ECHO Star Alaqua Cox On Cast & Crew Taking ASL Classes And Shooting "Very Tough" Kingpin Scene - SPOILERS

ECHO Star Alaqua Cox On Cast & Crew Taking ASL Classes And Shooting "Very Tough" Kingpin Scene - SPOILERS

During a new interview, Echo star Alaqua Talks reveals that the entire cast and crew took ASL classes prior to filming, and explains why a pivotal scene with Vincent D'Onofrio was so difficult to shoot.

By MarkCassidy - Jan 11, 2024 11:01 AM EST
Filed Under: Echo

Echo star Alaqua Cox had zero acting experience when she tried out for and landed the role of Maya Lopez in Marvel Studios' Hawkeye, but she was convinced to give it a go when several friends sent her the same flyer looking for Indigenous deaf women in their 20s to audition for a new TV series.

“I said, ‘No, I don’t want to do that,’ and then two other friends sent it to me,” Cox tells Variety. “Now a bunch of people have sent it to me, so I thought, ‘I’ll give it a shot.’”

After a three-month audition process, Cox was offered the part, and impressed the studio so much that they decided to develop a spin-off for her character.

Cox didn't have that many scenes in Hawkeye, but leading her own show was a much bigger challenge on several different levels.

"All the cast and crew would go to ASL classes two or three times a week on Zoom," Cox tells the site when asked how she managed being surrounded by so many non-deaf people on set. "So when I arrived on set, I was greeted with, 'Hello, how are you?' in sign. It was the basics, but it was so nice to be able to communicate. It made me feel way more comfortable and welcomed. We had three or four ASL interpreters on set at one time and all the interpreters were amazing. They helped me communicate with people who weren’t as savvy with ASL. We made it work all together."

Mild spoilers follow.

One particular scene Cox shares with Vincent D'Onofrio (Kingpin) in the penultimate episode proved especially challenging, since she wasn't able to respond to the usual acting cues. Fisk uses a device which allows him to speak to his former protégé, and understand her signed responses.

"There’s a scene with Kingpin — he’s talking to me using his voice, but I’m using sign language when I talk back to him. The problem was I did not know when it was my turn for my line to start. So one of the interpreters came up with the idea of using a buzzing device that we would put in my shirt. When Kingpin was done talking to me, the interpreter would hit the remote on the device to let me know it’s my turn. That was a challenging thing, because all of the Kingpin scenes were very serious and intense and involve a lot of emotion. When the vibration happened, it was, of course, very distracting, and kind of brought me out of it. It was very, very, very tough, but we made it work."

All five episodes of Echo are now streaming on Disney+.

Echo will be the first project under a new banner known as Marvel Spotlight, which takes its name from an anthology comic book series that debuted back in 1971 and was the origin of beloved Marvel characters like Ghost Rider and Spider-Woman.

“Marvel Spotlight gives us a platform to bring more grounded, character-driven stories to the screen, and in the case of Echo, focusing on street-level stakes over larger MCU continuity," said Head of Streaming Brad Winderbaum. "Just like comics fans didn’t need to read Avengers or Fantastic Four to enjoy a Ghost Rider Spotlight comic, our audience doesn’t need to have seen other Marvel series to understand what’s happening in Maya’s story.”

"Marvel Studios presents Echo in which Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) struggles to reconnect with her Native American roots while balancing aspirations tied to a life of crime as successor to the brutal legacy of Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio) aka Kingpin," reads the most recent synopsis. "In the first episode, we are introduced to Maya Lopez and her struggles."

In addition to Cox, D'Onofrio and Cox (Charlie), the show will also star Chaske Spencer as Henry, Tantoo Cardinal as Chula, Graham Greene as Skully, Cody Lightning as Cousin Biscuits, Devery Jacobs as Bonnie, and Zahn McClarnon as William Lopez.

The origin story of Echo revisits Maya Lopez (Cox), whose ruthless behaviour in New York City catches up with her in her hometown. She must face her past, reconnect with her Native American roots and embrace the meaning of family and community if she ever hopes to move forward.

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bobevanz
bobevanz - 1/11/2024, 11:19 AM
I could go for a nice Peppercorn Ranch salad rn
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 1/11/2024, 11:26 AM
@bobevanz - i love that kind of salad
BobbyDrake
BobbyDrake - 1/11/2024, 6:06 PM
@bobevanz - That sounds really good
DocSpock
DocSpock - 1/11/2024, 11:23 AM

I admire her greatly for dealing with these challenges and working through them.

Best of luck to this talented young lady!

