Deanne Bray as Emma Coolidge on "Heroes."

Two weeks ago, NBC's "Heroes" wrapped up its fourth season. The show's creativity isn't as high as it once was, and its continued struggle in the ratings has its future up in the air, but it still occasionally offers a storyline the audience can invest in. One of the year's strongest arcs came with the introduction of Emma, portrayed by Deanne Bray.  

Emma has the power of enhanced synesthesia, or the ability to see and manipulate sound waves. Throughout the season she mainly interacted with fan-favorite Peter Petrelli. As the two developed a close bond, they were both able to overcome their reasons for distancing themselves from the outside world. 
 
The character of Emma is also deaf, as is her portrayer. Bray is profoundly deaf in her right ear and has an 86 dB hearing loss in her left ear. Like Emma, she communicates through American Sign Language (ASL), reading lips, and spoken/written English.
 
Bray has been around the entertainment business her enitre life and began acting in 1991. On the stage she has been a lead actor in Helen & Frida and Road to Revolution and has also participated in other numerous productions, including Equus, Alice in Wonderland, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. On television, Bray has had guest-starring roles on such hits as The L Word, Curb Your Enthusiasm, CSI, Rescue Me, and Ellen. She also played the lead role in Sue Thomas F.B.Eye, which aired from 2002-2005 on the former PAX TV network (now Ion Television).
 
Aside from acting, Bray teaches deaf and hard of hearing high school students. She recently took the time to answer a few questions for Neon Tommy:  
 
NEON TOMMY: Were you a fan of Heroes before you were cast?
 
DEANNE BRAY: I didn't know about Heroes until I saw Greg Grunberg on screen. I'm a big fan of his work (from Felicity) and started watching Heroes because of him.
 
I called my old manager asking him to pitch an idea of a deaf character but he advised not to do it because we didn't know the inside people. Then one day, I think about a year later, Heroes announced that they were looking for an actress to play a deaf/hard of hearing character who is fluent in ASL. I went for it!
 
Was it hard to enter a show where the main cast had been together for a few years already? Did it help that so many other new actors (Robert Knepper, Ray Park, Dawn Olivieri, etc.) were also brought into the fold at the same time?
 
It wasn't hard. I just stayed focused and did what I needed to do. The first person I worked with was Milo [Ventimiglia] and then Masi [Oka]. They were easy for me to work with. I hit off with a few directors and writers on Heroes and seeing that they had an open mind during the process of making the scenes work was amazing!
 

Your character, Emma, worked mainly with Peter. Their relationship never turned romantic, but they seemed to have a very meaningful connection right from the start. What made their relationship work in your mind?
 
Their friendship is growing where, in time, they will develop trust and honesty. They continue to learn from each other and become better beings. The writers did not have a love interest in mind, but who knows, they could change their minds!
 
Which actors on the show did you really enjoy working with? Were there any actors on the show you wish you had shared scenes with?
 
All of them! I wouldn't mind working with Greg Grunberg. Jack Coleman is another one that I wouldn't mind working with [and] I would like to work more with Zach Quinto. Milo and Masi are [also] fun to work with. 
 
In the past Heroes has seemed to create diverse characters simply for the sake of being diverse and the fans didn't respond well to them (Maya, Alejandro, Monica, etc.). Were you ever afraid the fans wouldn't appreciate Emma and see her only as another attempt by the show to have a "different" character? 
 
I asked the writers, when I had my first meeting with them, how and why they created a deaf character. From what I understand, they had the idea of a deaf character floating around since season one but decided to hold it. During the fourth season, they decided to give it a try. I'm glad they did!
 
I'm glad they used subtitles when Emma uses ASL without her voice since I am culturally Deaf. I'm proud of how Heroes treats ASL as a language like any other language. If the show picks up, I hope they will have another Deaf/hard of hearing on the show. It's like Hiro and Ando speaking Japanese to each other and the subtitles are in English. [It] would be nice to have that in ASL. ASL has been a growing popular language in the U.S. for the last 10-15 years now.
 
