherwise you wouldn't even make the cut.
Speaker 3:Jack.
Speaker 6:Harrison, I think that Jack might't like him very much right now. Yeah, I understand, Jack. Do you hear that?
Speaker 3:How, how, how, how, how, how, how am I ever going to hook up with a man? Maybe you can go on a date with someone at drama club. Drama club, yeah, I want someone normal. What about Douglas Douglas? Yeah, what about Douglas Douglas? Yeah, ew, guess again, I'm not going to f*** Douglas. But you definitely can, if that's your thing.
Speaker 2:Look, I'm going to be here a lot more often now, so I need this place to smell less like Harrison. We need that Tinder, right now to find a love connection.
Speaker 3:Wait, violet, tinder is off limits. Fine, fine bumble. No, we do not use our phone. Strength group.
Speaker 7:Welcome to Ed Talks, a place for discussion, learning and all things autism and special needs. Tonight's guests the cast and producers of as we See it and now the hosts of Ed Talks, nava and Matt Asner. Good evening, this is our as we See it edition and I want to welcome our guests. I'm Matt Asner. This is Nava Paskowitz.
Speaker 1:And we have Hi everyone. Yes, and joining us tonight is the Ed Asner Family Center social director and autistic self-advocate and the co-creator of our relationship series. So we have a series here at the center called the Dating Spectrum and we're bringing in Chelsea Darnell to join us tonight. Hello.
Speaker 7:And what you just saw is a clip from the Amazon show as we See it, which is playing now on Amazon. It's an amazing show that centers around an apartment that houses three people on the spectrum and we're joined by tonight by Jason Kadams, the creator and producer of the show. Jason, how are you Good? Hello, hi.
Speaker 1:Hi Jason, thank you so much, thank you for having us.
Speaker 7:Thank you.
Speaker 8:Thrilled to be here.
Speaker 7:And we have Joe Montagna, who is a stranger to none joining us, who plays one of the fathers of the young people in the apartment, and Sue Ann Pien am I getting that right? Mm-hmm, okay, good. Who plays Violet? Violet Albert Rutecki, who plays Harrison, and Rick Glassmanman, who plays Jack.
Speaker 1:Welcome, guys, you should have had Chelsea do that. She probably would have known all the characters.
Speaker 7:Are you going to start us off with a question? We're just going to get right into it. We've had so many people write us about this show. It's really struck a nerve and I think it's so genuine and authentic and kudos to everyone for a great job. We were riveted and watched, we binge watched the whole thing. We didn't get up for, you know, a couple of hours. So we're we're amazed by it and I applaud everyone involved and we're going to get right into it. As I lose my voice, we're going to get right into it. As I lose my voice, we're going to get right into it and Nava's going to start the questions.
Speaker 1:Okay, we've had so many people write to us and they're so excited to have you guys answer their questions. The entire community is just like talking about your show and the actual autistics are talking about it. You know the parents, and there's something for everyone in this show. Um, matt and I have three autistic sons ourselves and for us, you know, we laughed, we cried, I think my, my, I don't want to say my favorite character, but I love the, the dynamic between um, jack and joe, um, and I just think it was so beautiful and so poignant and so emotional. And you know I'm going to start us off because we have a lot of questions.
Speaker 7:And.
Speaker 1:I'm going to start with asking Albert Rick and Sue Ann how do you approach playing a character on the spectrum when their challenges and strengths are different than your own experience? How do you respectfully represent when portraying severe challenges, and how do you cope when playing something that is hard triggering or sensory overstimulating for you? Do you want to start, sue Ann?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm hearing a feedback.
Speaker 7:Yeah, I'm sorry, I'm hearing a feedback.
Speaker 3:You're OK here?
Speaker 3:Ok, that's a great question and one of the things that you know, I think I think there's always there has to be levels and layers of who I truly am in any character I'm going to play as an actor, and particularly with Violet, I had never read or auditioned for anything that was just so intuitively alive and real for me.
Speaker 3:Being on set in a scripted world, because I know, within the realms and parameters of the writing of you know, the scenes, the blocks, where it's going to begin, where it's going to end. So that is the safest place for me to be is always on set, because everybody and everything, everyone's roles are spelled out, including mine, down to the lines I'm going to speak. But I love the freedom, once I'm inside the scenes, to absolutely unpack, explore. You know I've studied acting for many years and so it's enjoyable for me to access the different types of emotions, and the challenges actually are very it's very good for me to spend my time doing things in acting so that I'm not actually out in the world doing things where it is an unsafe environment with unsafe consequences.
Speaker 1:Yeah, awesome, albert. Do you want to try to take that one? Do you want me to kind of? I won't repeat the whole thing, it just basically there's stuff that was different, go ahead.
Speaker 6:Stuff that was different, I guess. Just try to re-up on different people's experiences on the spectrum and that helped and for everything else at the hcwn spoke pretty well about how safe this the set was. I don't really have a lot, just a lot else to say right now.
Speaker 1:I'm sorry it's okay, albert, do you want to answer that one?
