The story of Alaqua Cox: the deaf actress who became a Marvel superhero

Alaqua Cox was at home in the Green Bay, Wisconsin area, recalling the moment in early 2020 when Some friends forwarded him an Internet link to a casting call for a deaf indigenous woman in her twenties. At the time, Cox, now 26, bounced from job to job — at a nursing home, in Amazon and FedEx warehouses — and I had never acted beyond a couple of plays in high school..

He couldn’t imagine a permanent job on television, much less in the role of a Marvel superhero: Maya López, better known as Echo, a character from Marvel comics. But Cox did, and she soon found herself falling and getting punched in the 2021 Disney+ series Hawk eyenext to the stars Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld.

Now, just over two years after her professional debut as an actress, Cox stars in the five-episode miniseries Echopremiered Tuesday on Disney+ and Hulu.

Pick up the story where it left off Hawk eyeIn Thrown out Maya transforms into a one-man army of motorcycles and spin kicks determined to get revenge on his former mentorthe crime boss known as the Kingpin (Vincenzo D’Onofrio), for his participation in the murder of his father.

Raised on the Menominee reservation in Keshena, Wisconsin, Cox, who was born deaf, couldn’t imagine seeing someone like her on screen.. She was used to seeing deaf roles played by hearing characters, “It was stupid!” she said in a video call last month, aided by an American Sign Language interpreter. Ashley Change. Indigenous roles were rarely seen on screen.

I wasn’t particularly familiar with the superhero genre.. Cox He primarily consumed Marvel films “passively” as a means of bonding with his father.William, Marvel fan.

“I remember seeing them with him, sitting on the couch, looking at their phone.”, accounts. “My father said: ‘No, no, look! Something great is about to happen’“.

It was peer pressure that ultimately caused Cox to send in his audition video. Remember that She was lying on a raft in the lake at her parents’ house. when another friend contacted her and sent her a screenshot of the casting.

“I knew it was a sign for me to try it,” he says. “I said to myself: ‘OK! Let’s try’“.

The video that brought her to fame

The video Cox recorded was one of hundreds that landed on the desk of Sarah Finn, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s lead casting director since the 2008 film, in June 2020. Hombre de Hierro. Searching for the perfect candidate, he contacted Native American and deaf schools, organizations and cultural centers across the country. Cox’s short film piqued his interest.

“He has a beautiful face, open and smiling, and then he showed us his reading, making it almost impossible to believe it was the same person”said Finn. “He was able to change in the blink of an eye and channel this other, much more powerful and intense character.”

Once Finn has narrowed his selection to Cox and a few others, he convinced the studio to assign Cox an acting coach, a personal trainer and a sign language consultant Americans, all deaf, to help her prepare for the audition. Hawk eye.

The investment has paid off. Hawk eye he had found his Thrown out: Someone with, as Finn said, the “mental, emotional, and physical strength to deal with the difficulties of playing a character like this.”

But there was still a lot to learn, from all points of view. Of all the new experiences presented to Cox, the one he enjoyed most was the acrobatic training, learning five days a week to throw a fast kick and a powerful punch. Cox was an amputee and uses a prosthetic leg, but that never stopped her from playingHe says.

“I have a brother who is a year older than me and as children we were always very hard on each other,” he explains. “I had to catch him; he was very stubborn! It toughened me up a little bit, so it was easy for me to do those kinds of stunts”.

When Finn auditioned Hawkeye, there was already talk of a possible series derived from the character. Cox didn’t find out that a new series was in the works until she was halfway through filming her scenes. Hawk eye. The news was, to say the least, a surprise. Echo began filming in April 2022 and Cox joined immediately.

“One of the first questions he asked when we first spoke was: “Can I do my own stunts?”“. This was commented by Sydney Freeland, writer-producer of the series on. “And I told her: ‘Yes, go ahead’. “She WAS willing to go in there, suffer bumps and bruises.”

“All his film experience before that Thrown out A few days have passed Hawk eye‘” added Freeland, who also directed the episodes. “For her Going from such a small sample to being the protagonist of a Marvel series is a tremendous challenge. It is also true for the most experienced actor.”

Cox had another important pre-production request for Freeland and his team: attend sign language classes.

“I told them: “Be able to communicate with me in basic sign language”“says Cox. Many cast members have learned, attending sign language classes a few times a week, she said — several characters use sign language on screen to communicate with Maya — as do several key members of the team, including Freeland. “It was really cool when we got to the studio,” Cox adds.. “They could sign ‘How are you?’ and “Do you need to go to the bathroom?”, that kind of simple thing.”

Freeland was reluctant to take too much credit: “It’s very generous to say I learned sign language,” he said. “It was probably like talking to a child for her. But she is very kind and very patient.”

Filming of “Eco”

Thrown out It was filmed in and around Atlanta, far from Cox’s close-knit Wisconsin community. Filming lasted about three months., and Cox had no relatives or friends in the area. He helped her being surrounded by a predominantly indigenous communitywhich included Tantoo Cardinal, Graham Greene, Devery Jacobs and Cody Lightning. “I felt at home”, He says. “They were immediately like cousins ​​or sisters.”

Cox reflects An honor to play Marvel’s first indigenous deaf superhero AND provide representation to amputees. But the success was bittersweet. Her father, both Marvel’s and his daughter’s biggest fan, died in 2021, the same week that his character’s father (Zahn McClarnon), also named William, was shown meeting his untimely end in Hawk eye.

“Suddenly, these two worlds collided”Cox said. “And it was so heartbreaking.

“But he was very proud of me,” she continued of her father. “I know that he is watching me from heaven and encouraging me. I know it and I feel it”.

Fountain: The New York Times