A few weeks ago, I sat down with actor Adam Bowes. https://adambowes.wixsite.com/actor We immediately bonded over our shared roots on the New South Wales North Coast, though our experiences of limb difference look very different: while I experienced limb loss later in life, Adam was born with a limb difference and underwent amputations at a very young age. It was a wonderful conversation, and the audio will feature in The Limb Shift podcast when it launches later this year.
For Australian actor and former competitive swimmer Adam Bowes, the journey of navigating life with limb difference has been one of constant adaptation, and a persistent drive to ensure that disability is seen as a facet of humanity, rather than a defining spectacle.
Born with congenital bilateral tibial hemimelia—a condition where the tibia bone is absent—Adam’s life was shaped by an early, life-altering decision. Because his legs were turned inward and he lacked the tibia bone, he faced a stark choice between a lifetime of wheelchair use or amputation to enable the use of prosthetic legs.
“They basically said, you’ll either need to be in a wheelchair for the rest of your life, or have them amputated so you can wear prosthetic legs,” Adam explains. “I had them amputated when I was two,” Adam adds, noting that while the decision was his parents’ to make, the focus immediately shifted to finding solutions.
Growing up in the NSW coastal town of Yamba, Adam found a community that embraced him, though his relationship with his physical self and the world around him was an evolving process.
While his childhood was marked by intense physiotherapy and the tricky business of learning to walk on prosthetics—a process he describes as “essentially like learning how to walk again” every time he receives a new set—Adam eventually found his rhythm.
Initially scared of the water, he discovered a passion for swimming that led him to break seven Australian records and compete at the Youth Paralympics in 2009.
“It really made a difference,” Adam says of his time at the Paralympics. “Feeling less alone… that was really, I think, something I really needed to feel”.
This community was vital, as Adam notes that growing up, meeting others with similar disabilities was a foreign experience until he reached that level of competition.
That sense of belonging propelled him toward his true calling: acting. After training at Screenwise, he landed roles in major productions like Hacksaw Ridge and Winchester.
His transition from the pool to the stage and screen was not without its hurdles, particularly in musical theatre where choreography required him to calculate movements in advance to accommodate his prosthetics.
While he has played characters whose disability was central to the story, he is increasingly focused on roles where the character’s identity transcends their physical reality.
“I certainly don’t just want to play my disability,” he says. “I don’t want that. I love playing characters. And that’s… one of my values is trying to find the humanity in these characters”.
Adam’s commitment to authentic representation recently brought him to the set of Home and Away, where he played a character in a rehabilitation ward. For Adam, the opportunity was particularly meaningful given his frustration with past media tropes—specifically, seeing able-bodied actors playing characters with disabilities.
He recalls watching Glee and feeling “incredibly heartbroken” during a dream sequence where Artie, a character in a wheelchair, stood up and performed a dance number. Because the actor was actually able-bodied, the experience was deeply painful for Adam.
“It really hurt watching that because it meant that representation wasn’t authentic,” Adam reflects. “I think that was a bit of the fire that came into wanting to showcase my disability on screen, on stage, whatever it might be, because there will always be a person out there who wants to see themselves being represented so they don’t feel alone”.
His work on Home and Away was a collaborative effort, with the production team actively seeking his input to ensure the script and the character’s physical journey were genuine. He felt true support on set, noting that even within the fast-paced environment of a long-running series, he felt empowered to offer feedback to make his character’s experience more authentic.
Today, married to his high school girlfriend, and as a father to a young son, Adam continues to balance his career with the realities of living with an amputation. He speaks openly about the “dark places” that can come with the physical and mental toll of disability, stressing that self-compassion is essential.
In his personal life, he enjoys sweet moments with his son, who helps him with his daily routine, including applying stickers to his prosthetics.
When asked about the biggest lessons he would pass on to others, Adam emphasises self-care.
“Never neglect yourself,” he advises. “Be caring and loving to other people, but don’t forget to love yourself. I feel like that’s something I have to keep reminding myself is to be, you need to be kind to yourself. And just remember to spread the love and own the love at the same time”.