Was I afraid of how the fans would react to Emma?  No, I simply didn't think about that and just stayed true to Emma and did the best I could to portray her. I just want to focus on the art part [of the role].
 
A big aspect of Emma's character is her cello playing. Do you actually play the cello?
 
I learned cello last summer and worked with a music teacher (she is a cellist) so that I can feel as real as I can for Emma to play the music pieces. Then I shift to let my character see the colors which guides her to play so well and make beautiful sounds without realizing it. It comes from seeing the colors and her emotions and she innocently "hypnotizes" or draw people in.  
 
In a couple of episodes, the music pieces changed during post-production and didn't match my fingers. I was really disappointed about that, but with other episodes, they kept the pieces. I worked hard on learning and practicing the music pieces! 
 
It means a lot to me that they stick with the music pieces they prepare me for and to see my fingers match during editing. Same way with the piano. They kept the music pieces and my fingers matched. Milo and I had piano rehearsal together a couple of days before the real shoot of the scene. It was great to work with someone else who also cared about the craft and learned his part.
 
Heroes gave me a new meaning to music. I appreciate music in a deeper level because I chose to learn it. I never played any instrument in my life nor knew how to read music notes. Now I have the basic knowledge and will play the pieces they come up with for me. I love learning and am willing to go for it.
 

Did you have any say or were you consulted at all concerning Emma's character arc? 

Yes and no. They already developed Emma and had a general idea about her but they didn't know whether she would be Deaf, deaf or hard of hearing or oral. When I auditioned, they went with the idea of me playing Emma as a Deaf person who signs fluently, sort of read lips and speaks fluent spoken English. I wanted Emma to wear hearing aids where she can read lips better with hearing some sounds. They didn't take that idea but it seemed they were going to play with it maybe later on.
 
They didn't want the focus to just be on her deafness but on her light or being... in how she gives so much more than she realizes. That was their main focus. I still don't know where they are going with Emma yet. I hope they pick up for season five and have her do some powerful stuff! 
 
They don't tell me much about where Emma is in the arc. I just email them ideas and they take them and sometimes not.  It depends on how the story flows.
 
There has been much talk about Heroes not being renewed. Why do you believe the show has performed so horribly?
 
I don't know why there were low ratings. People are watching online now. Some people in other countries have already seen it online before it airs in their countries. Not sure how that works, [but] I would be disappointed if the show doesn't get picked up. 
 
If Heroes does indeed come back for another season, what are the chances that Emma will be back? In what direction would you like to see her go?
 
I would like for Emma to connect with people more. She was disconnected for a while and had no interest in hearing people, non signers, or actually anyone. But with Peter, she felt connected with someone for the first time in a long time. I want Emma to explore that and grow from that. 
 
Not wanting to let go of Peter (not in a falling in love way, but in a spiritual way or just an energy of his that she is attracted to), I would like to see her do or give more than she realizes. She is still at times stubborn, rebellious, and a fighter, but at the same time she has a desire to connect again. I'd like the viewers to see that she's funny as we get to know her.
 
You are one of the few Heroes actors (along with Greg Grunberg, Ray Park, and Dawn Olivieri) who openly uses social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. How important is it for actors nowadays to interact with the fans through these sites?
 
Like Betty White mentioned in her speech during the SAG Awards: she [has corresponded with fans] through the mail and [without] meeting them they have become her life long friends. I thought that was cool that she was in touch with many people who found her entertaining. She was able to support them by sharing her wisdom and thoughts and they support her by following her career.
 
A colleague/friend of mine advised me to get on Twitter and Facebook. She felt that this was an important way to be in touch with fans and networking. It does help do some PR with what I do and will do. I gave it a try and I think it's fun meeting people from all over the world. I even found some of my old childhood friends.
 
I hope the fans I have and will have will keep their boundaries in a respectful way. If they don't, that's when I will have to socialize less. I hope that won't happen!
 
Prior to Heroes, you did a lot of stage work, particularly at Deaf West Theatre in North Hollywood. How important is it to have a place like Deaf West, which not only serves as a place for deaf and hard-of-hearing actors to hone their craft, but also strives to promote Deaf culture? 
 
