The Inspiration Behind “Sound of Metal”

DARIUS MARDER, DIRECTOR, “SOUND OF METAL”: My grandmother, Dorothy Marder, she isn’t she isn’t the grandmother, you picture in your mind. She was a gay woman, a photographer, an incredible intellect and a cinephile. And she lost her hearing after taking an antibiotic when she was too young. And she found herself straddling the world of deaf culture and hearing culture and not having a place to be in either of them. And she dealt with addiction. And she petitioned for the rest of her life to open-caption films. So this came to me after — years after I was already working on this film, I started to feel her spirit in the project. And it became very clear to me that I needed to dedicate it to her. And it’s a very special thing that way.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Now, as we said, it is your first feature. And you have said about Riz Ahmed, who we’re going to obviously be talking to, that you wanted an actor who was — quote — “appropriately frightened by the role.”

MARDER: Yes.

AMANPOUR: What is it about Riz that gave off that vibe?

MARDER: Well, when I say appropriately frightened, I really did try to scare actors for years. And this movie, I have been trying to make now for over 10 years. So it took many, many years of casting. And I think the reason for that is that I am so hungry for this movie myself, I really wanted someone who was hungry like I was. I wanted someone who wanted something from this process, that you would feel on the screen some kind of transcendence. And I found that in Riz. I think he was very appropriately frightened, meaning I was asking someone to learn ASL, not just their lines, but to be able to communicate within deaf culture the way this character would after four to six months of being immersed in it. I was asking someone to learn the drums. I wanted that person to play live in a club without a safety net. I really wanted someone to feel scared. And then I wanted someone to feel hungry for that feeling. And Riz has that kind of courage. Anyone who’s familiar with his work knows how talented he is. But what really surprised me in meeting Riz was how hungry he was and how hungry he was to be out of control, not necessarily in control. And I think that’s where transcendent performances come from.

AMANPOUR: Well, that’s quite a buildup, Riz. You have really given an incredible performance. And there is so much you have to learn, including ASL, American Sign Language. You had implants. There’s so much sound distortion that you had to deal with. Just talk to me about how scary it was for you.

RIZ AHMED, ACTOR: Well, yes, thank you again for your kind words. I mean, I think I’m similar to the character Ruben and similar to Darius in the way that I kind of seek out the feeling of being overwhelmed. I like to kind of juggle multiple careers. And I’m always on the go.