Speaker 2:uh me, rick. Yes, uh, yeah, you know, I think. I think suan and albert really knocked it out of the park.
Speaker 1:Um, I was just totally, uh, interrupting here. I was just watching your blog, your podcast, and it's hysterical. I subscribed to you because it was really funny. Did you see the three?
Speaker 6:of us on it.
Speaker 1:That's the one I was watching today, where you keep calling him Daddy.
Speaker 7:I love it, jason, a really quick addition to this question Did you do extensive rewrites after you cast, after meeting all the actors?
Speaker 8:I did a lot of. I just took away as many of Jack's lines as I could. No, no, no, no. You know the process is really was, you know, not dissimilar for me, as what it always is in doing a show it's really why you do television is the collaborative nature of doing it. So what happens is, you know, you sort of write these characters in a vacuum, not knowing who are going to be the people who are playing them. Who are going to be the people who are playing them, and then as you cast them, as you see what they bring. Part of the joy of doing it is then to try to almost sort of channel their voices and lean into what you think they're going to be, what the strengths that they're going to bring and what could be exciting to them and challenging to them.
Speaker 8:One of the things, for example, I would say is you know, there's a beautiful story, a beautiful scene in the in the finale of the season. That's a very, very, very it's a beautiful scene, but it's also a very painful scene with Albert, and Albert has a very dramatic kind of meltdown, public meltdown, in the final episode. And you know, I, you know, kind of wrote that, you know, after we'd already sort of started shooting and as we were doing the show and I was watching Albert sort of grow as an actor and grow in his confidence, I was inspired like sort of knowing what, knowing stuff about him as an actor that I didn't know, honestly, when we started. You know, I didn't know him that well, stuff about him as an actor that I didn't know, honestly, when we started. You know, I didn't know him that well and and it really gave me the confidence to write that scene.
Speaker 8:In a way that and the way that I did and that that I think gave Albert the opportunity to, you know, you know, to, to, to do like the, to do like this incredible scene that he was. You know that was, if you guys have seen it, it was just so upsetting and beautiful and honest and but that comes and you know, there's like a million small examples of that in every single scene, but that's like one really big example of how, you know, I get inspired by, by, you know, by the actors.
Speaker 1:I feel like we cut Rick off, so did you want to answer?
Speaker 2:You're over it? Okay, we'll move on, Chelsea you want to talk too much.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're like now I'm not going to talk at all. Fine, Jason, We'll take Jason's lead. Chelsea, you had the next question.
Speaker 9:Yeah, so this question is specifically for Albert Rick and Sue Ann. What was the hardest day of filming and why?
Speaker 2:I could take this one, jason, if that's okay. There was this uh, you know, answering these kind of things, I, I don't really. Uh, you know, I don't know. You know you don't want to reveal too much, but I guess you know. Spoiler alert. Uh, there was a, a moment, there's a where the character of jack uh realizes that he was not hiding his autism um, as well as he had thought and is uh ostensibly coming out of the closet or was forced out and, um, he goes to dinner with uh the nurse his father's nurse, they were told me and the scene was Jack trying to be like hey, I'm cool, I don't have this thing.
Speaker 2:You know, I'm a regular guy and I didn't know it was going to be such a hard scene as an actor. Not that I've done as many things as Joe Montana, but I had never really been challenged that way and when I was on set it was just really, really hard, because that wasn't the case for me. It was the opposite for me, when I found out that I was autistic, which I was diagnosed as an adult, it was like such a relief that, oh, this is why, and I just couldn't tap into that hiding thing and I was just kept trying. And then I got super nervous because like I was asking the director questions and I felt like I was taking too many takes and Ricky's going to be difficult to work with and I didn't want to be so like I didn't get it. I didn't get it, you know, uh, and I was just really.
Speaker 2:I was just, I was really in my head and and I went home that night and I told a friend of mine how like I was a little upset because I felt like I wasn't able to do what my job asked of me. And he said, isn't it nice to be challenged as an actor? And that just made me feel so excited and happy and realized, oh, this isn't supposed to be easy. I guess I'm just used to doing comedies about farts and boogers and poops and stuff you know which. Yeah, it gets an easy laugh. You just say it. You don't even have to fart, you get a laugh. Jason, I'm sorry, it's the truth, but yeah, that scene was very challenging and afterward and I think it came out great, great editing, great music. You know you did a great job. Sincerely, I was nervous about seeing it.
Speaker 8:That was a challenging scene.
Speaker 5:That was not an easy scene for any? That would not be an easy scene for any. You know anybody, joe. Would that be an easy scene to play for you? Well, that's a good question. I mean, I never know what's going to be an easy scene or a hard scene or whatever you know. But bottom line is the best line I heard about acting, I think, was James Cagney. He says his theory of acting was you plant your feet, you look the other person in the eyes and you tell the truth. You know, and for that to work it's just got to be on the page. And if it's on the page it makes it a lot easier. And the beauty of this show, I believe, or I feel, is that it was always on the page. So I never found any of it really all that difficult because I never felt there were false moments in the writing, and that's not easy to find. But I think that's why the show has the quality it has.
