Eternals, Lauren Ridloff grateful for the warm reception given to the character of Makkari by the deaf community and fans.
Despite the mixed reception given to the film, following the film’s release Eternals in theaters was recorded a 250% increase questions about sign language learning. The interpreter of Makkari, Lauren Ridloffis deaf even in reality and communicates exclusively using the ASL (American Sign Language), and searches for her increased by 550% within days of release. Furthermore, in 2022, Chloé Zhao’s film obtained an extremely important recognition: the Seal of Authentic Representationprize awarded by Ruderman Family Foundation to productions involving actors and actresses with disabilities in the cast.
During an interview with Marc Malkin Of varietyLauren Ridloff commented on the warm reception from fans to the character of Makkari, explaining that she is particularly happy that members of the deaf community living in South Arabia have managed to recover and love the film despite the bans in the country:
“Wow, that means a lot to me. I just spoke to Danny Ramirez, and I was talking to him about my experience in South Arabia and about how difficult it was for the deaf community who live there to see the film. But they still found a way to see the film ed it meant so much to them. So it means a lot to me.”
Lauren Ridloff on the warm fan reception to her role in #Eternals: “It means so much to me.” #Oscars https://t.co/K4bBaxwkI9 pic.twitter.com/AiSORVNEmt
— Variety (@Variety) March 12, 2023
