[Blindtlk] Meet Christopher Gorham, Star of Covert Affairs on the USA Network

Wed Nov 2 07:09:27 UTC 2011

Is he still using that cheeseball laser cane prop?

I was relatively impressed by the character—it was the main 
protagonist of the series who required just a little too much 
suspension of disbelief for me.  This from a guy who faithfully 
watches Burn Notice and superhero cartoons.

Usually, I don't have much trouble suspending my disbelief to watch a 
generally mindless action/drama with clever agents doing seemingly 
preposterous things as if it were commonplace.

Then again, I didn't make it past the Covert Affairs pilot.  Perhaps 
I ought to have given the show more of a chance to find its footing.

Joseph

On Tue, Nov 01, 2011 at 03:54:44PM -0400, Sherri wrote:
>Covert Affairs is a great show and the blind character in the show is
>portrayed very well. Part of his character is that he is a blinded veteran
>as well. Please see intervview below. Please share.
>
>Meet Christopher Gorham, Star of Covert Affairs on the USA Network
>
>In honor of US Veterans' Day, VisionAware's [1] Editorial Director Maureen
>Duffy is pleased to interview Christopher Gorham, who stars as blind
>military intelligence agent August "Auggie" Anderson in the hit dramatic
>series Covert Affairs [2] on the USA Network.
>
>Covert Affairs tells the story of a young CIA trainee, Annie Walker (Piper
>Perabo), who is summoned to duty, with minimal explanation, as a field
>operative with the Domestic Protection Division (DPD), housed within CIA
>headquarters.
>
>Auggie Anderson is currently head of the Technical Operations Department
>within the DPD. Auggie is a former Captain in the 82nd Airborne Division and
>Special Forces operative who was blinded while on a mission in Tikrit, Iraq.
>Auggie understands the intricacies of the CIA in a way that few others do
>and serves as Annie's guide through the tangled CIA bureaucracy.
>
>Maureen Duffy: Hi Chris. I appreciate your taking time to visit with our
>readers! I've read several interviews in which you discuss your audition as
>Auggie, including the fact that you didn't know very much about blindness
>back then. I am curious, however, about this: What drew you to audition for
>Auggie, the blind character? What did you believe you could bring to the
>role?
>
>Christopher Gorham: Initially, like most of the guys who read for this part,
>the challenge of playing a physically convincing blind character is what
>caught my attention. What I needed to know before I accepted the role,
>however, was that Auggie would also be an emotionally convincing character
>with depth and complexity.
>
>I liked the fact that he excels at what he does, but also wanted to make
>sure he didn't become the typical quirky computer geek that so many
>procedural shows have now. I wanted him to be a leading man, who happens to
>be blind, and I think we've succeeded.
>
>
>
>Piper Perabo and Christopher Gorham M.D. And of course I have to ask this
>question: How do you respond to people who believe that the role of Auggie
>should be played by a blind actor?
>
>C.G. Honestly, I'm almost never asked that question. Certainly, a blind
>actor can be capable of playing a role like this. I think that goes without
>saying. I really can't speak for the producers, nor the network, as to why
>they chose as they did.
>
>The only thing we've done, that a blind actor might not be able to do, is
>the flashback episode [3] showing Auggie in Iraq before he lost his sight.
>
>M.D. Have your ideas about blindness - and disability in general, perhaps -
>changed since you first auditioned? If so, in what ways?
>
>C.G. Oh, sure - of course! My admiration for people living with disabilities
>has absolutely soared since I started working on this show.
>
>I met a man who lost his sight at twenty years old who gave up his mobility
>training [4] for an entire year because he was too embarrassed to practice
>walking with his cane on his street. He then worked up the courage to do the
>work, moved on with his life, and now works as a professional and is married
>with children.
>
>I met a young man who is congenitally blind and plays drums in a heavy metal
>band.
>
>And David Lepofsky, who's well known in Canada as a lawyer and disability
>advocate, has introduced me to all the newest, coolest technological gadgets
>for the blind [5] (some of which have made it onto Auggie's desk!).
>
>The people I've met and the reading that I've done have all served to
>educate me about the technical, and emotional, aspects of living without
>sight; but, as importantly, they've reminded me how different each
>individual is.
>
>It's the uniqueness of each individual with a disability that, I feel, has
>driven us to make Auggie a "real" person, not just a "blind guy."
>
>M.D. In a recent interview, you mentioned that most sighted people don't
>know any blind people, and, as a sighted person who happens to have many
>blind friends, I do agree with you. Now, of course, you've spent quite a bit
>of time around blind people, both as colleagues and friends. What is the
>most interesting thing you've learned - as Auggie or as Chris - about living
>with blindness?
>
>C.G. The most interesting thing I've learned is how differently each person
>lives; at the same time, the training blind people receive seems to be
