‘Temple Grandin’ Snags Five Emmys

A biopic about autism self-advocate Temple Grandin won five Emmy awards Sunday night including best made-for-television movie.

The film, which premiered on HBO in February, was nominated for 15 awards. In addition to the win for best movie, actress Claire Danes was honored for her portrayal of Grandin, as were Julia Ormond, who played Grandin’s mother, and David Strathairn for his role as Grandin’s teacher and mentor. Mick Jackson also received an Emmy for directing the film.

Actress Claire Danes won an Emmy for her portrayal of autism self-advocate Temple Grandin. (HBO/Van Redin)

“I tried to make your movie like you: spunky, smart, honest, vivid, sometimes crazily emotional, never sentimental,” Jackson said of the real life Grandin in accepting the award.

Grandin is arguably the most well known person living with autism, having written and lectured extensively about her experiences with the disorder. She is also highly regarded for her work designing humane animal-handling facilities and works as a professor at Colorado State University.

Shot from her perspective, the film focuses on Grandin’s upbringing and depicts how she thinks in pictures.

In a conversation with Disability Scoop earlier this year, Grandin said she was happy with the way the film turned out.

“If you left off the title credits, no one would ever know that was Claire Danes. That’s how much she became me. It was like a weird time machine,” Grandin said.