Lauren Ridloff Deaf? Lauren Ridloff, also known for her role in the TV series The Walking Dead, is a deaf American actress born on April 6, 1978.
Ridloff made headlines after becoming the first deaf superhero, itching her name in history to make it into the Marvel Superheroes list.
In the 2021 American superhero film Eternals, Ridloff plays the role of Makkari, who, from the earliest conception of the comic books, was a super-fast hearing white man.
However, Marvel Studios executive Nate Moore saw “Eternals,” where the stereotype, standard white, straight, cisgender male model, of the superhero changes.
To broaden the MCU’s demographic spectrum, they changed the character of Makkari to a female hero with a hearing impairment.
Lauren became the pioneer, paving way for other aspiring deaf actors. On the premier night, with overwhelming joy, she found herself weeping in a darkened theater –
“Tears of joy! Tears of joy!”
As she observed herself engaging in American Sign Language (ASL) conversations with co-stars such as Angelina Jolie, Kumail Nanjiani, and Salma Hayek, without a single line of dialogue wasted on explanation.
“Finally seeing Makkari appear on the screen — wow,” she said. “It was definitely life changing. And I hope that this has the same impact on different communities, people who have been marginalized or are underrepresented in this industry.”
How Lauren Ridloff Deaf Got A Role For The Eternals
Lauren Ridloff took her son to an audition and the casting director noticed her, expressing interest in casting her for a different role.
Several months later, the casting director contacted her manager and said, “We want to consider Lauren for a Marvel film, and I can’t tell you what it is.” She couldn’t believe, “Wait, this is Marvel, seriously?”
Later, Ridloff got a call that the director of the movie wanted to meet her. She rushed to L.A., dropping everything, and after listening to the script, her immediate answer was yes.
After getting the role, shooting was equally challenging for her and crew members. One of the members had to use a laser pointer to signal when the scene was starting, but she immediately got the hang of it.
Ridloff also discussed how production integrated ASL into the storyline, her perspective on the increasing number of movies and TV shows featuring characters who are deaf or hard of hearing, and the real-life superpower she uncovered while working on “Eternals.”
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Lauren Ridloff Early Life And Professional Career
The 2000 Miss Deaf America by the National Association of the Deaf was born deaf to hearing parents, a Mexican-American, father Hugo and an African-American mother.
Her parents learned she was deaf when she was two years old, and they started learning sign language along with her.
Lauren attended the Model Secondary School for the Deaf in Washington, following her time in Catholic school.
There, she started exploring her interest in arts and drama, playing Dorothy in a school production of The Wiz.
The California State University graduate actively started to participate in different competition included an ASL performance of the book The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.
Ridloff’s acting career started with a small role as a superpowered agent in the 2017 film Sign Gene: The First Deaf Superheroes.
After a few production works, she landed a role in the ninth season of The Walking Dead. Following this, the 2020 SAG-AFTRA Harold Russel Award winner partnered with Joshua Jackson to star in a romantic drama TV series on the TV network Starz by Ava DuVernay.
Similarly, she starred as one of the three deaf actors in an episode of the Fox anthology drama TV series Accused.
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