The SAG-AFTRA actor and voice artist, a double-leg amputee, says real representation means disabled performers should be able to audition for any part, not only the ones written about disability

Ricky Bartlett's acting career started in Columbus, at the historic Springer Opera House, where he played in childhood productions of "The Emperor's New Clothes" and "Peter Pan."

Today, the Columbus native works in film, television and voiceover as a SAG-AFTRA actor and voice artist. He is also a double-leg amputee, and that gives him a firsthand view of a question the entertainment industry is still working through: what disability representation looks like when it goes past putting disabled characters on screen and includes hiring disabled performers.

For Bartlett, authentic representation doesn't mean disabled actors get considered only when a script calls for a disability. It means they get the chance to audition for the father, the detective, the neighbor, the executive, the villain or the teacher, roles where the character's disability may have nothing to do with the story.

On screen

Bartlett's screen credits include "Chicago P.D.," "Murdaugh: Death in the Family" and "Intent Unknown," along with other film and television work.

In "Murdaugh: Death in the Family," he played Mark Altman, a real-life amputee. That meant the part went to an actor with lived experience of amputation, not to a nondisabled performer simulating it.

His work has also traveled well beyond the South. His credits appear on entertainment platforms and databases around the world, and his performances have been localized for audiences outside the United States.

Behind the scenes

Bartlett also works on the industry side of the issue. He serves on SAG-AFTRA's Diversity & EEO Committee, and he is Head of Creative Development and VO Producer for Studio b.Vox, a disability-led creative production studio.

He has won a Danny Award and is a 2026 nominee for the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences' Voice Arts Award.

Working with disability

Bartlett frames his story as one of working with disability rather than overcoming it. He has built a professional career while challenging long-held assumptions about what disabled performers can do, which characters they can play and where they belong in the entertainment business.

At the center of his advocacy is one question: what does authentic disability representation look like when disabled people aren't just the subjects of stories, but the actors, artists and professionals who help create them?

His career has taken him far from home, but he says his Southern roots are still an important part of who he is, and that his story will always start in Columbus.