If you have played Marvel's Spider-Man 2, you will know Hailey Cooper. She was first introduced in the Spider-Man spin-off Miles Morales, before her role was expanded for Insomniac's recent sequel.
Hailey is, quite simply, a brilliant character, and one that actress Natasha Ofili brings an incredible warmth and humanity to. Hailey is strong, she is funny, she is kind and she is a supportive friend to Miles. She is also Deaf. Hailey wears hearing aids, she communicates with Miles through American Sign Language (ASL), uses text to speak with those who do not sign and her school has an ASL interpreter on campus.
I sat down with Ofili over Zoom, to talk about the importance of seeing Deaf characters like Hailey in video games, as well as where the medium goes next. We cover everything from how she got the part (before she even knew it was for a Spider-Man game), to sign language consultants, authenticity, chemistry with her castmates and more.