Amanda Richer is many things, including a respected actress, director and producer. Her career took off early, when she landed a role in the Gemini-nominated kids’ show Deafplanet.com in 2003.
Since then, she has added Humber grad and ASL teacher to the list – and she’s created her own language.
Richer coaches Karen Fukuhara, the actress who plays Kimiko Miyashiro / The Female, a mute character on The Boys. The series’ second season is airing now on Amazon Prime Video.
While Richer generally coaches actors in ASL, she taught Fukuhara a language she created for the character.
“I play around with different handshapes. I also watched a lot of different sign language clips from all over the world to see how they use their handshape movements,” said Richer.
Her handshapes paint a picture related to the word she’s signing.
“Lots of things went into play to create the best language for the character.”
Teaching an actor ASL requires a lot of repetition and rehearsal. Richer trains Fukuhara in Kimiko’s language every day.
“Every day we rehearse there is a new point of focus,” she said.
She teaches all her pupils from the same holistic perspective.
“I share with them the culture, the language, the body and facial expressions that come with the signs.”
The language helps bring Kimiko to life on the hit show. The Boys was just renewed for a third season.
Career-ready
Richer’s Humber College journey began when she was accepted into the Acting for Film & Television diploma program.
“Humber was the only college I wanted to go to when I was looking at programs,” she said.
Richer first graduated from Humber in 2006.
Richer was armed with broad knowledge of the industry after her time at Humber, having studied what goes on in front and behind the camera. She learned everything from proper set etiquette, to ranking order to how to read a call sheet.
After several years in the industry, she decided to return to Humber to get her Film & Television Production advanced diploma. She graduated in 2012, and when she returned again to get her Bachelor of Film and Media Production degree, her previous courses qualified her to enter into the third year of the program.
She graduated for a third time earlier this year.
After so many years of study and support, she says “Humber is home.”
Oscar-worthy work
Richer is known as a creative and effective teacher, using her unique mix of industry knowledge and language expertise to help bring characters to life.
She has worked as an ASL coach on projects like Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar-winning 2017 film, The Shape of Water.
“It was my first big job,” she said.
“I’m proud of the way I presented myself and how much I grew from that experience.”
Richer taught Sally Hawkins, who stars as Elisa, a mute janitor. The film is set in the 1960s so Richer trained Hawkins to use language reflective of the time period.
The Shape of Water went on to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
The film helped solidify her resolve to pursue a career in the industry - and to promote positive change and representation.
“I would like to see more diversity on the screen. If you’re looking for an authentic performance, then look no further than to hiring someone who lives it,” she said.
In addition to her continuing work on The Boys, Richer is working on a film of her own. She hopes to start shooting in the next few months.