The Eye in FBI

DEANNE BRAY is the star of “Sue Thomas: F.B.EYE,” and portrays an earnest, young deaf woman who falls into an exciting career as an undercover surveillant for the FBI. Bray herself is severely deaf and has been acting for more than 10 years, appearing in theatrical productions, film and guest-star roles on numerous television series. Contrary to the advice of some professionals, Bray’s parents made certain their daughter was instructed from at an early age onward to speak and write English and learn American Sign Language as well, sending her through a variety of learning programs and centers to strengthen her language skills. A California native, Bray broke into the entertainment industry after she was discovered performing with a deaf dancing group called “Prism West” at a deaf festival at California State University, Northridge, where she earned a B.A. degree in Biology.

Bray has appeared in the NBC Movie-of-the-Week “Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct: Lightning” directed by Bruce Paltrow and co-starring Randy Quaid, Independent films “What Do The Women Want?” directed by Guy Shalem, “Last Mountain” with Soon-Tek Oh and “L.A. Sheriff Homicide” for CBS. Her numerous television credits include guest starring roles on “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “Ellen,” “Diagnosis Murder,” “The Pretender” and “Strong Medicine.” Additionally, Bray was a host on a nationally syndicated show for the deaf community, “Caption This.”

Bray holds an extensive list of stage credits from the acclaimed Deaf West Theatre in California including “Road To The Revolution,” for which she garnered a Best Supporting Actress Award for the 2001 A.D.A. Awards; “Oliver” which earned her a Best Translation nomination at the 2000 Los Angeles Ovation Awards; and “The House of Bernarda Alba” which won Best Ensemble at the 1999 LA Weekly Awards. She also has appeared in Deaf West’s “Alice in Wonderland,” “A Christmas Carol” and “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.” At the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, she played Helen Keller in “Helen & Frida” and appeared in the Vincent Paderson production, “Kazoo.”

For the past three years, Bray has taught science and math to deaf and hard of hearing students in East Los Angeles, established a literacy program -- “The Little Bookworm Club”-- for deaf and hard of hearing children and is about to complete her Masters in Education. She is involved in numerous organizations and serves as Second Vice Chairperson on the council board of the Greater Los Angeles Council on Deafness (GLAD) and the Non-Traditional Casting Project.

Bray lives in North Hollywood, California with her husband Troy Kostur, a deaf actor who recently appeared in the acclaimed Deaf West Theatre production of “True West.” They have both been cast in Deaf West’s exciting journey to the Mark Taper Forum for their next musical production, “Big River” (November-December 2002), a role Bray will have to forgo for her work on “Sue Thomas: F.B.EYE.”

Filmography

1. Heroes .... Emma Coolidge (4 episodes, 2009)
   ... aka Heroes: Villains (USA: third season title) 
   • Chapter Eight 'Shadowboxing' (2009) TV episode .... Emma Coolidge
   • Chapter Five 'Tabula Rasa' (2009) TV episode .... Emma Coolidge
   • Chapter Four 'Hysterical Blindness' (2009) TV episode .... Emma Coolidge
   • Chapter Two 'Ink' (2009) TV episode .... Emma Coolidge
2. Sweet Nothing in My Ear (2008) (TV) .... Dr. Walters
3. The L Word .... Amy Reed (4 episodes, 2007-2008)
   • Lay Down the Law (2008) TV episode .... Amy Reed
   • Lesbians Gone Wild (2008) TV episode .... Amy Reed
   • Little Boy Blue (2007) TV episode .... Amy Reed
   • Lacy Lilting Lyrics (2007) TV episode .... Amy Reed
4. Universal Signs (2008) .... Natalie
5. Dummy Hoy: A Deaf Hero (2007) .... Anna
6. Curb Your Enthusiasm .... Jean (1 episode, 2007)
   • The Rat Dog (2007) TV episode .... Jean
7. Law & Order: Criminal Intent .... Dean Price (1 episode, 2007)
   ... aka Law & Order: CI (USA: promotional abbreviation) 
   • Silencer (2007) TV episode .... Dean Price
8. Rescue Me .... RoseMary (1 episode, 2006)
   • Hell (2006) TV episode .... RoseMary
9. Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye .... Sue Thomas (56 episodes, 2002-2005)
   ... aka Sue Thomas, l'oeil du FBI (Canada: French title)
10. Last Mountain (2005) .... Blonde Annie
11. L.A. Sheriff's Homicide (2003) (TV) (as Deanne Lee Bray) .... Technician
    ... aka LA County 187 (USA: alternative title)
12. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation .... Dr. Gilbert (1 episode, 2001)
    ... aka CSI: Las Vegas (South Africa: English title: informal alternative title) (USA: syndication title)
    ... aka C.S.I. (USA: short title)
    ... aka CSI: Weekends (USA: promotional title)
    ... aka Les experts (Canada: French title) 
    • Sounds of Silence (2001) TV episode .... Dr. Gilbert
13. Strong Medicine .... Sonny (1 episode, 2001)
    • Fix (2001) TV episode .... Sonny
14. Diagnosis Murder .... Jan Curran (1 episode, 1997)
    • Murder, Country Style (1997) TV episode .... Jan Curra
15. Ellen .... Juliet (1 episode, 1997)
    ... aka These Friends of Mine (USA: first season title) 
    • Ellen's Deaf Comedy Jam (1997) TV episode .... Juliet
16. What Do Women Want (1996) .... Sharon
    ... aka It's Meant to Be (USA: DVD title)
17. The Pretender .... Deaf Woman (1 episode, 1996)
    • Flyer (1996) TV episode .... Deaf Woman
18. Ed McBain's 87th Precinct: Lightning (1995) (TV) .... Teddy Franklin