Director Shawn Levy described the casting of visually impaired performers as the “defining choice of the project”. <\/p>
Filmmakers often attempt to tell disabled stories, but few cast disabled actors in disabled roles.<\/span><\/p>\n Thankfully, <\/span>Netflix\u2019s<\/a> adaptation of the globally renowned novel <\/span>All the Light We Cannot See<\/span><\/a> rejected that tired option by conducting a worldwide search to find visually impaired actors for the lead role of Marie-Laure Leblanc \u2013 a<\/span>nd it paid off, big time.<\/p>\n Describing it as the <\/span>\u201cdefining choice of the project\u201d<\/span><\/a>, director Shawn Levy and writer Stephen Knight pursued actors with visual impairments to fill the pivotal role of Leblanc as both a young woman and a child, a decision that crystallised after watching CODA<\/a> \u2013 the <\/span>Oscar-winning picture which revolves around the child of a deaf adult and features three deaf\/hard-of-hearing actors in leading roles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After conducting an open casting call, the duo discovered two gems to take on the role of Leblanc, who has total blindness: the charming Nell Sutton, who plays her in her younger years, and Aria Mia Loberti<\/a>, who steals the show as the older version of Leblanc.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While everyone in the drama pulls off excellent performances, the union of these two actors in particular lights up the screenplay and pulls the audience further into the story. <\/span><\/p>