Claim: Helen Hunt starred in different movies.

The Sessions -LRB- originally titled The Surrogate -RRB- is a 2012 American independent drama film written and directed by Ben Lewin . It is based on the article `` On Seeing a Sex Surrogate '' by Mark O'Brien , a poet paralyzed from the neck down due to polio , who hired a sex surrogate to lose his virginity . John Hawkes and Helen Hunt star as O'Brien and sex surrogate Cheryl Cohen-Greene , respectively .   The film debuted at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival , where it won the Audience Award -LRB- U.S. Dramatic -RRB- and a U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Acting . Fox Searchlight Pictures acquired the film 's distribution rights and released the film in October 2012 . The Sessions received highly positive reviews from critics , in particular lauding the performances of Hawkes and Hunt . Hunt was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role at the 85th Academy Awards .