Above: Wyatt (Jeremy Crittenden) and Dale (Dickie Drew Hearts) almost anxiously wait for their coffee orders in the coffee shop in Passengers.
Downtown NYC actor/screenwriter Dickie Drew Hearts on queer joy, Deaf visibility, and directing his own rom-com, Passengers.
By Dickie Drew Hearts
Director of Photography Cameron S. Mitchell
REPRINT DOWNTOWN SUMMER 2025 LGBTQ+ ISSUE
Hello, hearing world! Or at least the hearing neighborhoods of Downtown New York. I’m delighted to introduce myself: my name is Dickie Drew Hearts, and I live in downtown Manhattan—more specifically, on the
west side. I’m a Deaf, queer New Yorker, and a Deaf actor, director, and writer. It’s a tremendous honor to be featured in DOWNTOWN Magazine, especially in the LGBTQ+ issue! I couldn’t be prouder—and full of gay, glimmery gratitude. Thank you!
I’m currently working on a pilot that I wrote, directed, co-lead in, and edited, called Passengers. It’s a queer romantic comedy about a Deaf man starting fresh in vibrant New York City, who falls for a hearing man who doesn’t know sign language. With help from their quirky mix of Deaf and hearing friends, they embark on a journey that sets out to prove that love can bridge any communication barrier. We wrapped production last December, and currently, we’re in post-production seeking funds for color correction, sound design, VFX, stylized captions, original music, audio description, and film festival submissions.
First, a little more about me: you might have seen my work in a recurring role on Netflix’s Tales of the City, a guest-starring role on HBO Max’s High Maintenance, and a co-starring role on Netflix’s Grace & Frankie. I also appeared in The Public Theater’s Dark Disabled Stories, where I was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award
and received an Obie Award. I’m also an award-winning filmmaker. In 2015, I entered the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge, a competition where you have 48 hours to produce a five minute short film. I won “Best Filmmaker” for the same titular five-minute short film, Passengers and received a mentorship with Oscar-winning director Peter Farrelly. In 2016, I won first place in another competition sponsored by Adaptive Studios/Project Greenlight and GLAAD for Best LGBTQ Digital Series Pitch. The following year, in 2017, I entered the international AT&T Create- A-Thon. Out of the selected 40 teams, I advanced to the final five and won the grand prize of $20,000 for my horror- comedy short The Deaf vs The Dead—before deaf characters began appearing on AMC’s The Walking Dead. Not to brag!
All that aside, I’ve been in this entertainment industry for over a decade, which still feels surreal to say out loud. Navigating it as a Deaf queer actor hasn’t been easy. If hearing able-bodied people find it challenging, imagine how much harder it is for Deaf/ disabled folks. The struggle is real. Has there been progress? Absolutely. More visibility for Deaf, disabled, and queer roles? Sure, sure, and YAS, queen! But is it enough? Not even close. When compared to over 100 years of mainstream cinema, the presence of authentic Deaf/ disabled representation is like a single speck splattered across Jackson Pollock’s canvas. The entertainment industry rarely thinks of us first, and even when it does, the stories told aren’t always authentically told.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m grateful for where we are now—but we still have a long, long way to go. Here’s a wild idea: why not let Deaf people write and direct their own stories? Imagine Deaf people not only starring in content, but creating and producing it, too. What a wild concept, right? Of course, it’s not that simple. Hollywood and Broadway don’t exactly open their arms to Deaf & disabled talent. And funding remains one of the biggest hurdles. In a perfect world, there would be continuous streams of deaf/ disabled led works on TV, in film, and on Broadway. There are so many untold deaf stories— especially Deaf queer ones.
From left to right: Dale (Dickie Drew Hearts), Jasper (Gabriel Silva), Cliff (Jory Murphy), and Poppy (Amelia Hensley) are baking gingerbread cookies in Dale and Jasper’s apartment for the upcoming Sign Language Club Holiday Party in Passengers.
Not to mention, American Sign Language (ASL) is a rich, visual, cinematic language that belongs on both screen and stage. While it’s the language of the Deaf, it’s a human language—one we all can and should learn.
Which brings me back to Passengers, you know, the rom- com that I made. What began as an award-winning short film in 2015 has grown into a full pilot, thanks to support from the Adobe Foundation Alumni Grant and Easterseals Disability Film Challenge. It’s my latest— and biggest—project to date.
We’ve assembled an incredibly talented, LGBTQ+ cast—of both Deaf and hearing actors— starting with my romantic co-lead, Jeremy Crittenden (Star Trek: Discovery), who is a Canadian stand-up comedian with a massive following on Instagram, and rounding out the supporting cast: Amelia Hensley (Deaf West’s Spring Awakening on Broadway), Gabriel Silva (Deaf West’s Fidelio), Jory Murphy (Never Caesar), Kevin Winebold (Disney Theatrical Group), Monica Danae (Frozen on Ice Tour) and appearances from Christian Coulson (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets), Jelani Remy (Broadway’s Lion King & Back to the Future), Alexis Michelle (RuPaul’s Drag Race), Michael Dalke (Broadway Tour’s Pretty Woman), Mara Stephens (High Maintenance), and narration voiceover by Alex Wyse (Broadway’s Good Night, Oscar), and many more!
We also had an incredibly talented, disabled Director of Photography, Cameron S. Mitchell, whose documentary feature, Disposable Humanity, premiered at Slamdance, winning the Audience’s Choice award. Our late-deafened lead producer, Jo-Ann Dean of Broadway SIGNs, and our Deaf producer, Shelly Guy, were instrumental in making this possible. One of our most fun scenes was shot at Julius’, the oldest gay bar in NYC —also featured in The Boys in the Band, Pose, and Can You Ever Forgive Me? That’s something I’m so super proud of, as a Deaf queer director! We also shot on location at The Sign Language Center, where you can take ASL classes from Deaf ASL instructors.
I’m also an ambassador for ALLMYNE, a travel app aligned with my goal to raise accessibility awareness. If
you love travel, hidden gems, supporting local businesses & communities, and accessibility, please download the app!
If you want to see something you haven’t seen before on TV or in film, give us a follow at @PassengersNYCseries and @DickieHearts. DTM
ASL Resources
Interpreter-Now –
requests@interpreter-now.com
Sign Language Center –
contact@signlanguagecenter.com
Accessible Theater:
IRT – info@irttheater.org Sponsors
ALLMYNE – emmy@allmyne.com
Broadway SIGNs! Broadwaysigns.asl@gmail.com
Hearts Productions, LLC – heartsproductionsllc@gmail.com Services
Jill Steinberg Photography Jill.steinberg.photos@gmail.com