Vigor
Vigor - 1/11/2024, 11:26 AM
@DocSpock - yea I hope there's more opportunities for her in the future. After she has recovered from birthing a baby!
DocSpock
DocSpock - 1/11/2024, 12:03 PM
@Vigor -

I didn't know about that.

It wasn't me! I have an alibi dammit!!!!

Jefferys
Jefferys - 1/11/2024, 7:21 PM
@Vigor - @DocSpock - I just read that too! Which means that around this time she began filming while expecting, which I think is always incredible to imagine. I know I wouldn't have been able to do that, I can barely move with a headache, I couldn't imagine doing an almost film shoot of 14 hour days with the morning sickness and that.
Although reading her wiki page, I'm quite surprised as to how quiet she is about her personal life, I'd love to hear about background and sort of coming up in a world that can be seen as alien in some ways. In saying that she stated previously how on Hawkeye Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld both worked to learn some American Sign Language so that they could communicate more easily with her, which I think is awesome.
DocSpock
DocSpock - 1/11/2024, 8:08 PM
@Jefferys -

I totally agree. Also, I live in North Texas and have many friends among the Choctaw.. I have been several times to their events and festivals & lost far too much money in the giant Choctaw casino on the Texas/OK border. I found this show very interesting in many ways.


Jefferys
Jefferys - 1/11/2024, 8:30 PM
@DocSpock - Oh that's awesome to hear! I kind of only really hear what it's all like from outside sources and whatever I can find on the internet to understand it a little bit better, living in Australia and all of that. Our indigenous culture is severally ignored over here in our media which is sad.
DocSpock
DocSpock - 1/11/2024, 8:42 PM
@Jefferys -

Our 3 week trip to Australia in 2001 was one of the best vacations of our lives. The GBR is soooo great. We loved Kangaroo Island too.

We did the camel ride around Uluru, and boy did the aborigines not like the people that went up or even really got close to it.

Such a great place. Though the Star Casino in Sydney took no mercy on me.
Jefferys
Jefferys - 1/11/2024, 10:34 PM
@DocSpock - My girlfriend's best friend was just working there at Uluru not so long ago, she said you'd be surprised as to how many people still try to climb it even though it's been at least a decade since they outlawed it, terribly huge fines.
I reckon now that it's been coming up to 23 years since you've been here, I reckon the Sydney skyline would be almost unrecognisable to you now due to much in the city comes and goes often. But I've heard stories of the Star Casino, I've only been a handful of times, but how one's perception of time in there is incomprehensible is insane.
Vigor
Vigor - 1/11/2024, 11:25 AM
I think she did a fantastic job. The show wasn't perfect. No show outside of breaking bad will be. But the creators did a wonderful (and what appears to be, tough) job of respecting the choctaw nation and crafting a show that fits seamlessly between hawkeye and the upcoming daredevil.

Folks will only see this through the lens of DEI and that's unfortunate because if you just turn the skeptic part of your brain off and just enjoy it for what it is and accomplished, you'd have a much better time. My opinion. I mean I can't imagine watching a show and seeing a one legged deaf native woman and going " oh they just need to check boxes. Oh look at how she handles that white man. Oh look at all the women banding together to give her spiritual strength, give me a break". Thinking that the entire time would just make me miserable lol
mountainman
mountainman - 1/11/2024, 11:43 AM
@Vigor - I’d place The Wire ahead of Breaking Bad, but just barely. I also think Better Call Saul is as good as Breaking Bad, but to me it’s easier to look at them as one thing.

After those shows, there is a gap before the next batch of all time greatest shows. Nothing touches those two. Not even close.
Vigor
Vigor - 1/11/2024, 11:46 AM
@mountainman - the wire was my first introduction to topnotch TV. I kept trying to get people to watch it but its really tough to get into it and you really gotta stick it out to season 2 to get the genius behind it all

Breaking bad does a better job of keeping your attention. But I agree with you 100% . Those are the upper echelon
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 1/11/2024, 11:49 AM
@Vigor - It's impossible for some people to do that now because their brains have been conditioned into believing that every single creative choice they might happen to deem "work" or whatever is a deliberate attempt to make them angry.

MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 1/11/2024, 11:50 AM
@MarkCassidy - *woke, even
Vigor
Vigor - 1/11/2024, 11:52 AM
@MarkCassidy - ... well cot damn that's one angry basement dweller
mountainman
mountainman - 1/11/2024, 11:58 AM
@Vigor - I think both shows start slowly. BB does have that advantage of that killer first episode, where as The Wire really doesn’t hook you until the end of that first season.

But both are really top notch entertainment starting at the 2nd season.

