CODA star Emilia Jones: ‘Only deaf actors could have done these roles justice’

Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “It shouldn’t be any other way,” says Jones over Zoom from LA, where she is promoting the film, dressed in a black, studded leather jacket, her eyes lined with kohl. “The first time we had a rehearsal in the Rossi family home, Marlee walked in and said, ‘This is not how a deaf person would have arranged their house.’ So we had to take away the furniture and rearrange it.” The sofa in the living room had been placed against the window, meaning whoever was sitting on it would be backlit and the deaf actors wouldn’t be able to see their facial expressions clearly, which is essential to signing and lip reading. open image in gallery Troy Kotsur and Marlee Matlin play Ruby’s embarrassing, loved-up parents in ‘CODA’ Jones picked up habits from the set. And sometimes I’d wave to her instead of saying, ‘Hey mum.’” Jones’s family were supportive of her acting career, her father being “Walking in the Air” singer Aled Jones.