VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: Josh Sundquist On Representation For Amputees In Hollywood With ‘Best Foot Forward’

In a heartwarming story, Best Foot Forward follows a young boy named Josh as he makes the transition from being home-schooled to entering public school as the only kid with a prosthetic leg.

Josh Sundquist, whose story inspired the series, joint the cast as an actor in a couple of episodes. As a child, he was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer that led to amputation. He recently sat down with uInterview founder Erik Meers to discuss the importance of representation of amputees on screen.

“Growing up, I didn’t get to see anyone who looked like me on screen,” he said. “Even today when we sometimes see people with disabilities on screen, often that character is portrayed by an able-bodied actor. I really wanted to be a part of a show that was not only putting an amputee on screen as a character, but also the actor also had one leg. I think that’s a big step for representation.”

On set, it was important to Josh to have representation for amputees behind the scenes as well.

“Having people behind the camera on our crew at all levels of production who also had disabilities added a level of authenticity, because at every level – you know the camera department, post production and the people editing, also, can relate to the story in an authentic way. It ultimately leads to a more authentic story when people watch the show,” Sundquist revealed.

Best Foot Forward is now streaming on Apple TV+.