On December 12, the DGA’s provisional Disability Committee meeting was preceded by the online discussion, A Community Conversation with Producing Director Nick Copus.
In a conversation moderated by Disability Committee Co-Chair Director Rachel Raimist, Copus — an accomplished television Producing Director with an early childhood diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder — revealed how he got his start in directing and how he navigates the demands of the job as a person with a disability.
During the conversation, Copus revealed the significant impact film and television had on him as a child in navigating emotions as a result of his disability; a medium that afforded him a safe place to feel in ways he could not outside of that setting. In addition to some craft specific observations, he also discussed why he chose to disclose his disability identity for the first time as a seasoned episodic Director and Producing Director and expressed the importance of being seen and discussing his whole identity as he works to open doors for other people with disabilities looking to work as Directors.
Copus has served as a producing Director on series including Bel-Air, Titans, Animal Kingdom, Lethal Weapon, Siren, Into the Badlands, Salem, Damien, Alphas, True Tales of Terror and I Shouldn't Be Alive. His other directorial credits include episodes of American Gods, The Right Stuff, Queen of the South, Gotham, Arrow, Sleepy Hollow, Revolution, Nikita, The 4400 and The Dresden Files. He has been a DGA member since 2006.
See video from this event in the gallery below.
About the Committee
The mission of the Disability Committee is to examine a broad range of issues DGA members with disabilities face on sets, with the goal of developing recommendations for the National Board to address these matters. In 2023, DGA President Lesli Linka Glatter, announced the creation of this provisional committee, whose members will lead work to destigmatize disability as a way to empower other members to feel comfortable with disclosing their disability identity and push the industry towards greater acceptance of Directors and Directorial Team members with disabilities.