Perry Mattfeld is not blind in real life. The talented actress, however, plays the role of a blind woman named Murphy Mason in the CW hit TV show In the Dark.
Mattfeld’s portrayal of Murphy was so believable that an uproar ensued after it was revealed that she wasn’t actually blind in real life. The talented actress has appeared in a handful of movies and television shows, but her phenomenal performance in the Television series In The Dark is what brought her into the limelight.
Is Murphy on In the Dark really Blind in Real Life?
Perry Mattfeld is the actress who brings to life the character of Murphy in In The Dark. She is not blind in real life despite her believable performance playing the role of a blind person on the show. Perry Mattfeld is a fully sighted individual with no form of eye defects or problems.
Her performance has raised many questions about the director’s casting choice and how well she has been able to embody the role. It is safe to say that Perry did well in her portrayal of the character, and it caused an uproar when it was discovered that she is fully sighted.
After Perry got the greenlight that she was going to play Murphy in the series, she began to make ample preparations to have an excellent performance. She admits to being skeptical initially, but she regained her confidence after they shot a few episodes.
The producers of the show attested to her commitment to getting it right. She was said to have gone to the props department on her first day of pre-production to get a cane and then went ahead to practice cane work in her apartment for weeks. She also had to learn the different skills for coping with blindness, including using a guide dog and using voice commands to send text messages, among other things.
Perry also spent much time understudying Lorri Bernson, the show’s blind consultant. Lorri is actually a media and community liaison officer for Guide Dogs of America. Perry and Lorri became so close that she became her adopted daughter. Perry Mattfeld’s character, Murphy Mason, was based on Molly Burke, who is a blind YouTuber who lost the majority of her sight at age 14. She suffers from Retinitis Pigmentosa.
Perry Mattfeld Got Her Breakout Role In In the Dark
Perry Mattfeld spent her early years in Long Beach, California. She grew up under the watchful eyes of her Mexican mother and grandparents, who were entertainers. Perry started out her career as a ballet dancer. She was tutored by Debbie Allen and was very successful as a youngster.
She put her acting career on hold to attend the University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts, where she graduated with a degree in acting in the year 2016.
Over the years, she appeared in a number of short films, feature films, and television series. Some of them include The Girl In The Flammable Skirt (2011), The Norton Avenue All Stars (2008), Stitchers (2017), A Little White Lie (2022), Homecoming (2018), Shameless (2018) just to mention a few.
In 2019, she got her first lead role on television on CW’s In The Dark. She played the role of Murphy Mason from 2019-2022, and her performance brought her unprecedented success, which has announced her to the world. In “In the Dark,” Perry plays the character of Murphy Mason, a deeply flawed and irreverent blind woman.
Murphy is the only “witness” to the murder of her friend, who is a drug dealer. After relating her story to the police and they dismissed her story, she was forced to set out with her dog, Pretzel, to find the killer. She manages to do all this, holding down a job she hates at a guide dog school owned by her overprotective parents and also maintaining her colorful dating life. Perry Mattfeld’s performance on the show has been described as her best performance to date.
The Producers of The Show Had The Intention of Casting a Blind Person in The Lead Role
Considering the controversy that ensued after it became public knowledge that Mattfeld was not visually impaired like the character that the portrays in In The Dark. The show’s creative team revealed in an interview that they considered casting an actual blind actor for the role.
Nicky Weinstock, who is an executive producer, revealed that they visited 29 different organizations and viewed many auditions, but they had to choose to go with Perry because she was the best actor for the role.
Perry Mattfeld’s Performance in In The Dark Has Been Met With Both Positive and Negative Reactions
Even though it is impossible to satisfy everyone, Mattfeld’s performance in In The Dark has been met with positive responses from critics and even some parts of the Blind People Association.
On the other hand, the National Federation of the Blind organized and staged a protest of the show in March 2019. The reason for their protest was that a sighted actress – Perry Mattfeld, was cast to play the lead role as a blind character.
Blind protesters held signs that read “Let Us Play Us” and “We have had enough.” The president of the association reiterated that there were blind actors looking for jobs and that a sighted actor could never bring the same insight and authenticity into playing a blind character, no matter how talented or accomplished he or she is.
They demanded that the show be reshot, but The CW and CBS ignored their demands as they thought they already had the best person for the job.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who is Actually Blind in In the Dark?
Calle Walton, who plays the role of Chloe Riley in seasons 1 and 2 in In The Dark, is an actual blind person in real life. Calle’s character, Chloe, is Dean’s daughter and looks up to Murphy (Perry) as a big sister in the series. While the show producers didn’t find a blind actor to play the lead role, they have tried as much as possible to have as many visually impaired people as they can have on their team.