Both had amazing performances and storytelling, I just felt that The Wire had more interesting things to say.

Fun fact - I was living in the Albuquerque area when BB came out. It was so huge there. I went to all the big locations and met several of the smaller actors from the show. It’s super fun when you get to go and sit at the exact table of the restaurant where Walt poisoned Lydia or eat at Twisters, which is the real life restaurant that they turned into Pollos Hermanos. The lady who owned the White house was super nice when I met her, but she asked me to please not throw a pizza on her roof.
Evansly
Evansly - 1/11/2024, 1:39 PM
@mountainman - My family is out there and talk about how big it was for their culture!

Red or green?
mountainman
mountainman - 1/11/2024, 1:40 PM
@Evansly - Generally Green but if I get a smothered breakfast burrito I want Christmas style.
Evansly
Evansly - 1/11/2024, 1:51 PM
@mountainman - Hell yeah! I'm in Colorado and their subpar version of green has me making red more often. Plus my favorite dish is carne adovada which my grandmother would make each Christmas. My dad sends me chili, tortillas and for Christmas also sent biscochitos
mountainman
mountainman - 1/11/2024, 2:10 PM
@Evansly - I’m also in Colorado! Moved up this way about 10 years ago. And I 100% agree that Hatch Chile >>>>>>> Pueblo Chile.

I’m partial to more “standard” mexican fare though. Street Tacos, Carne Asada Burritos, Tortas, Chilaquiles, etc.

Good Mexican is not easy to find around these parts. Best breakfast burritos in the Denver area I’ve found are at Jalapeños in South Denver.
MotherGooseUPus
MotherGooseUPus - 1/11/2024, 6:02 PM
@Vigor - i enjoyed the show for what it was. not awful, not great but mediocre to me. the editing absolutely killed the show for me. Fisk was great but didnt like his character arc/motivations in this show like in DD, but i will save i LOVED the native american/family story they had going, that was fantastic. Overall i enjoyed it for what it was and people shouldnt hate on it as much as they do
Evansly
Evansly - 1/11/2024, 8:52 PM
@mountainman - Awesome I will check out Jalapeños! I am pretty disappointed with the Mexican food here so I usually just make it myself
WarMonkey
WarMonkey - 1/12/2024, 8:06 AM
@MarkCassidy - Is a man a man and a woman is a woman? That's what he was talking about where in this game they added pronouns and forced the player to choose. Do you use pronouns in your bios? Do you understand why regular people are against being forced to do something they know is against reality? Do you agree it's not nice to force others into acting on ones own divisive and controversial political beliefs? Are you anti-science?
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 1/11/2024, 11:25 AM
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 1/11/2024, 11:29 AM
I have reached my limit with mcu mediocrity.

For someone who watched the marvels twice, i cant get to watch ep 2 of this
Vigor
Vigor - 1/11/2024, 11:35 AM
@vectorsigma - if episode 1 didn't capture your attention, then it doesn't get any better. Good choice to not waste your time. But at least you got to see Matt and Maya fight
Gabimaru
Gabimaru - 1/11/2024, 4:30 PM
@vectorsigma - twice? S#!7 man, i can't even finished the first 10 minutes of that. I just stopped watching any mcu related now. It just becomes ridiculously mediocre and full of woke garbage
thedrudo
thedrudo - 1/11/2024, 11:30 AM
I’ve noticed that Kingpin is always such a badass until the final few minutes of the series when becomes a complete bitch and gets taken out easily.
Vigor
Vigor - 1/11/2024, 11:37 AM
@thedrudo - they were clever not to have Maya take him on and instead use her voodoo hands to disarm him. Because if she came anywhere close to defeating him hand to hand, there would be an uproar

In a sense same with Kate Bishop. She couldn't touch Kingpin. She had to use all of her attacks at once to slow him down and he STILL walked away lol
KaptainKhaos
KaptainKhaos - 1/11/2024, 11:47 AM
I think she's a great actress, looking forward to whatever other projects she does
WhateverItTakes
WhateverItTakes - 1/11/2024, 12:20 PM
I watched this on the train with no headphones. Never managed to disturb anyone
Jefferys
Jefferys - 1/11/2024, 10:31 PM
@DocSpock - My girlfriend's best mate was working there at Uluru not so long ago and you'd be surprised how many people still try to climb it after they outlawed it like a decade ago. Although it's been 23 years I reckon the Sydney skyline would be also unrecognisable these days considering how many things come and go quickly in there.
Oh I have heard stories about the Star, I've never been a gambler myself, but the few times I went in there, your perception of time is incomprehensible, it's astounding and really freaky.
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