May 9, 2005

VCU physical therapy alum consults actor for HBO production

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By Malorie Burkett

Anne Kilpatrick, a 2001 graduate of VCU's physical therapy program worked as a consultant during the filming of the HBO movie "Warm Springs,” starring Kenneth Branagh. Photo courtesy of Anne Kilpatrick
Anne Kilpatrick, a 2001 graduate of VCU's physical therapy program worked as a consultant during the filming of the HBO movie "Warm Springs,” starring Kenneth Branagh. Photo courtesy of Anne Kilpatrick

A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Physical Therapy in the School of Allied Health Professions recently worked as a consultant in the filming of the HBO movie "Warm Springs,” which traces the story of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s struggle against the disabling effects of polio.

Anne Kilpatrick Lorio, a 2001 graduate of the program, is a physical therapist in the multi-specialty care unit at the Atlanta-based Shepherd Center. Lorio spent time with the film’s star, Kenneth Branagh, who portrayed Roosevelt as he underwent rehabilitation in Warm Springs, Ga. Because Lorio worked with post-polio patients in the past, producers contacted her to help the actor convincingly portray a person with paraplegia.

“We watched video images of President Roosevelt walking with long leg braces, and then I taught Kenneth how to walk like Roosevelt did with braces,” said Lorio. “He had several questions about the script that I helped answer.”

According to producers of the movie, the help from Shepherd staffers like Lorio was invaluable, in part because the cast and crew had little historical record to go on. Roosevelt hid his paralysis from the country and was virtually never filmed or photographed in his wheelchair. He thought that if the nation knew about his disability, they would not vote for him.

VCU's Physical Therapy Program is one of the top 15 programs in the country. It is the first accredited physical therapy program in Virginia and one of the first in the country to be accredited.