Vincent D'Onofrio appeared at The Stanley Kubrick Film Festival at FSU on March 26, 2010.
Thank you to Tricia for sharing the event with us.
by Tricia972
OK, we are now entering the part of the story that has forever changed (or at least improved) my life! When everyone was gone he was still standing there, so (shaking like a leaf) I walked up to him. Mind you, I have no idea what kind of drug someone could have slipped me to give me that much courage. I told him a very brief, nervous and confused version of my story. Seriously, I could barely speak and I'm sure I started talking WAY too fast and I'm still praying that what I said made sense! I said I had seen him in Good Luck years ago and believed he was really blind because he was so talented. I said (or I THINK I said) I would have known if he wasn't because I have been around blind people all my life. I said, visually impaired people and their families can always tell when an actor isn't really blind usually within the first 10 seconds. I congratulated him on his performance and he smiled and said "Thank you so much". (And here comes the part where I'm hoping that none of you are going to drop me like a rock or feel sorry for me) I said, "I just wanted you to know that I am legally blind and it's because of you and that movie that I found the nerve to audition for Disney. I was hired and sang for them for nearly ten years without anyone in the choir knowing I was blind." He got a big smile on his face and he stopped me and said "OH MY GOD congratulations sweetie, that's wonderful, really I think that's amazing." (Ok here we go...wait for it) then he said (here it comes) "CAN I HAVE A HUG?" (THERE IT IS!). For just a split second I stood there thinking, WAIT! WHAT? Did Vincent D'Onofrio just ask ME if HE could have a hug??? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!?!?! That thought switched to... how inappropriate would it be to say YOU CAN HAVE ANY DAMN THING YOU WANT! PICK A BODY PART BABE!
However, I wisely decided against that particular comment. I started to give him a tiny little half hug kind of pat on the back figuring he doesn't know me and probably doesn't want to get too close, but HE SQUEEZED ME! So I squeezed back! Hell, I might have been shaking and on the verge of having a stroke, but I'm not stupid! He rubbed his hand several times all the way up and down my whole back, so I wrapped my arms fully around his neck and just hung on for dear life! Not that it was a sexy moment, it was more of an "I'm so proud of you" thing, which in truth meant a great deal more to me. I wish I could say I was concentrating on nothing but how good it felt to be held by the only man I have dreamed of for the last 13+ years, unfortunately, that's really not the case! My brain just sort of took over and played a sadistic little game with me called; let's see how many horrible thoughts we can have during a 10 second hug! Thoughts including but not limited to... OH GOD I hope I'm not all sweaty (given my nerves, I bet I was), PLEASE don't let him run his hand over any wobbly bits back there, I hope I didn't drown myself in perfume, and holy crap I'm short and he's gonna think I'm some little girl! I finally woke up enough for the last two thoughts which were... snap out of it stupid you're missing it, and hey what does he smell like "OH COME ON, tell me all of you wouldn't be thinking the SAME THINGS!" Let me say, he didn't smell like anything. I was surprised that he didn't smell like smoke or coffee, because he did go out to smoke in the middle of the autograph session and he seems to have a serious coffee habit (who can blame him). But NO, it's just as I always suspected, he's just bloody perfect! That night as I was going through the evening in my mind, I realized the story I told might not have made as much sense as it did in my head, given the state of my nerves at the time. I decided to write him a letter detailing exactly why I have admired him for nearly 14 years now. Even in the letter I had to omit a bunch, but I wanted to keep it brief so he would at least entertain the thought of reading it. Maybe it's stupid, and maybe he chucked it as soon as he found a garbage can, but it makes me happy to cling to the thought that he got bored on the plane home and decided to read it. Allow me to set the scene for the HORRIFIC picture you're about to see.
