Hollywood has not, in the past, been stellar in its policy of choosing from appropriate ethnic groups in casting of some roles.
In addition to Hollywood failing to choose ethnically-based actors, they also typically fail to choose appropriately disabled actors. How rare is it to see a movie with a real blind, deaf, or mentally handicapped person? [aside] I don't mean this to be an introduction to the terminology used to describe these groups, for I'm only acquainted with the deaf, who do usually prefer the term deaf, and most often, capitalize it as a symbol of cultural pride[/aside]
Marlee Matlin aside, Mr. Holland's Opus was one of the few films that did employee deaf actors.
edit: Anyone remember the Saturn car company commerical several years ago where a woman faked her deafness in a national ad campaign until Saturn found out she was really hearing? Funny thing, in the commercial, she fingerspells S-A-T-E-R-N. Not very deaf if she can't even spell correctly in sign language.