Speaker 2:I want to follow up one small part on that, what Joe says, which is so true. Everything about this show felt so authentic. Some of it felt very honest to who I am in real life. Some of it I was able to connect to in some way. That was one moment that, joe, like you're saying just to tell the truth, the truth would have been I want you to know this about me, you know, and that's why it was, it was a challenge, but yeah, I mean, it was such a this whole thing felt so honest, though it did make it a lot easier to perform.
Speaker 1:All right, no, I think that's what one of the things we talked about so much is the writing was just beautiful and so honest, brutally honest. Just beautiful and so honest, brutally honest sometimes, but so honest and so natural. And you know, there were times with each one of them that would look at each other and say, oh my God, I, I, we can totally relate to that and it's very relatable to everyone, including actual autistics, I think, yeah. So I think chelsea actually has the next one, this, uh.
Speaker 9:This transitions easily to uh. My next question uh, for again for albert suan and rick. Uh, what is your advice to other potential actors who are also autistic and want to get into the business?
Speaker 2:suanne, will you take this one?
Speaker 3:yeah, um, well, uh, it was a lot longer and harder than I thought it'd be. So one of the things I think that's really important is just to play. I didn't tell, I didn't even tell. I mean, it's so crazy, because years ago I was on set and doing background work and it was with a movie with, uh, sosi's mom, kira Central. She was fucking fantastic. Oh my god, part of my friend I would look at her, I remember, because I was in the circle sitting with her and I was like, wow, like that's the kind of actress I want to be, so, so, however, you can be like, you know, in the world, right, like um, I, when I got this call, like on um, I got the call back for this.
Speaker 3:I literally had made this decision that, okay, well, if I'm gonna work at a diner, I might as well do what I love, which is acting. So I don't care, I'll go do background work. And I was on the set of like the young and the restless, and it was like in the middle of like some take, and they're like like, oh my god, you just got put on hold. So, so, like, at the end of the day, if you don't have an ego around it. It's going to be very easy, which I think autistic people are actually going to have a much easier time sticking it out for the long run, because it it just it's. It's not something that you're going to go into because you want all the fame or success or fortune. It's going to be because you fucking love acting and you want to watch amazing actors do it. Like it has to be a special interest of yours, or or it's an unattainable.
Speaker 3:You know it's. It won't last, sorry.
Speaker 1:Let's let Albert Albert.
Speaker 7:Yeah.
Speaker 6:Go ahead.
Speaker 1:Albert.
Speaker 6:You can maybe start out local or get involved in your local theater scene. Try to hone your craft. You could work and study acting. That's the stuff that I did. That I found at least helped me become a better actor in a long run, and I'm not sure how good that is as advice. But yeah, you want to just find ways to act.
Speaker 1:Exactly, just start acting.
Speaker 7:My dad. My dad would always say if you want to be an actor, do whatever it takes to get on the set and stay on the set and just be in front of the camera, be behind the camera, just do whatever you can to be there and to soak it in, because it's always a learning experience and you learn something on every job that you do. Would you agree with that, joe?
Speaker 5:Yeah, without question. My motto has always been I never took the business seriously, but I always took my job very, very seriously, because the business can be overwhelming with all the publicity, the this, the that, the parties, the stuff, the accoutrements, let's say, to the actual work. But the thing is, once you've got that job and you've made that commitment to this is the part you're going to play, the character you're going to do. You give it your best shot, you put everything you've got into it. So then at the end you can say to yourself if you felt it worked, you can't. There's no apologies. You can't say to yourself well, I didn't really try very hard, I should have took this more seriously. Then you've got yourself to blame. As long as you can take the time that's allotted to you to do the work and you give it your best, that's all you can do.
Speaker 1:Great advice.
Speaker 2:I have a good piece of advice, jason. Okay, rick, yes, rick, I wanted to act. I've always wanted to be an actor. I didn't even know it was necessarily comedy.
Speaker 2:I've been doing standup for about 14 years now, and the reason why it was it was easier to get up on a stage with a microphone than it was in front of a camera, because you could just you don't need so many people, but just doing stuff constantly. Yes, on set too, I agree. Like Sue Ann, I was doing background work for a very long time and I loved it and I got to watch things and I learned terms and everything. But just stand up or the podcast that I do, or making sketches or making videos or writing stuff to do, because so many people want to do stuff but most people don't do it until someone gives them something. So if you write stuff or if you get a camera and film stuff, there's going to be a lot of talented people that are going to want to collaborate with you, because it's hard to make things. So, when you're not on set with the job that you want to have, write stuff and get a camera and learn how to edit.
Speaker 1:Great, great. I loved the interaction between the Jack character and Joe's nurse I'm going to go back and forth because I forget if it's Joe or it's the character name, but it was so beautiful and it was just one of. I think I've heard a lot that people love the relationship kind of story, but also Violet, sue Ann's character. We were saying you know, this is something that happens to everyone, that happens to neurotypical girls, that happens to everyone and was so real and her innocence and her just realness about it was so impactful to everyone At the center.
