John Krasinski Insisted on Hiring a Deaf Actress to Play His Daughter in 'A Quiet Place'

During the casting process, Krasinski pushed for deaf actress Millicent Simmonds.

Simmonds made her debut in 2017's Wonderstruck, which was also acclaimed by critics. Though only 14 years old, she's already an advocate for the deaf community. In October 2017, she told People:

I want to see more deaf people have the opportunity to become actors. And I want [hearing people] to know that it's okay to learn ASL. 98, maybe 99% of deaf children with hearing parents, their parents do not learn sign language and the children are forced to speak and lip-read. At my school, I see all the deaf children who are frustrated because their parents don't sign and they don't communicate with them well. The oral approach to lip read and speak is very anti-sign language and I want to say, learn sign language first. It's very easy for everyone to learn. No one is judging you and it'll be an amazing experience.

Scott Beck, one of the film's writers, told Huffpost what it was like having Millicent on board.

We always had a deaf character in the script, but John really pushed for them to hire Millicent. She came to set and taught everyone sign language. It was really amazing and brought an extra depth to the film.

In A Quiet Place, monsters roam a post-apocalyptic world and hunt anything that makes even the quietest sound. Simmonds plays the daughter of Emily Blunt and John Krasinski (who happen to be married in real life), who must raise their two children in complete silence while also preparing for the birth of a third.

If your a fan of suspenseful thrillers OR deaf representation in modern films, 'A Quiet Place' might just be the film for you!

H/T - Huffpost, People