I didn't become aware that Dan Aykroyd had Aspergers until a couple of years ago. Around the time I was really exploring the idea that I may be someone that possesses those traits.
I just saw online that he was asked about it, and while he describes his case as mild and that he considers himself lucky to have been able to really channel it creatively, you could still see the emotion on his face and the holding back of tears.
It was particularly moving to me because Dan Aykroyd played a big role in my childhood, my taste in film and my sense of humor. I can't count how many times I've seen both Ghostbusters movies, Dragnet, Blues Brothers, etc.
I am reminded of when, in Ghostbusters II, after the slime comes out of the bathtub, he exclaims "That's Great!" thinking of the scientific implications, and then catches himself "I mean, that's terrible!". That is a frequent challenge of mine as well, and I suspect if was a case of the actor informing the character, especially since Aykroyd helped write the script. It is not that he didn't care about Dana and Oscar, but it wasn't what his first reaction was to, since they were obviously safe, but in the world of the neuro-typical, his first exclamation was a social faux pas and seems cold and heartless. Yet those would be a few of the last adjectives I would use to describe the character.
I don't have an official diagnosis of Aspergers or ASD, but it is something that my therapist and I are exploring and something I have suspected for for a few years. I identify with a lot of the traits, especially as a child. This is something that, like Depression, I find is a topic that is difficult to discuss, with people seeming to often downplay it. I hope Dan opens up more publicly about this topic, I think it would be a big help to a lot of people.
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