Speaker 1:Actually, inspired by shows like this Love on the Spectrum, we created a relationship course because there's so many young adults and adults with autism or other special needs that want these kind of experiences, like Sue Ann did and she's trying to explain to her brother. You know, I just want this so much and with Chelsea's help, you know, we created our relationship course. That was created by autistics and it wasn't something where somebody's telling you how you should feel. We wanted that kind of realism and to me it's so important and we're gonna take a look at a little clip so you guys can see what I'm talking about and it's just such a wonderful kind of snippet from this part hey how's your date?
Speaker 2:Well, I spent half my paycheck on an overpriced pizza and they sat us next to an unruly birthday party with crying babies so it sounds like it didn't, uh, I think I have a girlfriend. Now what it would tell me. I think she might be my girlfriend that's amazing uh, I wouldn't get too excited. Historically, I'll ruin this. I don't think you will. Where is Harrison? I want to gloat.
Speaker 3:I wouldn't talk to Harrison right now.
Speaker 1:He's um he's just sad.
Speaker 9:He's having problems with a girl.
Speaker 2:You, you're the girl. I advised him against it, but he didn't listen. I'll talk to Harrison. I'll ask how he's doing. I'll practice empathy, harrison.
Speaker 4:I'll ask how he's doing. I'll practice empathy Really.
Speaker 2:Mandy, now that I'm in a relationship, I'm going to need to start pretending to care about things I otherwise wouldn't give a shit about.
Speaker 3:That would mean a lot to Harrison and me. Thank you, Jack.
Speaker 2:I'm doing it for me.
Speaker 1:I love that part, I love that. Oh, my gosh. Okay, matty.
Speaker 7:I think it's Chelsea.
Speaker 2:Chelsea.
Speaker 7:Next one.
Speaker 9:Ah, perfect, I guess my question for you is you know, authentic representation is a pretty hot topic at the moment For Albert, sue-anne and Rick. What do you want the world to know about the importance of authentic representation?
Speaker 6:I think that if you're going to do a show or a movie focusing on autism, autistic people should play at least some sort of part in the creation of it, unless you want it to ring hollow Like you want to get that right if you actually care.
Speaker 7:Agreed.
Speaker 1:I couldn't agree more.
Speaker 7:We're going to take another look at a clip, albert. We're going to take a look at some work that you did and your character did on the walk to the store or to work actually, and I thought it was an amazing scene because it really showed the work that each individual has to do on a daily basis. And, jason, you wrote an amazing scene there, because I remember watching it and just thinking this is just you've never seen this before. It was. It was a really wonderful moment. We're going to take a look at it and then we're going to talk about how you how you came to do that scene and and what it was like performing it. So let's take a look at that.
Speaker 3:You can do this. It's half a block more.
Speaker 6:I'm going back home now.
Speaker 3:No, wait, wait, Turn around, turn around. You can do it. You're halfway there.
Speaker 6:A dog. There's a dog, mandy A dog. There's a dog, mandy A dog. Okay, take a breath, it's a quiet dog.
Speaker 3:It's not a barker. Okay, I'm rolled back. No, Harrison, think about the croissant.
Speaker 1:What kind of croissant are you going to order?
Speaker 3:Chocolate.
Speaker 5:Okay, and are you going to have it heated or are you just going to have it at room temperature? Heated Sounds delicious. Okay, just walk right past the dog, are you just?
Speaker 3:gonna have it heated, or are you just gonna have it at room temperature? Heated Sounds delicious.
Speaker 6:Okay, just walk right past a dog that's a friendly dog, friendly dog, friendly dog, friendly dog. Friendly dog. Friendly dog, a friendly dog. I did it. I did it, nanny, you did it. I made it to the coffee shop. You did it, you did it. High five me. Yes, it's croissant time. It's calico salt time.
Speaker 9:We're dancing, we're dancing, we're dancing.
Speaker 7:That's really an incredible scene of overcoming a sensory issue or issues. Albert, did you relate to that?
Speaker 6:Somewhat. I do have some sensory issues, and I'm not sure if overcoming it is the best word, because you still deal with sensory issues. You still deal with sensory issues, someone else take over please.
Speaker 7:What if I say, having small victories over sensory issues?
Speaker 6:Better.
Speaker 7:Better Because they're still there. Right, You're having victories over them. Jason, do you want to comment? On that scene. It was a great scene.
Speaker 8:Oh, thank you so much. I love that scene. I mean to me it was really important in telling the story that it was a story about to make it a story about what it was really like to be you know what life was really like. You know, like that was what the whole show was about. It was like what was it like? It was a what is it like to do things, whether that means to try to figure out how to date or keep a job or get a job or, in some cases, just be able to walk down the street to get a croissant. And that was really like one of the big things that we wanted to do in telling the story, that we wanted to make it very real about the real challenges of sort of everyday life. And one of the things I'm very proud of and watching Albert's work in that scene and not only Albert's work but the direction and editing and music and everything that went into that is that you know it really lands that sometimes something as simple as walking down the block can actually be like a great heroic moment and a beautiful moment. And that was from the first episode and when we were able to sort of accomplish that in the first episode it gave me a lot of.
