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As printed in Hearing Health, volume 21:1,
Spring 2005
Interview by Elizabeth Thompson
Rising star, Tyrone Giordano, co-stars with Ashton
Kutcher in the new Disney release, “A Lot Like
Love.” Born deaf into a Deaf family fluent in
both English and American Sign Language, Tyrone was
mainstreamed in Connecticut public schools. He graduated
from Gallaudet University in 1999 with a degree in English
and as more of a hobbyist than a career hopeful, signed
up for a summer school program with Deaf West Theatre.
He played Huck in Deaf West’s “Big River”
on Broadway, a performance for which he earned a Drama
Desk Award nomination. “Big River” was nominated
for three Tony Awards, launching Tyrone into the big
leagues. Recently, Tyrone spoke candidly with Hearing
Health’s Elizabeth Thompson about his burgeoning
career.
When did you first know you
wanted to be an actor?
Imagining myself as an actor was always just a passing
fancy. I never thought I could find meaningful and gainful
employment as an actor until I joined Deaf West’s
summer school program for aspiring actors. It
was then that I began to learn about the craft of acting,
and I was hooked. I wanted to do this for the
rest of my life if I could. I began with a small troupe
called Road Signs that did skits and song-and-dance
numbers using sign language. I got my first paying
gig with Arena Stage’s, “The Miracle Worker,”
as a member of the signing chorus that was formed specifically
for that production. From there, I got into children’s
theatre with the Bethesda Academy of Performing Arts
and my career took off alongside the success of “Big
River.”
Is performing on stage addictive?
The first time I got on a stage to perform, I was a
bundle of nerves. I can remember taking a public
speaking class in college, and in front of an audience
of only six classmates, my hands were shaking uncontrollably. I’d
always liked the dynamics of a class discussion, but
to have all eyes on me for any longer than a few moments
was disconcerting to say the least. But while on
stage, once I realized, “I’m rehearsed,”
and “The audience is responding to my performance,”
I’ve been an approval junkie ever since.
Do you prefer live theater to
acting in movies?
Each setting has its own merits. For pure acting
process, I love working in the theatre, because you’re
living a life on stage and going through it in a progression,
where a character makes choices and grows into something
else. You can change your choices or approach or
motivation each night you perform, testing what works
and what doesn’t with each performance. You
have certain flexibility in performing that’s
spread out over a number of performances whereas, with
a movie, it’s spread out over a number of takes. However,
with film, you must consider the time and money that
go into each passing minute! If you can nail your
performance on the first take, so much the better. Also,
movie-making is cut up into segments and each has an
emotional life of its own. You must build a complete
character long before you begin working, and then when
you finally portray the character, it is in time-jumps
that may not be in the “correct” order and
are instead based on the shooting schedule. Both settings
present wonderful challenges.
You play Graham Geary, Oliver’s
(Ashton Kutcher) older brother in the upcoming movie
“A Lot Like Love”? How does Graham compare
to you?
My character provides contrast to Oliver’s journey
in search of love — which is methodically planned
out. He’s supposed to get “all his ducks
in a row” by getting a job, money and house and
then searching for love, all within a seven-year timeframe.
Graham, on the other hand, knew the moment he saw his
romantic counterpart and wasted no time asking her to
marry him. As a happy-go-lucky guy, I’m a lot
like Graham in many respects and am often quite spontaneous
— but only enough to drive my mom crazy.
How was working with Ashton
Kutcher?
Working with Ashton was a lesson in itself. He’s
a huge star and a professional and I had to scramble
to keep up with him. Not a day went by that I did not
learn something. I was particularly struck by his professionalism.
His on-screen personality can give the impression that
he’s not quite so serious but, in fact, Ashton
takes his job very seriously and performs like any professional
would. That was refreshing to see.
Do you fear being Punk’d
in the future?
I’m not gonna worry about it till it happens,
if it happens.
How would you describe yourself?
I don’t quite know how to answer, but I can say
that I’ve always been the kind of person who wonders
what the whole thing we call “life” is about.
I’m always searching for the answers to life’s
questions. It’s what I do to keep myself entertained.
Does being a Deaf actor make
you any different?
I try to help people see that it’s much better
to remove the label “Deaf” preceding “actor”
and just have them see me as an actor who happens to
be Deaf. You never read about the “black actor”
Halle Berry, do you? The same principle applies here
— you see the actor first and then the other traits
the actor possesses. I find the biggest challenge is
opening minds to what actors who happen to be Deaf are
capable of.
What is the best experience you
have had as an actor?
With “Big River,” seeing the faces of audience
members and how the shows impacted them was a huge blessing
and made me feel very fortunate to be working with a
production that was ground-breaking in many respects.
What struck me the most was seeing Deaf children of
hearing parents watching a show in sign language for
the first time, rather than having to watch interpreters
off to the side. They were seeing the same show as their
parents were seeing because they finally could see actors
signing on stage with the rest of the actors.
It was very moving to see their faces light up when
they described what they saw.
How do you communicate with
hearing people? Do you wear hearing aids?
Yes, I choose to wear hearing aids mainly to facilitate
my interaction with hearing people and to listen to
music. The rest of the time, I prefer to have them off;
they’re a distraction sometimes. My interaction
with hearing people runs the gamut from using sign language,
sign-assisted speech, writing, gesticulating, speaking,
speech reading and telepathy — everything short
of smoke signals. Bottom line: I use whatever is most
effective for them and for me.
What is next for you?
I’m currently involved in a project directed by
Thomas Bezucha, starring Diane Keaton and Sarah Jessica
Parker, among other heavy-hitters.
What dreams are still “out
there” for you?
I hope to continue acting in whatever capacity, especially
in the mainstream and also with Deaf West Theatre, which
has been so good to me while I developed my skill as
an actor in “Big River.” My dreams are as
vague as “changing the world” and as specific
as “making a pile of money and buying a house
to raise a family in.” I’d like to say that
I dream to continue working “magic” in the
world in whatever form comes my way. I want to
continue working on my craft as an actor and hope I
can do this until it’s time to check out.
What message would you like
to leave with the readers of Hearing Health?
Do your best. Relish the love in your life. Be
thankful to those who believe in you. Most of all, believe
in yourself, because if you don’t, who will?
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