SPEAKING
VOLUMES
A
t 17 years old, Mason Cook has grown up on screen, landing breakout roles in
Grey’s Anatomy and Spy Kids: All the Time in the World. Now, he plays Ray
DiMeo on Speechless, a teenager trying (and usually failing) to restore order in
the chaotic and humorous daily life of a special needs family. Mason talks the
importance of diversity in representation, the responsibility of accurately portraying a special
needs sibling, and of course, on-set shenanigans. BY ERIN TATUM
Cliché: You've been acting since you were
a young child. What sparked your interest
in acting and what made you want to
pursue it as a career as you got older?
Mason Cook: I did start pretty young! I
moved to LA when I was eight, and decided
I wanted to try acting about six months later.
I didn’t take any acting classes nor had I
acted in school productions, so I had zero
experience or idea what I was getting into. I
just thought it sounded fun. I booked my first
audition, a Dunkin’ Donuts commercial, and
then an episode of Grey’s Anatomy right after
that. Looking back, I am so glad I gave it a
shot because now I have found my passion
and my life’s purpose in acting.
Speechless follows the life of a teenage
boy, JJ, who has cerebral palsy. How
much (if any) familiarity did you have
with disability and cerebral palsy prior
to auditioning?
Speechless is one of the family comedies in
ABC’s highly-praised line-up of shows that
depicts so many different types of families.
Our TV family represents an often-over-
looked type of family – those who have a
family member with a disability. Yes, there is
a character with cerebral palsy in the DiMeo
family, but the show is definitely more than
just “that.” What people don’t realize is how
dynamic families dealing with disability
really are. For example, the siblings of kids
with disabilities are often times perfectio-
nists or anxious, like my character Ray, in
an effort to bring some level of stability to,
what can be, a crazy day-to-day existence.
Our show was considered a groundbreaking
show because this topic is not usually the
subject of a comedy or a primetime show,
but we have proven that this topic doesn’t
have to be sad, and that there is humor to be
found in all of life’s crazy moments.
Personally, I had a strong familiarity
with disability before I started on the show.
My grandfather lost his sight to cancer at age
13. He and I were very close, so I grew up
around him and his guide dog. But, like JJ
on our show, disability was not what defined
him. He was a criminal defense attorney and
law professor who put himself through three
universities, Baylor, Vanderbilt Law School
and Princeton University graduate school,
on full scholarship. I want to stress that our
show is relatable to all kinds of families,
even those not necessarily a part of the
“disabled community.”
You play JJ's brother, Ray. JJ is based on
creator Scott Silveri's brother, meaning in
a sense you're portraying Scott Silveri's
younger self. Have you asked Scott to
share experiences from growing up to give
you better insight on Ray as a character?
Yes, our show is based on the real life of
creator/executive producer Scott Silveri,
whose older brother Gregory had cerebral
palsy. And, fun fact, my character Ray, is
actually 100% based on Scott himself, which
makes it an honor and responsibility to play
Ray. Scott has told me that Ray is the
Speechless character closest to a real-life
depiction because, since it is based on him,
he feels comfortable sharing his most
personal stories. He didn’t feel comfortable
exposing his other family members,
including Gregory, to that degree, so the
other characters are “inspired by” his
real-life family. Because Ray is Scott, there
is no shortage of material!
What are the similarities between you and
Ray and how are you different?
Ray and I are very different personality-wise,
but that is what makes him a fun character to
play. Even though Ray is based on Scott and
his real experiences, I basically created Ray
from a blank slate for the show. Whenever
you are “creating a character,” you often
discover similarities to yourself. For
example, determination is a big part of who
Ray is. No matter how many times he fails,
he picks himself back up and tries again. I
am a lot like that in my real life. As an actor,
you have to be willing to go for it time and
time again. I put myself out there 100% with
each audition, meeting, and role I play.
What new insights have you gained about
people with disabilities and special needs
families from playing Ray?
As I mentioned, I was very familiar, and
comfortable, being around people with
disabilities before Speechless so that was
not new to me. And I was aware of how
other people react to seeing someone with
a disability because I had experienced the
staring when I walked with my grandfather
and his guide dog or read him menus in
restaurants or whatever. But, one thing I had
never thought of is the impact disability has
on the siblings. I have met a lot of families
and received a ton messages from siblings
saying, “thank you for remembering us.”
They oftentimes feel overlooked because so
much attention has to be paid, or they feel
it has to be paid, to their disabled family
member. So, JJ is bringing representation to
the disabled community and Ray is bringing
representation to the sibling community and
I take that very seriously in my portrayal
of Ray.
You seem to have a very close friendship
with Micah Fowler, who plays JJ. What
was your first impression of him? Did
your friendship make it easier to develop
a brotherly dynamic in the beginning?