Speaker 8:I got very excited about, you know, the stories that we can tell on the show, because it made me realize, made me confident, I should say that we can tell on the show because it made me realize, maybe, um, confident I should say that we could tell stories that were, you know, sort of small in a way, from what you know what you would normally think to be what a story on television would be in terms of just you know the content of them or um, but they were very big in other ways and and so that was that to me, is sort of what that sort of scene was about.
Speaker 8:And you know it's also like that's a complementary scene to you know an earlier scene where you know he's not able to be successful walking down the street. That was a very important scene in the show too, because what we did in that scene was we really went into you know Harrison's head and we saw the world as he saw it. We heard the sounds that were overwhelming, you know the leaf blower or the bicycle crossing in front of him or the you know garbage truck, and it allowed us to get into his head and see the world through his eyes, which was, you know, like an incredibly important thing for what we were sort of trying to do in the show, which is just really try to tell you know, it's why it's called as we see it, as we're seeing it through the eyes of these characters. We're not looking at them and commenting. We're not looking at it from somebody else's point of view. We're looking at it through their perspective.
Speaker 7:And this scene was really a scene setter. It was definitely because it was very early in the episode, the first episode, and so it was a wonderful way to start, because it let you know what you really were about, what was about to unfold.
Speaker 6:The footfall behind the scenes note. Footfall behind the scenes, note.
Speaker 7:Yeah, of course.
Speaker 6:That dog you saw that was supposed to be a friendly dog is now a barker. There were takes that were ruined because in the background you just hear him go brr, brr and the dog who was supposed to bark at me in the earlier scene. They had a hell of a time trying to get her to bark.
Speaker 1:Oh, how funny.
Speaker 7:Isn't that always the case? What do they say about dogs and children? Right?
Speaker 2:They only bark when you don't want them to Chelsea.
Speaker 9:Perfect. This question is specifically for Joe Montagna.
Speaker 5:How did you connect with this particular project? Well, as I sit here, my 35-year-old daughter with autism is downstairs and it was important that I be home at this time because my wife had to go somewhere and my daughter is well. Well, she's fairly independent. Pretty much has to have someone around, you know, just just in case, kind of thing. So that in itself is an indication of why this show resonates for me in a very personal way, and I I put it this way and I told Jason this I mean, I've been doing this for 50-plus years and I've enjoyed. I love what I do. I've always loved what I do and on occasion I'm also very proud of what I'm involved in, not necessarily what I personally am doing, but just what I'm involved in doing. And in this particular case, I'm very proud of what I've been involved in doing Because, for me, much of my career has been an escape in the sense of and probably it's for many people an escape not necessarily from anything bad, but just an escape Because, let's face it, we're playing, pretend for a living.
Speaker 5:That's what they pay us to do, to come in and create this fantasy world and play this part. For me, in coming to do this project, there was a little lot less of that, and so it was one of those first times I really had to think about. It is like do I want to cross that line and make what I do for a living also incorporate what I've been living for well over 30 years now, and it's, it's. It's been great, but yet, you know, nothing ventured, nothing gained in that in that respect, because I didn't know how it was going to be. I didn't know how I was going to even respond to it. But it's, it's been a beautiful thing and I feel very blessed to have had that opportunity.
Speaker 7:But to answer your question was very kind of uh, kind of very comfortable to enter this world, because it's a world I already live in I want to get into that a little bit, but first we're going to take a look at a clip with you and Rick, and it's kind of self-explanatory, so I'll let the clip speak for itself and then we'll come back and talk about it a little bit.
Speaker 4:Well, Travertine gets the job done, but Genuine Slate is still number one, Jack. What are you doing here, Marcus? You're missing a big meeting at work and you're on probation.
Speaker 2:You gave me inexact and incomplete information about your cancer. Cancer, it's nothing. It's not nothing, it's small cell carcinoma. It's extremely serious. Oh my God, how bad is it? He has somewhere between a 30% and 50% chance of survival. Jesus, it's 50%, not necessarily. When they did your workup, did they find any mutations in your third or sixth chromosome? I don't know.
Speaker 4:Jack.
Speaker 2:Or loss of function on your RB1 gene? I don't know. How do you not know this?
Speaker 4:Look, look. I have an appointment with my oncologist tomorrow. Why don't you come along?
Speaker 2:Okay Good, I have a Okay good, a ton of questions for this guy.
Speaker 4:Well, how about we start at three? Okay, if you come along, that's the rule Three questions. He's a big-time doctor, his time is valuable. We are just there to listen, all right.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 7:Amazing scene, joe, your character is facing all of our worst fears and knowing that you're ill and may not be there to care for your son much longer as an actor, do you bring your own fears into that, or is it just too much and you have to separate yourself from it? Your performance was just spot on, and I wonder what your process was.