The second night when I went up to him, I was trying so hard to think of a way to give him the letter that didn't make me look like a complete dumbass. He remembered me, which alone was enough to put me in a tailspin. Then he asked me, "How are you doing tonight?" And I came back with the OH SO WITTY response "fine and you?" I'm just SO proud! I wonder how I could have possibly thought up such a brilliant reply! WHY didn't I say something along the lines of "this is the best weekend of my life and thank you for making it happen", or "meeting you has been a true privilege and something I will never forget", or even just "after hearing you speak I'm absolutely wonderful thank you". BUT NO, all I could get out was FINE AND YOU...I'm an idiot! So anyway, by the time this picture was taken I COULDN'T THINK, or breathe, or stop shaking or even focus on where the hell the camera was! I seriously look like I have just been molested (HA, don't I friggin' wish!) I think it's the worst picture of me I've ever seen, but oh well, what's done is done and at least I got a picture. I didn't get one of the hug since my friend was standing a few feet away WITH HER JAW ON THE FLOOR and was WAY to stunned to think about taking a picture (can't say I would have reacted any different though). Actually, I got a couple of pictures, the second one is of me giving him the letter. And again, perfect man that he is, he was gracious and seemed very appreciative that I had taken the time to write him something. And yes, I know it might have just been his superior acting skills and that he didn't really give a damn, but I'd be very grateful if you guys could just let me live in denial about that one.
I do want to say a bit about 'Don't Go In The Woods'.
As I'm sure you heard Vincent say, it was done as a B movie and it's not meant to be taken seriously, having said that, I thought it was GREAT! The story was funny and smart and it held my interest. There was even a guy playing blind in it, who I have to say did a fairly decent job at it and I'm VERY critical about that. Hell, he did a better job then Al Pacino (who sucked at it btw) and this kid had never acted before. Just goes to show you how talented Vincent is at directing as well as acting. The majority of the music was really good, I've been humming one of the songs ever since. Vincent did sing at the beginning (it was playing on their car radio), but it sounded to me like he was singing as GGG not as himself. The end really leaves you wondering and now I'd love to see it again to see if I can figure some things out. He did mention that it looks like he MAY have sold it and it might get national distribution but he wasn't allowed to say too much about it yet. I have no idea if there's anyway we can push for that, but if so, then let? s get on it! Now as for the reason I have admired Vincent for so many years of my life. I'll admit it does make me a bit nervous to put my personal story online, especially since I... uh... didn't exactly mention to my current employer that I happen to be blind (oops). But I decided that it was important to me that people know what it is that I am grateful to Vincent for, so off we go... I told him how my thought process had gone completely out the window the night before. I said I wanted to explain my story with a bit more eloquence so that he got the true measure of what his performance had actually done for me. I also thanked him for the hug and said it would remain the highlight of my life! Yeah, I had to get that in there. Anyway, I was born with a condition called ONH, Optic Nerve Hypoplasia. But I'm lucky, I know that sounds weird, but most people with ONH are much worse off then I am. I just make the cut off for legally blind, my vision is 20/200 in the good eye (yep the GOOD one) the other is 20/400. That means what you can see from 200ft away, I would need to be 20ft away to see the same way.
As I said earlier, years ago I saw "Good Luck" with a large group of handicapped athletes and their families at a meeting for the Paralympics team (my ex husband was a blind black belt in judo and on the team). Vincent's performance fooled not only me, but most people around me who KNOW when an actor is faking without question. I'm not sure why this movie hit me so hard, admittedly the movie was a little silly, but for some reason it just forced me to look at my life. I was a pathetic mess listening to everyone (including my own mother in law) who told me that I couldn't do anything or be anything worth while. I was a house wife sitting home collecting a social security check and just wishing that I could be "normal" so that I could make my dreams of singing a reality, and yet knowing in my mind that it would never happen. When there are a hundred very loud voices telling you that you can't, it's very hard to believe the one little voice that says you can. Then I happened to be lucky enough to see Vincent give an exquisite performance in one little movie that changed my life! I thought to myself, if this blind man can make his dreams of acting come true and get all the way to Hollywood, then I have no excuse not to at least get off my ass and try. By the time I did the research on him and found out that he wasn't blind, I was already inspired and wouldn't have gone back for the world. Plus the fact that he was able to fool me just made me love him and admire his acting talent all the more. So I did just what I said, I got off my ass and tried. But I was determined that if I was going to do this then no one would know that I'm legally blind. I was afraid of either being unfairly turned down or of being given a chance out of sympathy, neither option was appealing to me.