>pretty standardized. For instance, mobility training [4], as I understand it
>and have (in a limited way) experienced, is based on a standard body of
>knowledge. Safe cooking technique [6] is another example of something that's
>fairly standard, such as using trays, not leaving knives in the sink [7],
>etc.
>
>What's great, and should be expected but often is not, is how each
>individual takes that training and then modifies it for their individual
>needs. For instance, I've seen one, maybe two, blind people on the street
>who are holding their canes the "proper" way. The rest of them are just
>holding it however they find comfortable.
>
>In Istanbul, where we were shooting for Auggie's flashback episode [3] of
>Covert Affairs, I saw a blind man walking, quickly, in the middle of
>hundreds of people with his beat-up, bent cane just kind of held out in
>front of him and he was one of the happiest-looking people I saw on that
>trip.
>
>M.D. I've also read about your rehabilitation training at CNIB [8] in
>preparation for your role. This especially interests me because, for many
>years, I was a university professor who taught the adapted "skills of
>blindness" course at Salus University [9]. What was the most difficult skill
>for you to learn? Is there any daily living activity (blindness-related)
>that you still want - or need - to master?
>
>
> C.G. Street crossing was the most difficult. I know that anyone who's gone
>through that training knows what I'm talking about. Until you've stood,
>sightless, on the corner of a major intersection, trying to listen for the
>traffic pattern and planning your veer so you don't walk into oncoming
>traffic, then walk not knowing, for sure, how far you have to go, nor, if
>the corner isn't very tactile, knowing for sure when you've made it all -
>well, you know what I mean.
>
>That was tough, and I wouldn't go out and try it alone. And let me say this,
>I haven't "master"ed ANY of the blindness-related living activities [10]!
>This is, very much, a work in progress.
>
>M.D. Speaking of mobility, will Auggie ever get a guide dog? As you know, a
>dog can definitely be a "babe magnet," so to speak!
>
>C.G. I've wondered the same thing. The answer is, I don't know. But, you
>know what they say about dogs and kids in film. (In case you don't know what
>they say, they say dogs and kids will always steal the scene, so don't work
>with them!)
>
>M.D. What are some of the more humorous things that have happened to you (on
>or off the Covert Affairs set) related to your role as a blind person?
>
>C.G. Early on, in Season One, we had to re-shoot a scene because I realized
>halfway through that if Joan (senior DPD officer Joan Campbell, portrayed by
>Kari Matchett) wasn't leading me, and she hadn't been, there's no way I'd be
>able to turn the corner, during the "walk and talk," exactly at the same
>time she turned. To make my point, on one take I just kept walking
>straight - out of the shot!
>
>Also, I added a moment, in the pilot, where Annie takes off without me,
>forgetting that I'm blind because we'd just met. Real, and funny.
>
>M.D. I imagine that an actor's defining role, such as your portrayal of
>Auggie Anderson, has particular meaning for the actor. What will you take
>away from this role that will remain with you?
>
>C.G. I didn't anticipate the very real positive impact that this fictional
>man has had, and will continue to have. I'm so proud of how we've been able
>to reflect, with Auggie, the capability and humanity of not just the blind
>community, but the disabled veteran community as well.
>
>I'm very active in social media and have received hundreds of messages of
>support and thanks from veterans and their families. Some of those words
>will stay with me forever.
>
>M.D. Do you have any words for our readers who (along with their family
>members and friends) are dealing with vision loss every day?
>
>C.G. You stand up and move forward when others would lie down and give up. I
>don't know the strength you have. I can promise you that I do everything in
>my power to honor you, and yours, with my work on Covert Affairs.
>
>M.D. And finally, on US Veterans' Day, is there anything you'd like to say
>to our veterans who have lost their sight due to combat injuries?
>
>C.G. I hope that we make you proud. I hope that, by portraying a disabled
>veteran as a strong, smart, capable, even sexy (!) member of his fictional
>community, we're honoring the very real roles you play in your very real
>homes, neighborhoods and careers. You are our heroes.
>
>We thank Christopher Gorham for his support of VisionAware [1] and urge you
>to watch Covert Affairs, which began Season Three (congratulations!) on
>November 1, 2011. You can also watch full episodes online at the Covert
>Affairs web site [2]. All photos courtesy of USA Network.
>
>Where you can find Christopher Gorham online:
>
>Sherri Brun
>flmom2006 at gmail.com
>Character is the side of yourself you choose to show the world.
>Integrity is what you do, what you say and how you act when you think no one
>is paying attention.
> NFBF Newsline® chair
>www.nfbnewsline.org
>E-mail:  newsline at nfbflorida.org
>Secretary FDCP INC
>www.fdcp.org
>Vice-president National Federation of the Blind of Florida Greater Orlando
>Chapter
>http://nfbfgoc.org
>Chair Orange County Disability Advisory Board

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