Actress Marlee Matlin became the first ever deaf artist and the youngest actress to win Oscar at the age of 21. And now, this talented actress, at the age of 50, is discussing her new Broadway play “Spring Awakening” and recalling her days of hardship, drug addiction, sexual abuse by her babysitter as a young girl and physical abuse from her then partner, William Hurt.
The actress, who published her autobiography “I’ll Scream Later” on April 14, talked to nypost.com a couple of months ago and recalled the good old days, or should we say bad old days in her case?
Matlin mostly talked about her Broadway play “Spring Awakening”, which premiered last month, though she recalled things about her dreadful past that she has mentioned in her book as well. She, despite having hearing impediment, can read lips and uses signs to communicate with people. She also has an interpreter, Jack Jason, who is also her best friend and her everyday companion and has been with her since she was 19.
The beautiful actress recently appeared on the Broadway play and she explained that the play was actually a musical about the lack of communication between sexually curious youth and their repressed elders. Matlin portrayed the role of several different characters, whose lines were voiced by her very close friend and co-star, Camryn Manheim.
The “Children of a Lesser God” star also shared her experience of physical abuse that she suffered from her then boyfriend and fellow co-star, William Hurt. She spent almost two years with the abusive actor, who not only drank, but also showed violent tendency. This led to her using cocaine and pot. She also suffered sexual abuse from the hands of a babysitter and a teacher at a young age, which ultimately made her plunge into drug addiction and later into rehab at the age of 21. The same year, she won an Oscar for her work in the aforementioned movie.
She said that Jason informed her about her Oscar nomination when she was still in rehab and also revealed that the press wanted to know her reaction and that’s when she said “Well, tell them I’ll scream later.” This very line became the title of her memoir.
The reality star also admitted that the “Spring Awakening” co-stars reminded her of her own younger self. Being a mother of four and a family oriented woman, she feels her younger co-stars shouldn’t be afraid to come and talk to her. “I’ve told each and every one of them, ‘Don’t be afraid to come to my dressing room and talk,’ ” she said. She is currently married to police officer Kevin Grandalski.
While talking about her long career in films, television series and reality shows, the actress didn’t forget to mention Donald Trump, who worked alongside her as her mentor in “Celebrity Apprentice”.
“He treated me with respect and humor and was always looking after me,” she said. But when asked about her opinion on Trump’s presidential candidacy, the Switched at Birth fame replied: “I don’t follow his politics. Anyone can run for president!” And when the interviewer asked about his hair, she simply said: “Who cares! It’s hair!”
The Dancing With the Stars participant also expressed her gratitude towards her mentor and partner in the show, Fabian Sanchez, who helped her secure seventh place. She conceded that it was not an easy task for him to teach a deaf woman to dance as she could not listen to the music she was dancing on.