Speaker 5:Well, there's no separating in that case. Your performance was just spot on, and I wonder what your process was. Well, there is no separating in that case. I mean, I'm going to be 75 years old and, as I said, one of the things that's on my mind is, like, what's going to happen when I'm no longer here? My wife and I often talk about that, and so we have to make. We've had those discussions about okay, how does life continue, not just for our older daughter, mia with autism, but for her sister, her younger sister, who's had to be big sister to her older sister for all these years. So these are things that I live with every day, and so it's just part of this, is just an extension of that.
Speaker 5:I'm hoping Jason, in fact, is going to. Hopefully we're going to get the chance to continue doing these, and I hope Jason is able to write some kinds of things that we'll be able to say, oh yeah, that's okay, that's the way we'll go with this. I'm going to apply this into life, you know. So it will be one of those things where, hopefully, life imitates art, you know. But we'll see, but in the meantime it's, you know, I work. I've been wearing in this show. You often wear two hats. Sometimes you wear two hats when you're an actor. This show I've been kind of under one big hat for the whole run of it, but it's okay, it's all good.
Speaker 7:Well, we share your concerns, of course, because we're parents and Jason, I'm sure that's where that came from. Jason, do you want to comment on that scene and the experience?
Speaker 8:Yeah, Jason, you want to comment on that scene and the experience. Yeah Well, you know, it's such an incredible thrill to get to work with Joe, who I've been, you know, an incredible fan of as an actor for many, many, many years. And, um, you know, joe and I will like sometimes start talking about a scene before we start shooting it and, uh, you know, like I get like, you know, four words out and he gets six words out and we're both like, uh, we're both tearing up talking about it and then we're just, and then I'm just like just do the scene. You know, because, you know, because he, he has such an incredible, you know, he's such an incredible actor, but he's also had such an incredible personal connection to the story that what he's doing with his role is amazing. And I would say, for me, you know, not only that scene but the story in general was one of the things that I was, you know, really wanting to.
Speaker 8:You know, one of the things that was really important about me in making the show was to tell the, you know, the story of parents. This was, by the way, one of the things the show comes from an Israeli format, an Israeli television show called On Spectrum, which is a beautiful show, and in the adaptation, one of the things that is different about this version is that character, the character of Jack's. You know, dad didn't exist in the original show but I really felt I wanted that the role of the parent represented and that story represented, and that's. You know how that came to be, that's how that came to be.
Speaker 1:Well, we are so glad that you added that character because it really was. For me it stood out the most because we do deal with those issues, matt and I, every day, and we love Joe. He's been a huge supporter of the center and his daughter, mia, has been coming here for for years and, um you know, I my favorite movie still is baby's day out.
Speaker 1:I have to say that that's all that will always be my favorite movie, but, um, this next question was asked. Uh, probably the biggest. The biggest question asked was is there going to be a season two and how can we make that happen?
Speaker 8:Oh, yeah, okay.
Speaker 1:As a community.
Speaker 8:Right? Well, that's the question I ask every single day. Would there be a season two? Yeah, we're waiting for Amazon. I will say that we are definitely hopeful. Amazon has been incredibly supportive of the show throughout. I know they're very proud of the show as well. I'm, you know, working with you know with the writers, to start to think about. You know, the stories in season two, but we're sort of waiting from them to go through their process to to find out whether they're going to order a second season. So we're waiting.
Speaker 8:So what you know, can you do? I mean absolutely do stuff, I mean watch, show, have, tell your, you know people that you think might want the show to, might like the show to watch it and and talk about it on the show to, might like the show to watch it and and talk about it. You know, on social media, um, if you think that the people you at amazon don't, um, don't look at that and don't it's not important to them, you're wrong. It's incredibly important to them people that how people are talking about the show and responding the show and, and particularly now, getting the word out, continue to get the word out, is important because you know when the show first comes out, you have a lot of publicity behind you and you have a lot of you know the, you know that's, and now we're at the point where you know there's kind of less of that. So we're sort of depending on you know, on word of mouth, to keep the show hopefully growing, and that's what will help us help Amazon make the right decision.
Speaker 1:So you guys out there watching you heard what Jason said you have to share, you have to tell your friends about it, you have to post and you know we all need this as a community. And hopefully you'll hire more autistic actors because we know they're out there, they're waiting. You know, sue Ann inspired so many young women to get into the field and all of you especially you, albert I hear all the time you know so many of my autistic friends talking about Albert's performance and how inspiring you were to all these autistic actors who come to the center and say, oh, I want to do that, albert does it, I want to do it. Thank you. So that's so important. So thank you guys for that.
Speaker 7:Going with your line of questioning. So what does that feel like for you guys being an inspiration to people? How does that make you feel?
Speaker 6:It's weird.
Speaker 1:Well, by season four you'll get used to it, god willing, right, sue Ann, you'll get used to it.
Speaker 7:God willing, right Sumant.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's weird. Like Albert said, it's weird. You know I've gotten some of the most beautiful messages though I wasn't expecting that. You know from both like friends and family and also just strangers around the world who are watching the, that you know from both like friends and family and also just strangers around the world who are watching the show. You know, almost every day there's something in a direct message on social media and it's just the most heartfelt messages. So I know it's already touched a lot of people and that's something that I'm just it's so cool I'm really grateful for. I've got a lot of messages from people from.
