Franck Gastambide stands out as a prominent French actor, director, and writer in the entertainment world. However, he struggles with disabilities.
He has dyslexia, a learning disorder, and dyspraxia, a brain condition that affects his ability to move and coordinate. Yet, Franck has carved out a successful career in show business.
Furthermore, Gastambide speaks about his condition and talks about his experiences to inspire others. He also keeps achieving his hopes and dreams even with these challenges.
@franckgastambidelevrai Le champion est a Paris ! #medellin 🥇❤️#franckgastambide #MikeTyson ♬ son original – Franck Gastambide ✔️
In one of his Instagram posts, Franck shared how he’s living out his childhood fantasy by teaming up with Mike Tyson on the action-comedy film Medellín. Exactly speaking, Gastambide took charge of directing and helped write the movie, which stars Tyson in a supporting role.
Besides his work in Medellín, Gastambide has played parts in Taxi 5 (2018) and the TV show Validé (2020). He’s now working on The Cage, a Netflix series where he acts, directs and helps write the script. The show also stars French actor Melvin Boomer.
Franck Gastambide discovered his learning disability late, feeling useless as a student due to dyslexia and dyspraxia.
Franck Gastambide was diagnosed with a learning disability when he was older, which affected his early student life a lot.
In an open talk with Konbini, Gastambide spoke about finding out he had dyslexia and dyspraxia late in life.
Franck Gastambide x Mike Tyson 💥 pic.twitter.com/ZMpyy9lf8f
— Booska-P (@booska_p) April 4, 2023He said,
Dyslexia has clearly changed a lot of things in my life, like a certain handicap, in the consequences continue to pursue me now.
Learning about his dyslexia near the end of school made him feel not good enough. In his words,
I spent my life thinking that I was useless, disappointing my family.
This late diagnosis hurt Gastambide’s view of himself, making him feel worthless all through school. Even with these hard times, Franck turned his problems into strong points.
@scenetoo 💎Lecon 19 Franck Gastambide parle de son parcours scolaire … #mindset #motivation #ecole #triste ♬ son original – Motivation et Détermination
As Gastambide points out how it made him want to learn about things he liked, he says,
My dyslexia has caused me to become self-taught.
Despite his condition, Franck ended up doing well in training animals and found a purpose. In his words,
For the first time in my life, I realize that I am good at something.
Eventually, this path helped Gastambide feel better about himself and find what he wanted to do. As he trained dogs for friends and local guards, he built confidence inside him. Over time, he grew and now he is a known actor, writer, and director.
Gastambide shared that, despite his invisible disabilities, he now feels a bit of the happiness his classmates experienced.
In a recent Instagram post, Gastambide also talked about how dealing with hidden disabilities changed how he sees happiness. He said,
Dyslexia and Dyspraxia prevented me from having a normal education and from accessing qualifications. I had to find another path to succeed.
As he shared his story. Gastambide also mentioned that even with the hard parts, he’s found a bit of joy like his classmates had after earning the first diploma in his life. He went on,
Today, I feel a little of the joy that my classmates felt when they saw their names on the board announcing that they had their secondary school certificate.
Still, looking back, The Cage’s director felt the burden of his failures and said,
I had failed.
However, he also emphasizes the sense of accomplishment that comes with accepting his own path.
With his progress, Franck has made his family proud, serving as an inspiration for kids like him so that they can find their path in life.
Also, he posted a screenshot of a conversation with his mother. Obviously, the text is in French, but when roughly translated into English goes like this;
My dear, I have been reassured about your future for a long time. If we could have diagnosed this, we could have avoided this malaise that made you so unhappy.
Franck’s mom further wrote,
Today is your greatest reward; what a great achievement. I am proud of you, my son. I love you very much.
Franck receives hundreds of messages from parents who have dyslexic children.
Franck knows about the shame linked to learning issues, but he pushes for open talks. Also, though he didn’t want to share at first, he says,
I had to tell you about my disability… It is not something we are proud of.
Still, Franck speaks up about his experience to inspire others like him. He hopes to show them they’re not alone and can progress despite their tough times.
Also, Franck’s choice to discuss his fight with dyslexia and dyspraxia is making a difference, and he’s pleased about it. He’s become a spokesperson for many parents of dyslexic kids, getting tons of messages from them each day.
In a candid chat with Konbini, he shared,
I receive hundreds of messages from parents who have dyslexic children, young dyslexics, dyslexic kids. That’s the point of talking about your disability; it’s to tell yourself that you’re not alone and that it’s a struggle, but that you have to accept it and that you have to accept it.
He stressed how important it is to accept oneself, saying,
It’s a struggle, but you have to accept it.
Franck tells those with dyslexia that their struggles don’t define them. He also pointed out that dyslexia can bring special talents.
When I understood that my dyslexia was not going to stop me from doing everything,
he said,
It was a revelation.
Today, Franck urges young people with dyslexia to embrace what makes them different. He notes that while they might have trouble with spelling or math, they often shine in creativity and instinct.
