Next Big Thing: After Breakout Performance, ‘CODA’ Star Emilia Jones’ Career Flourishes

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER – If it’s for a part, Emilia Jones is prepared to get her hands dirty — even if that means getting covered in fish guts. For CODA, the 19-year-old English actress plays the daughter of a deaf fisherman. And so it was with great enthusiasm that she stepped onto a Massachusetts dock at 4 a.m. to learn the ins and outs of the trawling trade. Jones spent 12 hours on a boat, pulling in nets and wading through stinky innards with co-stars Troy Kotsur (who plays her father) and Daniel Durant (who portrays her brother). And she enjoyed it — for the most part. “Any time one of the really tough fishermen would turn around, I’d put a fish back in the sea,” she confides with a laugh.

In CODA — which draws its title from an acronym that stands for Children of Deaf Adults — Jones is the sole hearing member of the Rossis, a blue-collar family from Gloucester, Massachusetts. Her character acts as the family interpreter but is considering a move to college. And so fishing wasn’t the only new skill she took on for the shoot. Jones also studied American Sign Language, working with a tutor while filming episodes of Netflix’s Locke & Key in Toronto, feverishly practicing her finger-spelling between takes. “She’s probably the most well-trained actor that I’ve worked with when it came to [sign language],” says co-star Marlee Matlin.
Continue reading Emilia Jones’ Career Flourishes