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

Wed Nov 2 08:42:46 UTC 2011

I have only seen him use that tool in the CIA building. When he is out and
about he uses a white cane. That and he uses sight guide with Anne because
I think they like it.   All that snuggling. He is a pretty postive
charactor. As a huge bonus he is a braille reader
On Nov 2, 2011 3:10 AM, "T. Joseph Carter" <tjcarter at spiritsubstance.com>
wrote:

> 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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