Jordan Walker Ross used to watch casting directors’ faces as he walked into auditions, waiting for their reaction to his limp.
Sometimes, he would see them notice his gait and then look down. One asked if his limp was a character choice. Another asked if he could try his entrance again without it. There was a time in his life when Walker Ross wished he could say yes.
But after finding success on a TV series called “The Chosen” and a role in “1883,” the actor’s insecurities have faded.
“For the first time in my life, these last few years, I truly wouldn’t change that about myself anymore, regardless of whether it affects my acting career,” he said.
Born two months premature, the Arlington native cycled in and out of the hospital many times throughout his childhood, both for surgeries and appointments needed to treat his cerebral palsy, scoliosis and asthma.
“There will be some people that just won’t cast me because of it … because they think it’s distracting or (a) liability. But, you know, ‘The Chosen’ and the other things I have been very, very fortunate to work on have proven that there will be a whole group of other people that don’t care and that will embrace it.”
An early start
Walker Ross’ acting career started early.
The son of Arlington Mayor Jim Ross and grandson of actor Barry Corbin, Walker Ross grew up watching Westerns and Charlie Chaplin films. He dreamed of being in the limelight but was incredibly shy.
At age 6, he and his family went along to support friends auditioning for “A Christmas Carol.” Somehow, he ended up onstage.
“My mom went to the bathroom while we were waiting for our friends to finish the audition, and she came out and I was onstage singing ‘Silent Night,’” he said. “It was such a bizarre thing for her to see.”
He landed the role of Tiny Tim and continued to audition for other productions from then on.
Cathy O’Neal of Theatre Arlington still remembers the first time she saw Walker Ross onstage.
“I was a stage manager for 22 years, and I saw a lot of auditions in those 22 years. And I totally remember Jordan’s first audition with us — and his debut with us,” she said. “It was just one of those memorable moments.”The organization was putting on a production of “Oliver!” said O’Neal, who is now Theatre Arlington’s director of development.
“We just fell in love with him because, even at that age — I think he would have been like 12 at the time — he just was so sincere and so genuine in his reading and his interpretation,” she said. “We knew we wanted him immediately for the role.”
Being embraced by the local theater community boosted his son’s confidence, Jim Ross said, but he was still worried about the viability of an acting career.
“Like a typical parent, I’d be the one saying, ‘That’s a really hard profession to break into.’ … So I would always encourage him to try to focus on Plan B,” he said. “Well, thank God he didn’t listen to his dad because Plan B was like, go to college, get an education, get a real job, not this acting stuff. He persevered.”
‘If I could beat others to the punch, then maybe they’d like me’
As a teenager, Walker Ross dreamed of transitioning from the stage to the screen.
He had never thought of himself as a great dancer or singer and appreciated the level of intimacy a camera afforded, as compared to trying to project his voice and emotions to the back of an auditorium.
He had some success landing roles but struggled as he changed schools.
After years of home-schooling followed by private school, he transitioned to public school in ninth grade.
As a freshman, he felt as though other students already had their established set of friends, including the theater kids.
When Walker Ross got invited to join a group of students at a lunch table, he recalls being excited when they asked questions about his acting career.
“He and his friends seemed interested, and then he was like, ‘Oh, I didn’t know they like cripples on that show.’ And that’s when I realized that he just invited me to make fun of me,” he said. “For the first time, it was like a switch flipped, and I all of a sudden saw my differences as a flaw — and something to be ashamed of and to hide.”
He started putting a deck of cards in his shoes to help even out his legs and minimize his limp. He avoided talking about his condition unless he was making fun of himself.
“I felt like if I could beat other people to the punch, then maybe they’d like me,” he said.
But the bullying and his depression worsened. By the end of the year, he told his mom he didn’t want to go back.
Walker Ross finished his degree from home and graduated at 16. By that time he also had 40 professional acting credits in Texas and California under his belt.