Speaker 1:Italy. Oh wow something that I'm just.
Speaker 6:it's so cool. I'm really grateful, for I've got a lot of messages from people from Italy.
Speaker 1:It's just funny and wonderful at the same time.
Speaker 7:Rick, uh, you have, you have. Uh, how do you feel about that?
Speaker 2:Um, I'm, uh, I'm inspired by things all the time.
Speaker 2:I say that almost to kind of remove some of the stakes of what it means to be an inspiration, because I don't want to have a false sense of modesty.
Speaker 2:Like I understand that what we're doing right now is inspiring for people, is inspiring for people and I'm so grateful that I, that Jason put me in a position where I get to be one of those people that that are kind of the cause of that.
Speaker 2:But like I this is going to sound very, very corny, but like I've kind of like have these not rules, but conscious decisions of people that I, that I kind of have in my life, of of what my friends are and what I expect from them, and I only have friends that inspire me and I have to imagine I them a little bit. So like I don't know, I don't know how to answer that without just the truth being like I feel like people in my life and I inspire people all the time and maybe this is kind of an arrogant thing to say, but like maybe I'm used to it. I mean, not on such a grand scale, but just like you know, I don't know, like you know, you inspire people. I just I don't know. And now I'm embarrassed about the way I answered that, but I was being honest.
Speaker 7:You're comfortable with inspiring people.
Speaker 2:I don't mean that like I am an inspiration. Just people are. If you're in a situation and this show gave an opportunity that if it wasn't me, it would be somebody else inspiring, it's this character, it's this story. So I don't feel like I am an inspiration, I'm just you are. I see that it happens.
Speaker 1:Accept it and, rick, tell us the name of your podcast.
Speaker 2:Oh, that is inspiring. That I appreciate yeah it's really funny.
Speaker 2:It's called Take your Shoes Off. Take your Shoes Off. I've been doing it. It's coming up on three years in April and there have been multiple people who have emailed me throughout saying that they recognize some things that I was talking about that they didn't realize was a common thing, and five people have since got diagnosed with autism when they knew almost nothing about autism. Countless amounts of people better understood what obsessive compulsive disorder is and how it differentiates from ADD or ADHD, and I've just been like having conversations with so many people about this stuff. My podcast is supposed to be a comedy podcast, but we're constantly crying and talking about turning the lights off. Way too many times Wash your hands, but also I really was embarrassed. So I just want to backtrack a little bit and say that the inspiration Jace is. As we see it, I'm just a character in it, but you don't surround yourself by inspiring people.
Speaker 7:We have a question from Shannon Penrod. Please talk about the process around shooting the meltdown scene. It was heartbreaking, beautiful and so well done. We talked a little bit about it before, but maybe we can expand on it a little bit, because it was a very touching scene. Albert was amazing. So let's talk about the meltdown scene and how that happened. Albert, do you want to talk a little bit about that?
Speaker 6:That was definitely one of the more difficult days on set. I thankfully knew it was coming up. I had time to prepare. Try to tap into it, because I have had meltdowns before. Just try to understand everything. I had to try to understand every single beat, every movement that my character were. Trying to figure out why he is reacting the way he is and then he gets this set. And try to not be thrown by everything else, because part acting a big part of acting is reacting to someone else as well. So if one of the actors is not responding the way you expect them to, that informs your performance as well, and then any directions the director gives. There's just a lot to pull in. I'm just glad that I got it by the end. There is just a lot to pull in. I'm just glad that I got it by the end.
Speaker 8:Although my voice ended up breaking the next day from the yelling, I did Wow and Jason, you obviously wrote that from experience, um, you know I, as I said in in terms of, uh, what you know earlier, you know, um, you know when I wrote it, I you know from Albert and seeing what he was sort of what you know what he was sort of doing as he was acting during the course of you know the season and sort of trying to lean into what I felt was would happen with Harrison if he got to that point. And yeah, I've definitely have had experience, you know, with dealing with. You know when people are, you know, at a point where they sort of lose control of themselves and it's obviously that's a. You know it's a very painful thing to be on either side of that and it's definitely something that what is an important part of telling the story. You know a lot of things about the show. It's interesting the show, because you know you tend to start talking about this show and you think you can spend a lot of time talking about this moment and how hard it was and sort of painful it is for this.
Speaker 8:And the beautiful thing about the show is how the show contains everything. The show contains light moments, it contains humor, it contains really hopeful moments. It contains moments that are sort of silly. There's a moment where Jack and his dad have an edible together. You know what I mean. It spans. Jack and his dad, you know, have an edible together, you know. So that's not like you know what I mean. You know what I mean. There's like, you know, it sort of expands so much and I think that's one of the things that I really feel makes the show what it is Is. It kind of contains all of these things and the experience of watching every single episode. Every, within each episode, there are moments of joy and levity and just unexpected, you know, um, delight, um, and there are also moments where you're like um, wow, that's um, that's hard it's difficult, difficult yeah.
