Despite all the new stories about chimpanzees causing severe (if not fatal) bodily harm to humans, there are two details that keep the new film Primate‘s plot about a rabid chimp going on a rampage in Hawaii from coming true. First, due to a series of strict regulations and procedures, Hawaii is the only state that does not have rabies. Secondly, it is illegal to keep chimps as pets in Hawaii.
One thing that you won’t have to imagine is the character Adam being deaf in real life. That’s because he’s played by actor Troy Kotsur, who was born deaf. Kotsur, who is best known for playing a Tusken Raider and developing the sign language in The Mandalorian and for his Oscar-winning role in CODA, plays Adam as both a sweet, loving father and as a chimp-fighting hero.
Check out the interview with Johnny Sequoyah and Troy Kotsur below:
As deaf characters are gaining more visibility in media with films like Primate, A Quiet Place and CODA, Kotsur said that he believes that the ideal representation for the deaf and hard of hearing community comes from “authenticity.”
“You know, authenticity is louder than words, right?” Kotsur said. “A hearing actor pretending to be deaf is just nearly impossible, because as a deaf audience and the sign language fluent audience knows, and they can see these nuances, so hearing actors can never match the authenticity of a deaf actor. But there’s different approaches and ways regarding authenticity to feel like the audience can identify and connect, and saying, ‘Hey, I’m seeing myself on screen,’ rather than feeling like there’s a lack of identity on screen. I was really inspired by the film Children of a Lesser God with Marley Matlin, and that was the first time I had really seen an authentically deaf actor on screen and being deaf. I felt such a connection during that moment. So it’s really important.”
Kotsur’s co-star Johnny Sequoyah plays Lucy, Adam’s eldest daughter and the film’s lead. Naturally, she worked very closely with Kotsur and learned some American Sign Language (ASL) from him and his wife Deanne Bray, who served as the ASL consultant for the film.
“It was very incredible just to be able to learn about Deaf culture in general, and also get to start to understand a new language,” Sequoyah said. “I had never done that before for a job, and getting to work with Troy, obviously, is like such a dream come true for any actor. So I just felt very lucky and grateful, and I am very appreciative for how much time Deanne and Troy really spent with me to understand how Lucy would have grown up as a CODA [child of deaf adults].”
The horror genre, in my experience, has been a lot more diverse and features many more women and minorities as leads than other genres. As the lead of Primate I asked Sequoyah what it felt like to join long, proud lineage of “final girls” and why she thinks horror highlights diversity.
“It’s not even necessarily genre specific, in my opinion, I think that any woman leading a film is badass, and that doesn’t have to be horror,” she said. “I do think that women tend to be final girls in this position, maybe because, I don’t know, I think that horror really allows you to see parts of people you don’t usually see. It’s interesting. I feel like horror, in a sense, is almost genreless, like it can be a comedy. It can be a romance. It can be a drama. There’s so many genres that play into [a horror movie]. I’m curious too about your question, but I’m grateful to be part of the pack.”