We’ve seen hearing people play deaf characters on TV and in the movies countless times, much to the chagrin of some in the deaf community. The counterargument is effective, “but actors/actresses are supposed to pretend that they are someone else.” Perhaps. I’ve written some thoughts on this topic before in “Babel Disintegrates the Tower of Babel” about Rinko Kikuchi, a hearing actress who is cast as a deaf, signing woman in the movie, Babel.
And now a deaf man from India may have turned the paradigm upside down. The 25-year-old Dhruv, which The Times of India claims has never heard or spoken a sound in his life, is the lead actor in the movie, Snehanjali. He performs the role of a hearing man, while lip-synching — like Milli Vanilli — the dialogue and songs. How did he do it? According to the article, “Deaf-mute but still a hero“:
…he grew interested in acting, a career that took off more than a year ago when he accompanied his father to a dubbing studio. He was awe struck by the fact that voices actually have to be dubbed for the screen and are not recorded at the place of shooting.
‘If lip-syncing is all that one has to do to go on screen, I wondered why I, too, couldn’t do it,’ Dhruv informed in sign language. At that time there were not many - including his father, Suresh - willing to believe that Dhruv would be able to pull it off.
Sure, it would be nice to see more ASL on the big screen, but for deaf and hard of hearing actors/actresses, this is an intriguing idea. Of course, one still has to rub elbows with Hollywood bigwigs and rise to the top before being considered for a hearing role in a major motion picture. And some of us are pretty good at imitating hearing people, aren’t we?
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I can see now the pitchforks and flames from a crowd of angry hearing people going after Deaf actors for lip-synching in a hearing role.
Perhaps AGBell can help by getting more deaf actors into those types of scenes? Or would that be too “audistic”?
McConnell,
Why would AGBell want to advocate for deaf people to become Hollywood lip-synchers? Don’t deaf people using oralism/AVT speak as well as hearing people? ;)
Mike, the second part of your comment makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever.
Chris, Chris… McConnell, as bright as he is, is somebody who believes everything irrational bloggers and the vein-poppingly angry commenters, composing .1% of any given population, say actually represent the beliefs, attitudes and whatnot of 99.9% of it. To him, cyberworld and blogosphere are the real world. Hence, his attempt at social commentary disguised as sarcasm.
Um…no.
er, uh, um, your blogs and comments say otherwise.
Pick one.
Uggggh. Ben, just do all of us a favor and ignore McConnell. He’s not worth our time.
Might be a good idea.
It’s called sarcasm. Note the first paragraph I wrote.
Sure, it’s sarcasm. But there’s usually a direct message hidden underneath most sarcasm, isn’t there? And I’d just like to know what yours is. Do you think audism doesn’t exist? Do you think that deaf people blame everything negative that happens to them on audism, and you would like to see them stop doing this?
More or less I would just like to know what your message is, because you brought up the topic of what would be audistic. And I promise you, to avoid unintentionally hijacking this thread, as soon as you tell me exactly what your direct message is, I personally will drop it for the remainder of the discussion on this post.
I just want to understand. I’m curious.
Suppose it was AGBell who suggested that oral deaf actors be used. Suppose there was a story that AGBell advocated that deaf oral actors ought to do this sort of acting method (ie lip synching). Would there be an outcry?
I don’t know. And honestly, who cares? I’m getting tired of the arguments for argument’s sake…
Hes already dead, there is no ‘ifs’.
AGBell = the organization. And not the person.
McConnell, some people in blogosphere might complain but overall I don’t think most deaf people would give a bleep.
Perhaps true. But then again we’ll never know. Some people tend to be high strung about these things.
#2 McConnell:
“Sacrasm”? Perhaps it actually was your
Freudian slip???
Actually, no. Read my response to Chris.
*sigh*
Fellas, this blog isn’t about Mike McConnell. Let’s stay on topic here…
I think it’s pretty neat, personally. If a deaf person can pull it off, all the more power to them.
But I was always under the impression that the majority of dialogue are done at the location of shooting, not dubbed over. Interesting. But then that is Bollywood, not Hollywood. Things probably are done a bit differently there and here.
I agree with A Deaf Pundit that if it can be done, great job then. However, it is Bollywood, and why would they use ASL? I’m fairly certain they have their own sign language and there is no requirement for deaf actor/actresses to practice it on screen or on stage.
Often, a talented actor or actress is one who can be diverse in their acting. That is their trade. Which is why so often an actor who strikes it big becomes afraid of being typecast in the same role over and over, with limited capacity to truly explore and demonstrate their talents.
Shane says: “And some of us are pretty good at imitating hearing people, aren’t we?” I am in toto agreement with you on this point. That is what “actor” means. Deaf actors can do anything except hear.
Oh, NOT the “deaf people can do anything except hear” cliché again. That is SO tired.