It's important to me to be a part of their family.  It's my home.  I started with Deafwest when I was 18 or 19 years old and have been with them ever since. I might do a production in the near future (within two months from now). If it works out schedule-wise, I will announce it on my website, Facebook, and Twitter.
 

Deanne Bray as Sue Thomas in Sue Thomas:
F.B.Eye (with co-star Yannick Bisson).

In a prior television role, you portrayed the title character in the series Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye for three seasons (Thomas was the first deaf person to work as an undercover investigator who performed lip-reading of suspects for the F.B.I). How did it feel to help bring her story to TV?  
 
At first, I thought it was a TV movie. Little did I know that it was going to be a TV series and boy that was a ride! 
 
The producers got the idea from Sue Thomas's book, Silent Night. Also they saw her speak at a church one day and fell in love with her light. They auditioned hearing actresses to play her part, but the real Sue pleaded with them to give Deaf actresses a chance.
 
When she saw my audition on a videotape, she told them, "Stop looking, you found your actress." She explained that it was the loneliness in my eyes that she saw which convinced her that I could portray her.  
 
I am not a great lip-reader in real life without my hearing aid but then I met the real Sue Thomas, who has more of a hearing loss than I do and is an expert at reading lips. After meeting her, I learned to accept the fact that just because I don't read lips well without my hearing aid, doesn't mean all Deaf/deaf people can't. Some developed the skills and do real well at reading lips.
 
There are not many out there who are like Sue Thomas. It was an honor to work with her and do her story. It opened my heart and mind, which happens a lot the more I do different characters. I learn so much from them.
 
Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye was "cancelled" due to PAX TV deciding to discontinue producing original programming. Is there any chance the series could still be revisited at some point?  
 
The creators and producers have been saying that they wanted to make more movies or DVDs but I don't know if that will happen. 
 
Your bio on your website says you taught high school before Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye. What drives your passion for teaching?
 
I loved learning new things and growing up as a child [and] I've always loved school. I became a teacher simply because I wanted to inspire other students [to realize] that education is so important to value in life. I continue to learn from my students and became a stronger and better teacher.
 
I started teaching for the first time in 1999. I had an emergency teaching credential and was teaching at Woodrow Wilson High School in Los Angeles and Multnomah Elementary. Then I moved to Canada to do Sue Thomas and I didn't finish my teaching credential. It bothered me not finishing it. I now only have 8 weeks left of student teaching then I will have my credential.
 
I want to finish my master's degree at Cal State University, Northridge. I only have six classes left, but there is a time limit. If I pass that time, then I would have to start all over again. Heroes took me away from school. And now I have projects lining up with my new manager, [but] my goal is to still finish school. Gotta live one day at a time. 
 
And how did you develop a passion acting?
 
My father was a gaffer, electrician, and did lighting in motion pictures for forty years. He was working on Children and the Beast in 1970 in Sedona, Arizona and my mother flew in to visit him for a couple of weeks. She got conceived with me there. I was "born" in the business! 
 
I grew up being surrounded with cameras, lights, cables, pretty stars, yelling assistant directors and directors, and makeup/hair/wardrobe people. I was behind the camera taking this all in. Didn't hear much, but saw a lot.
 
My father said, "You don't want to wake up at 4:30 in the morning studying lines and not eating. Don't become an actress. Go to college and get an education. Education will give you freedom."  This was when I was about eight or nine years old.
 
However, today, my father is proud of me being in front of the camera and on stage.  Also, I kept my promise. I went to college and got an education.
 
Do you have any upcoming acting projects you can discuss?
 
I read two books [recently] and am working on getting the rights to one of them so I can do something with it. I'm hoping to make a movie. I'm mot sure what will happen, but I will announce it on my website when it happens. 
 
The final five episodes of Heroes fourth season can be seen on Hulu. Sue Thomas F.B.Eye can currently be seen in syndication on the Gospel Music Channel and the first season is available on DVD.

Follow the author on Twitter @tonybaltierra