Hawkes said Lewin met and read with several disabled actors to take on the role of O'Brien but said " none of them felt quite right " for the character . Hawkes was drawn to the script due to Lewin 's own experiences as a polio survivor . He read every article written by O'Brien , every poem by O'Brien he could find and credited '' Breathing Lessons '' for helping with his preparation : " It 's 25 minutes of Mark O'Brien speaking frankly and often emotionally about his life … him being washed , getting outside . It was just invaluable . It was such an insight to him , and his poetry is throughout that documentary as well . " '' The Sessions '' premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival as '' The Surrogate '' . According to Rachel Dodes , " the energy in the room was palpable " and the cast received several standing ovations . Fox Searchlight Pictures immediately acquired the film , paying $ 6 million for worldwide rights to it , a fee considered unusually high . The film has grossed $ 6,002,451 in North America and $ 3,135,887 in other territories , totaling $ 9,138,338 worldwide . For its Spanish-language edition , the film was renamed '' Seis sesiones de sexo '' ( " Six Sessions of Sex " )
2012 Sundance Film Festival
2012 Sundance Film Festival
The Sessions (film)