'Champions' puts disabled actors in the spotlight: 'We belong in this world, too'

Madison Tevlin loves to dance, listen to music, and watch "Friends" and "Gossip Girl" on repeat.

She also has Down syndrome. And with her new film "Champions" (in theaters Friday) co-starring Woody Harrelson, the 21-year-old Canadian actress hopes to break stigmas around people with intellectual disabilities.

"I have Down syndrome, but it's only a very small part of me. I feel like sometimes people judge me before they get to know me," Tevlin says. When it comes to acting, "there's a misconception that people with Down syndrome are limited. This movie proves that couldn't be more wrong."

In "Champions," which is adapted from a 2018 Spanish film, Harrelson plays a disgraced minor league basketball coach named Marcus who is court-ordered to manage a Special Olympics team called the Friends. Although reluctant at first, Marcus is quickly won over by the big personalities and camaraderie of the athletes – among them, the sassy and inquisitive Cosentino (Tevlin), who's also the team's sole female player.

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Harrelson says he went on an almost "parallel journey" to his character. Before the first day of shooting, director Bobby Farrelly told him that he should be prepared to "throw the script out" and improvise with the Friends, which sent the three-time Oscar nominee into a "tailspin of trepidation."

"But there was no need to worry," Harrelson recalls. "The next day I came in and these guys were so fun. I felt like the Grinch, where (my) heart just grew 10 sizes. It's hard to describe until you're among the group, but they're just so honest, they're so themselves, and they're always playful."

That mischievous spirit comes through onscreen. Some of the most delightful scenes in "Champions" are of the Friends simply hanging out: teasing each other, joking about sex and dating, and belting out classic rock songs while traveling to and from basketball games. Farrelly wanted to avoid common stereotypes of people with disabilities in media, such as the inspirational hero or the helpless victim.

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"What they did so well in the original movie is they found a group of people and they captured what their lives are really like," Farrelly says. "And their lives are a lot more full than you would have imagined. Even now, I'm on a text thread with the actors and they're so funny. There's so much love among them and they have such a bond."

The roles of the 10 Friends were filled through an open casting call in the U.S. and Canada, which saw auditions from hundreds of people with disabilities – many of them first-time actors from recreational league basketball teams. For Farrelly, it was imperative to have authentic representation, having previously cast disabled actors in 1998's "There's Something About Mary" and 2001's "Shallow Hal," both of which he co-directed with his brother, Peter Farrelly.

According to a 2021 study by Nielsen and nonprofit organization RespectAbility, 95% of disabled characters are played by able-bodied actors. Another Nielsen report released last year found that only 4.2% of film and TV content has a disability theme – despite the fact that 26% of the U.S. population is living with disabilities.

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"People with disabilities are widely underrepresented in movies, so whatever we can do to help them be seen more and have bigger parts is great," Farrelly says. "But also for me as a director, I had 10 actors here and most of them had never acted before. And they were just awesome. There was no way they held us back in any manner whatsoever. So that idea that, 'Oh, well, we can put disabled people in the movie, but it's going to slow us down' – they didn't."

In fact, Farrelly says they were "just as good" and even "better" than many actors he's worked with before.

"I felt like you spent a lot more time with me being like, 'Woody, we're not quite getting this.' They didn't have all my bad habits," Harrelson jokes. Tevlin, in particular, blew him away: "She's not a great basketball player, but she is a movie star."

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Tevlin, who previously appeared in Canadian TV series such as "Mr. D.," says she walked away from "Champions" with lifelong friends and "incredible confidence to act." She continues to advocate for people with Down syndrome through her social media, and aspires to live in a world where "everyone gets a chance" and has their differences celebrated.

"I hope that people with disabilities will enjoy watching 'Champions' and realize that they can do anything they want to do," Tevlin says. "I want people to realize that just because we have a disability, we can still dream big, we can shout our worth, and we belong in this world, too. Representation and inclusivity really matter, and I hope when people watch this movie, they will see that."

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Woody Harrelson praises disabled 'Champions' actress: 'A movie star'