Amazon movie Sound of Metal’s almost all-deaf cast show hearing loss from the deaf community’s perspective
- Starring Riz Ahmed as a heavy-metal drummer who loses his hearing, Sound of Metal features a diverse ensemble of characters mostly played by deaf actors
- American Sign Language coach and deaf actor Jeremy Lee Stone was an integral part in ensuring authenticity, sometimes even taking over from the director
Actor and American Sign Language (ASL) coach Jeremy Lee Stone agreed to appear in Sound of Metal as an ASL teacher after director Darius Marder insisted on using his talents on-screen as well as behind the scenes. Stone is one of multiple deaf artists who offered their perspectives during production to ensure that the film’s deaf community was represented authentically.
Other than actors Riz Ahmed, who plays a heavy-metal drummer who loses his hearing in the Amazon Prime Video drama, and Paul Raci, the diverse ensemble of characters are mostly played by deaf actors.
“I’m so happy to see how this film really represents part of the deaf community, as well as part of hearing loss and that community and the journey through that,” Stone says via Zoom from Pasadena, California.
“I was amazed at how often I got to see deaf actors. There was a solid amount of deaf actors in this film. That is so rare … The last time I saw a project that included – man, I’m trying to think…”
He trailed off, unable to come up with a single example spotlighting as many deaf performers.