I can hear. I just can’t hear or process auditory information well. And I certainly can’t do “anything.” I can’t do more than simple math in my head — I’ve never liked numbers. I can’t understand why millions of people in the world use religion as an excuse to kill others. I can’t reach up to the top shelf of most cabinets without asking someone or dragging a chair over — though I think that might be a height issue. ;-)
Can we just PLEASE drop that cliché phrase?
In Hollywood/Bollywood, they hire actors on their ability to act. They couldn’t care less about your lifestyle, culture and your personal life.
If that is true that Hollywood/Bollywood could care less about your lifestyle/culture, etc, then why, for instance, are so many in-the-closet homosexuals are deathly scared to come out? Because the fact of the matter is, coming out is a nail in the coffin of the careers most of the time. There are exceptions, of course.
Sweet! Now I can start my acting career….
Always wanted to be in a mafia movie…
For McConnell above as I can’t do a reply, why bring up AGBAD about oral deaf people, you fail to include those deaf people that aren’t oralists but capable of hearing and/or speaking in addition to using ASL.
Yes, I would expect an outcry because the action and proposal by AGBAD (in your hypothetical statement) would be exclusive, singling out non-oralists deaf people who would be as equally qualified.
Sorry for the grammatical errors. It is what happens when doing it on a pager!!! Arrghhh :)
Sorry for the grammatical and organizational errors. It is what happens when doing it on a pager!!! Arrghhh :)
I wonder how Dhruv communicated with the director and other actors in the studio? The article didn’t quite say. Did he have an interpreter (since apparently he signs…)? Did he have a coach helping him learn the lines he was to lip-synch? Those are QQ I find to be more meaningful than platitudes of “wow, a deaf actor acting in a hearing role” and I wish more news articles would explore the details of how those things are done, but hey, at least Dhruv’s gotten somewhere! Thanks, Shane, for sharing… It’s been a while since I’ve wandered over to the Times of India website myself :)
I went over to read the full article, and I noticed that he said his father helped him with the scenes the night before shooting. So I guess his father was his coach.
I could be totally off base with this, but knowing India’s conditions when it comes to disability and deaf rights, and the astounded reaction he got from everyone, I don’t think he had an interpreter. How he exactly communicated with his fellow actors is a good question though, and something I would like to know as well. :)
It’s fair for deaf actors to act in hearing roles… payback time!
Agree. So, in other words you are saying it’s fair that hearing actors act in deaf roles then?
I don’t know what SHE’S saying, but for me it’s a range, with problems at both extremes. If on the one hand it becomes a laugh for a Native American Indian to even try to become an actor because Hollywood just paints all the White extras reddish-brown and puts them in all of the roles that call for Native American Indian characters, that’s not good. But if, at the other side of the extreme, a role that calls for a Black, one-eyed, four foot three bisexual Lutheran hermaphrodite with natural white hair has to in fact be *filled* by a Black, one-eyed, four foot three bisexual Lutheran hermaphrodite with natural white hair, that’s a problem too, because how many actors meet those criteria?
But suppose that worldwide, five in fact do. What of it? It is, after all, acting. And there are such things, after all, as make-up artists. And there’s such a thing as re-imagining a role. Any Battlestar Galactica fans out there? The old role of Starbuck in the 70s was played by a man. The new role is played by a woman, and she kicks ass. In fact I think that’s the most awesome female role on television currently, not just because of how the role is written, but because of how she plays it.
So ideally you want to stay in the middle. I’m just as tired of seeing hearing actors being cast so often deaf roles as I am of almost never seeing deaf people play hearing roles. The fact that this guy did is definitely a refreshing step in the right direction.
Well, people do have a tendency to get all too bent out of shape because it rankles their senses. Just as some protested over Marlee Matlin use of her voice at the Academy award though she did sign throughout in the movie “Children of a Lesser God.”
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/f.....A96E948260
So, which is it? Accept that deaf/hoh can in fact do talking dialogues in movies (and off stage) just as well as they can do dialgoues in ASL in movies (and off stage)? How much of a middle are you saying, Chris? That Deaf people can do anything except hear, not talk and use ASL only?
Hi Mike:
For me personally, I kind of move back and forth along the middle depending on the problems of the times, you know? I don’t think there’s one big general “right” answer for everyone. I think it’s cool to see a deaf person in a hearing role, lip synching away in the time-honored tradition of Milli-Vanilli (did I spell that right?). It’d also be cool to see more roles in which deaf people are played by actual deaf people, so that hearing audiences can get exposure to actual, honest-to-God deafness beyond what, say, Rob Lowe might have to offer…
(PS, yes that’s a reference to The Stand…)
Interestingly enough, Rob Lowe is deaf in one ear.
Is he really? I didn’t know. I just didn’t buy the way he portrayed a totally deaf person. Not sure why.
Just the same that not all deaf people are excellent lip readers. And nor do they all know sign language either. Perhaps you were wanting a character that signs, rather than a lip reader or the pen and paper type person.
A cultural bias you have?