So over the next several months I worked hard training myself how not to behave like a blind person. I watched people and studied them to see what things sighted people did differently. Things such as don' t look down when I walk, and how to make eye contact when I talk to them. I learned how to recognize road signs or logos by color, size, or shape rather then being able to actually read the letters. And most important I studied people I knew to learn their clothes, hair color and style, weight, body type, height, and style of their walk. That way I could recognize them from far off and call them by name so they never had to know that I couldn't see their face until they were 10 feet from me. Months later I found out that Disney was coming to recruit in my area. Figuring they wouldn' t hire me in a million years, I decided to audition just as a test of confidence and to see if I could get through it without them knowing I was blind. Believe it or not they hired me on the spot! (go figure) You can't pass up an opportunity like that, so I packed up my whole life and moved to Orlando. I was a soprano with Walt Disney World for nearly ten years without anyone in the choir knowing I was visually impaired. I didn't mention to Vincent the fact that Disney fired me after they finally found out (nice huh?). I also didn't get to mention that I grew up studying acting in in children's theater at The Barn Theater that was founded by his father.
I have since been to nursing school and graduated as a nurse technician. I was head of the class and inducted into the National Honor Society. I basically did it because people told me I couldn't, and by that time I had learned to despise the words "you can't". The state put me through hell just to get in the class, so I had no choice but to work HARD and be the best. They tried to keep me out by forcing me to take IQ, dexterity, hand eye coordination, and personality tests. Fortunately, I scored a 130 on the IQ test so there wasn't too much they could do. I was working in the field for two weeks when I had to watch an elderly patient die. I said "thanks, I'm out" and I never looked back. Even though it didn't work out, I'm still glad that I was able to prove myself and grateful for the skills that I acquired. And I'm very proud that now there is a legally blind person with a nursing license registered on the books in the state of Florida! Besides not being able to stomach death, I also missed being on stage and performing. So once again I went back to what I love, the theme parks. I was recently hired by Universal Studios and I'm loving every minute of it! I'm sorry to make you guys listen to my life story, but I wanted you to know that I have this life because of Vincent. If they hadn't used him for that role, or If Vincent had been just another mediocre actor playing blind, that movie wouldn't have affected me in the least. It's because of him that I went from being a depressed food stamp recipient who felt she could do nothing, to a person who says, "if you don' t think I can do it, stand back and watch me and I promise you I will figure out how to make it happen" I owe that to Mr. D'Onofrio and no one else! While I do understand that I am the one who did the actual work to get here, it was Vincent who inspired the work.
I am very proud to say that I'm a certified nurse technician, I'm a member of the National Honor Society, I got out of an abusive marriage, I am a single mother of an 18-yr-old that I raised by myself, and (most important) I'm a singer. The only reason I am ANY ONE OF THESE THINGS is because Vincent inspired confidence and a drive to make dreams come true in a person who had no hope left, just by doing what he does best. There could never be a Thank You big enough to even begin to cover what he's done. From the bottom of my heart, I love him so much for what he has given me. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to read this story, I hope you all enjoyed it. The only thing I ask in return is that anyone who knows me PLEASE not stop talking to me, feel sorry for me, or treat me like an invalid! And try to think next time you see a handicapped person that everyone is capable of something, especially with the right inspiration. I still can? t believe that I actually got the chance to meet MY inspiration, he was everything I always dreamed he would be and more. I can honestly say that it was the high point of my entire life and that Vincent will continue to be an inspiration to me for the rest of it.
