Quote

If Hollywood stars speak out, so do all sorts of other people. Now Hollywood stars can get a better hearing.

What the Bleep Do We Know was not written with a deaf person in mind, but when they met me, it clicked with them to have me in it. But that happens with a lot of actors in Hollywood, not just with me.

The deaf community is nearly never portrayed accurately on television/film because most writers never took the time to immerse themselves in the deaf culture before portraying it on television. They also never got to know their deaf actors.

I think we really do need deaf people out there writing their own shows.

Watch me when people say deaf and dumb, or deaf mute, and I give them a look like you might get if you called Denzel Washington the wrong name.

Most of the time, I get auditions for deaf characters where the scene has them communicating in really convoluted ways, like reading lips from across the room when the other person's back is turned or having other people parrot what they say.

It's so rare, actors who are not vain.

You have actresses like Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, who have roles specially written for them.

One of the things that I cannot fathom is young actors who will not audition and won't read.

Scarlett Johansson was wonderful in 'Lost in Translation,' and then, seemingly within a couple of weeks, she became completely Hollywoodised. I was shocked. I didn't recognise her. I hope to God it's just a phase.