Nah not really. What was the name of the show Matlin was a lawyer in? I remember there was a scene when she was signing away to a witness on the stand (voicing too maybe–not sure) and then she asked a question, right? But then while the guy was answering she turned around and started walking towards the jury box. It made for a dramatic shot, and Sam in Law and Order does it all of the time. Had she been playing a hearing lawyer, no problem. But as a deaf person, it just seems unreal that I’d ever turn my back on a person who speaking to me (I think the terp was right there next to the guy). How’s she supposed to see the signs, you know? So there you have a case where Matlin IS actually deaf, and was playing a deaf person, but even she had a split second where she crossed into unbelievability for me personally.
Which isn’t to say she isn’t an excellent actor. She is. In any role. It’s just a small critique. And Lowe sort of lost me a bit in The Stand a few different times. I’d have to watch it again. Been too long…
Chris…
The program with Matlin was Reasonable Doubts. Bill Pugin (who is Mary Ann Pugin’s brother) played the role of her interpreter…can’t remember the name of the cop guy - he is a well-known actor, but his name escapes me at the moment.
Hiya VA…..the actor’s name is Mark Harmon who is currently starring in NCIS. Noticed he and another actress on NCIS do some signs but gosh…it sucks
Oh yeah, I remember now. The terp, I think, was also in the play Huck Finn that Chris Corrigan was in…
…at least he looked like the same guy…
Chris — yes, really. Rob Lowe contracted some sort of high fever as a baby — left him deaf in one ear. He was on the Tonight Show after some awards ceremony last year. Said the organizers had him sit next to Robin Williams, but he couldn’t hear a thing because he was on the “wrong side” and kept going “what? what?” … :)
I think it’s his left ear he’s deaf in.
Right ear. Just checked. :)
a tinge of sarcasm here.. i know deaf actors CAN get away portraying hearing people. Bit tired of the hearing and abled bodied people using hearing or big name hearing actors to portray deaf people in addition to sean astin’s mother (last name is Duke) who played helen keller and rosie mcgowan as an amputee with a machine gun as her leg prothestic in quentin tarantino’s recent flick. now that there’s almost no blackface nowadays and more and more native americans perform in native american roles in movie and tv… shan’t be long til we can get our turn.. the producers need to stop thinking about accommodating deaf actors to factor into their movie/tv/theatre budgets. hope this clarifies.
All those years hearing actors have been playing deaf roles and never once have I heard for a deaf actor to play a hearing role. So just don’t get too clamored up to say it is fair about the idea for the hearing to play the deaf yet because it has been old school. If the payback time had been evened out then we could say it would be fair.
Lest you all forget that Marlee Matlin was going to play as a hearing woman (using her voice) in a Paramount Picture movied called “Fox” back in 1988. Guess after the Academy Award brouhaha for using her voice she changed her mind about the movie, “Fox”?
A bit of hypocrisy here?
Hiya Guys…..
Ya know, all this stuff about hearing actors playing deaf characters and vice versa…This is going to be an ongoing issue for years to come. What I think we should be doing is making our OWN films (yeahyeahyeah I know it cost $$$$$$$$). With technology and digital cameras getting user friendly and cheaper, This way, we do have better control of how we do things culturally and linguistically. Ive seen a few done by filmmakers (Mo’x and ASLFilms for example) and both are low budget films, but very doable. I do agree that the choices of actors needs to be refined and polished, but hey, until we all have a school or training place where we can develop and practice our crafts, this is the way things will be for the time being. Didnt the black community do that, and the hispanics? not to mention the Asians. Im pretty sure their initial films were ‘B’ class but thats okay….gotta start somewhere!
Whats to stop us from continue to create our OWN movies, TV shows etc? Other than $$$ what is stopping ya all? There ARE ways!
by the way Va Beach, get in touch with me….I dont have your email, you have mine :-)
I seconded when a film critic said way back that both Mark Harmon and Rob Lowe cannot act. Jay Leno asked Lowe before 20 million viewers why Lowe does not use any facial expression on and off screen. Too immobile.
Look at the greatest deaf actor, Phyllis Frelich! She really understands Shakespearean lines and uses proper facial expressions as well as body language! Albeit still not surpassable as British Laurence Oliver, George Johnson was also one of the greatest Shakespearean actors at Gallaudet. Howard Palmer was terrific, too. They could have played as hearing characters 20 years ago!
This is not surprising. It has been done all the time…deaf or not. Even hearing people were lip-synched - Andie MacDowell was dubbed by Glenn Close in GREYSTROKE: LEGEND OF TARZAN - because Andie’s voice was too American and wanted it to sound more softer and british. Now any person who knows how to move their lips in “speech” can be dubbed by anyone! If a foreigner or a deaf person who do not know how to properly use/move their lips as if they were actually saying the words - would look like an old godzilla movie where we see mouths moving but no clue then finally few seconds later english voice comes on! LOL.
I think deaf or hearing really can do anything if they put their minds and motivation to do it!
Nothing is impossible - (of course impossible if we can turn back the time!) or is it?