Cast, then cut
When Walker Ross booked a commercial for a major brand that was set to air during the Olympics, he was excited for the small but high-profile role.
He would be playing video games in his socks for the job, so when he walked into his costume fitting, he wasn’t wearing the custom lift that helps even out the length of his legs.
“The director saw me walk and came over and was like, ‘Are you OK? Did you get hurt?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, no. I have cerebral palsy,’” he recalled.
“I could see he looked nervous or concerned, and I saw him whisper to the costumer, and I was like, ‘OK, whatever. It’s fine.’ And I showed up to set a few days later and I noticed one of the other actors that auditioned for (the part) was on set in the same costume as me.”
Walker Ross still filmed his scenes and thought it went well, but that whole section of the commercial was cut.
“It created a whole new insecurity,” he said. “It’s like even if I booked the part, they could cut it out.”
But, Walker Ross didn’t let that keep him from moving forward.
“He just would not take no for an answer,” his father said. “He just kept at it, kept auditioning.”
“He doesn’t shy away from who he is, and that’s made me very proud of seeing the man he’s become and the success he’s had. … He’s done a wonderful job.”
Likewise, Corbin said he is inspired by his grandson’s tenacity.
“He’s kind of a hero of mine, Jordan. … He had a lot of difficulties growing up. … He had several surgeries before he was 12,” Corbin said. “He handled everything really well.”
The Chosen
The Dallas auditions for “The Chosen” were held at the KD Conservatory, where Walker Ross was working in admissions and as a teacher.
The familiar territory gave him a boost of confidence during the audition and callback process.
“I don’t think anyone noticed my limp during that. But then on my first day on set, I remember being nervous because, in my costume, I’m wearing sandals,” he said.
Without a shoe that could conceal his custom lift, Walker Ross’ limp was more pronounced. At some point, the show’s director, Dallas Jenkins, walked over.
“(He) came up and was like, ‘Hey, I noticed that you were, you know, had a little bit of a limp. … Do you mind if I ask what happened?’ And I explained it to him and he was like, ‘OK, cool. I was just wondering,’” Walker Ross recalled. “And then in my head I’m like, ‘Crap. He’s going to cut me out or he’s going to make my role smaller.’
Instead of cutting Walker Ross’ role, Jenkins incorporated his limp into the storyline.
He thought it was important to address why one of Jesus’ disciples had a visible disability when he had healed so many others.
In one scene, Walker Ross’ character, Little James, confronts Jesus and asks why he hasn’t been healed.
“It was an opportunity to kind of address something that’s really tricky. The relationship between faith and healing is a really complicated one,” Walker Ross said.
“Regardless of what someone’s religion is, it’s really tricky when there are children with cancer or people born without limbs or different things like that. I’m really grateful that we started that conversation, and we’re able to shine a light on something and a community that isn’t really represented in media.”
‘What’s Your Limp?’
Walker Ross’ confidence has come a long way since high school, but he still has moments when he struggles.
“There are days, you know, I’ll walk past a reflective surface or a mirror, and I catch a glimpse of me walking and … I catch myself wincing at it almost,” he said.
“And then I have to remind myself, like, I wouldn’t see someone else limping and think that about them. So why am I feeling that way about myself?”
The actor now has a podcast series called “What’s Your Limp?” on which he interviews other celebrities — including Tim McGraw and locals such as Eric Nelsen from “1883” and Major Attaway, who played the Genie in “Aladdin” on Broadway — about their own insecurities as well as what they love about themselves.
Over time, Walker Ross has learned that the more vulnerability you show by discussing your insecurities, the less power negative people have over you.
“It’s helped teach me that I’m not alone in the stuff that I’m going through,” he said. “In some shape or form, everyone I’ve interviewed, regardless of what their status is or how famous they are or whatever it is, they have just as many insecurities. … There’s something comforting in that, that we’re all in this together.”
Marcheta Fornoff covers the arts for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at marcheta.fornoff@fortworthreport.org or on Twitter. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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