How Emilia Jones prepared for her role in CODA

   In CODA, Emilia Jones plays the hearing daughter of deaf parents. Jones spent eight months learning American Sign Language(ASL) for the role. “They found me an amazing deaf coach who taught me ASL, and deaf culture and the nuances,” she says. “I was constantly finger spelling and learning, not only because I wanted to learn my lines. I wanted to be able to talk to my castmates.”

　Ruby, Jones’ s character in CODA, is championed by a choir teacher who recognizes her talent as a singer. All the singing in CODA was recorded live on set, so Jones took voice lessons to build the confidence to sing live on set. “Music really helps me feel, so I make playlists for every character that I play,” she says. “For CODA, I have a playlist of songs that Ruby listens to and then maybe songs that Ruby would want to sing—a lot of Marvin Gaye and Otis Redding.”