Bonus interview footage with Lauren Ridloff of “The Eternals”

Alex (Daily Moth): The last time we did an interview — I think it was two years ago — you were in a Broadway show called “Children of a Lesser God.”

Lauren Ridloff: Yeah!

Alex: And since then you’ve been in “The Walking Dead” series as Connie, and you’ve been in some other films, and now this Marvel’s “The Eternals.” Wow! Can you describe how your experiences as a professional actress evolved with an increasingly bigger stage? How did one impact the other up to now? Can you describe that journey?

Ridloff: When I first started on Broadway, I really didn’t understand what my needs were. I know my needs as a deaf person. But as for an actor who is deaf, I didn’t know. So I was glad that when I started, I had incredible support from Alexandria Wailes, who was a consultant for “Children of a Lesser God.” She supervised the whole setup of the production. She made sure we had everything we needed. Interpreter, ASL consultant, translation support, all that. Even with accessible technology, in my dressing room, we had a screen setup with captions. It was all set up for me and it set a high standard. When I moved on with “The Walking Dead,” it was completely different because television and theater are two completely different animals. So I had to figure out — I took some of the practices from the theater to TV. I also did reach out to other veteran deaf actors for advice and support. Over the years, I feel that the biggest change for me was the mindset. I came to Marvel with the idea that I wanted to “prove” that it is easy working with a deaf actor. I didn’t want them to feel that burden to have to make room for this person and hire an interpreter and all those disruptions. I did have it in the back of my head and almost felt apologetic. Is that wrong? Hmm. It’s just a natural part of the journey for me. So, through my interactions with my cast and the director, I realized that I am supposed to assert my needs. As an actor. This is my job and my responsibility to protect the integrity of my character and to protect what I need. I saw other cast members who have their own needs. I learned from them that it is okay to admit what you need. It’s okay to admit your concerns or maybe vulnerabilities. Because at the end of the day we are all humans. And we all are here together to deliver professional quality acting work.

Alex: I get that. It’s an important lesson to make clear what I need and to not feel hesitant about it but rather to show what you need because in the end it’s your reputation and the deaf community’s representation that’s on your shoulders. It’s a lot of weight so you’ve got to be strong. I get that. I hope that people watching will learn from that.

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Alex: You basically worked with others to come up with a new “sign language” to apply to the film (The Eternals)? Can you explain that process? I can imagine that you had to do it so it would be easier with everyone on the same page. I’m curious about that if you don’t mind explaining.

Lauren Ridloff: It was an interesting process. My first concern was with using ASL for this film. I shared concerns with Chloe, the director, about using ASL because this story is set in a distant past and ASL is still basically a language in its infancy. Chloe said, “Everyone in this story speaks English.” English was not around that long either. The point is that it’s just a movie. So I was like, okay, with this mindset, I’m going to use ASL going forward. As for the characters’ name signs, I want to thank the work of the ASL consultant, which is my husband, Doug Ridloff. He’s already worked in several productions before and after this film. So he has a lot of experience and a good understanding of how to come up with specific signs for specific movies. This movie has several unique names that require you to invent them. I’m thrilled to announce that Marvel has released a video with the name signs of the characters. One of my favorite name signs is Ajak, who is the “mother” of the Eternals. (Shows sign name of Ajax). We got this from LSM (Mexican Sign Language). We reached out to someone from Mexico and asked about words related to harmony, love, and others. So, through that discussion, we agreed on this sign name.

Alex: Nice! I can understand that you had to come up with new signs. You made a good point that English was not present a long time ago, so ASL can be used in the film as well. I think it’s a positive, I’m glad you used ASL.

Eternals Name Signs Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IitHGM6LDSQ

Original Interview with Lauren Ridloff: https://www.dailymoth.com/blog/interview-with-lauren-ridloff-from-the-eternals