Zack Gottsagen: Destined for Glory



This man is Zack Gottsagen, star of the film "The Peanut Butter Falcon",  and if you don't know his face yet, you will soon. Peanut Butter Falcon tells the story of Zak, a young man with Down Syndrome who has a dream of a future that is far bigger than the run down institution that the authorities have placed him. Zak breaks out of the home he has been placed in with the intention of attending a wrestling school hosted by his favorite wrestler. On his journey Zak meets a fisherman named Tyler (played by Shia LaBeouf), and after a VERY rough beginning, the two men develop a strong bond.

Acting is all Zack has ever known, getting his start at the age of 3. He has also made a bit of history as well - Zack was the first child with Down Syndrome to be included, fully, in the Palm Beach County school district. He graduated from college as a theatre major in 2004.

In 2011, he got his big break - while performing at disability camp, Zack met with Tyler Nilson, the director of what would become The Peanut Butter Falcon, and the rest is history. Unfortunately, to get this to this point for Zack was not easy. Film companies were reluctant, as is usually the case, to have Zack as a leading role in a film because of his Down Syndrome, believing that his disability would make the film "not marketable". Some companies had even offered money to replace Zack with a non-disabled actor.

I think Zack most definitely proved them wrong, though, on what it means to be viable. To date, The Peanut Butter Falcon has made $19 million dollars in the United States, and the creators of the film have already won numerous awards at film festivals.

What makes this film so special, and unique, is how it so strongly, and beautifully, adds depth to the conversation about representation currently happening in Hollywood and theatre in America. I know I have said this before, but I am going to say it again - able bodied actors play disabled characters ALL THE TIME, and have won Oscar's for it (Jamie Foxx in "Ray" and Daniel Day Lewis in "My Left Foot comes to mind).

That is not to say that Foxx's and Lewis's performances weren't undeniably amazing, they were, but all we as a society have to do is watch Zack's performance in this film to see what we may miss when we discount people with disabilities, in any career. In this case, we would have missed a beautiful performance. I hope that this is the begging of a long and successful career for Zack, and that this LEADING performance is the first of many actors and actresses with disabilities to break through on screen and stage in leading roles.

Whether Zack achieves Oscar gold, a nomination, or neither with this venture, is irrelevant (though I'd argue his performance and the film are both worthy and deserving). Zack has won so much, for himself, and for the disabled acting community as a whole. Much like how we know the name Marlee Matlin and her Oscar Win for "Children of a Lesser God", I believe that years from now, we will all remember the name Zack Gottsagen.

I know I will.

Check out the trailer for The Peanut Butter Falcon below:



You can also find Zack on Instagram and on Twitter

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