Speaker 7:Yeah yeah, chelsea.
Speaker 9:Sure, this question is specifically for Jason Kadams. What have you learned about the autism community from producing, creating, working on the show as we see it?
Speaker 8:Oh well, what have I learned? Well, you know I well. First of all, like you know, I've been, I've been around and I feel in a way, part of this community for a long time. I have a son who's on the spectrum, who's now 25 years old, and so it's something that I was. You know, definitely it was a subject that I was familiar with and it was very personal to me coming into it. But one of the things I learned was, I guess I was really learned, or I guess I would say I was sort of inspired by the trust and openness of all of the neurodiverse people involved in the show and, by the way, we should say it's not just our actors, it's, there were.
Speaker 8:We had lots of people on both sides of the camera who are neurodiverse in making the show. We had people on set in the production office, in the writer's room, in the editing room, and you know, I felt like I was sort of inspired by the openness, the honesty, the willingness to, you know, engage and be part of something, and there was a trust. That was right from the very beginning. And you know, I would say you know, working with this cast from the very beginning, I felt there was a trust, and I think that that trust permeated the entire, you know the culture of the show, and so it was a really beautiful thing to be part of.
Speaker 8:And I also feel like there was a willingness from all of these actors and all the other Nerdiverse voices who were part of the show to articulate to me stuff that needed to be articulated to me so that I could better understand and I could try to do my best to sort of channel something that so we channel their hearts and minds and voices so that we could tell a story that got as close to getting it right as we possibly could From the very beginning. The goal in making the show from the very beginning was authenticity in every aspect of it, and it of course started with authentic casting, but it became every aspect of the show, and so we really try to lean into that and I try to do what I could, to you know, to learn everything that I could so that I could try, to you know, be part of telling the story in a way that that that was going to resonate with people.
Speaker 7:Well, this is not your first rodeo, so to speak, autism rodeo, let's say. You know you created Parenthood and I'm going to tell you something. Parenthood delivered to me one of the lines that kind of made my earth shake, and it was a scene between Max and his father, and Max was having a meltdown and the father started getting upset and I think Max said to the father are you mad at me because I have autism? At me because I have autism, and to me that was such an incredibly honest moment, because it was such a great honest moment, and I thought it was brave to include that, and you've done a lot of that in this show too. So honesty is what you're about, I think. And I guess my question is to the cast and did you all feel that honesty? Did you feel safe in that environment? Um, in your, in your characters?
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's that was. This was like one of the most like safest sets I think I've ever been on, because, um, it was, it was just. I mean, mean, it's amazing, we shot during covid, so there was a lot of it was like closed down but, um, literally you could walk around and there was an extra layer of just kindness, of gentleness, you know, because you have people like melina root, who's a costume designer, who you know has a son, who's um, you know, like very, you know. It was just like. Everyone just knew like, like, oh, like, here's how the puzzle pieces fit. Instead, when you're around, autistic people do it right in a world that's just not made right for them, and then being told they're wrong, it was like all the neurotypical people on set were like we are going to go out of our way to figure out how to make the right type of world for you to feel okay, just to walk around and be safe, and that's incredible. That's like a microcosm of like, what life could be like.
Speaker 7:Yeah, well, it was certainly felt and I can't thank all of you enough for joining us. We're pretty much out of time here, but I just want to thank you all. It was we could go on for another hour, I think, talking about this and for those of you watching, if you haven't seen the show, go see as we see it. It's on Amazon, binge it, binge it twice. If you have watched it, watch it again. It's a great show and kudos to you all for making it, and I just you know we can't thank you enough for being a part of this and for doing that.
Speaker 1:And we'd love all of you to come and visit the center and come see what we're doing and and just you know, meet you in person. Except for you, joe. Well, I just want to say okay.
Speaker 7:Well, we can't wait to see you guys.
Speaker 1:Thank you all so much and keep inspiring Rick.
Speaker 7:For all of you out there, I just want to say the Ed Asner Family Center depends on donations to keep going, so we implore you to make donations and make this a reality that keeps on happening.
Speaker 5:The Ed.
Speaker 7:Talks is offered for free once a month, and we're here for you. And Rick, do you have a final word? Intox is offered for free once a month and we're here for you. And Rick, do you have a final word?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was just going to say that for the next 24 hours, Jason is going to match all donations, so you know, get out those credit cards? And hey, instead of eating out tomorrow, why don't you think to donate to the Ed Asner Family Center?
Speaker 1:My name is Rick.
Speaker 6:Glassman, and thank you so much for having me. Yay, that's my boy.
Speaker 7:Perfect final word there I love it.
Speaker 8:Jason we won't hold you to that.
Speaker 7:We'll talk. We'll talk. We thank you and we'll see you soon.
Speaker 1:We'll see you next month.
Speaker 7:Thank you guys. Bye guys.
Speaker 8:Bye.
Speaker 1:Thank you, bye, thank you guys, bye, guys, bye, thank you all right thank you.
