Marlee Matlin reflects on abuse, addiction, and loneliness in new 'Not Alone' documentary
Marlee Matlin blazed a trail as the first deaf actress to win an Oscar, but the journey to stardom was filled with isolation and loneliness. In her new documentary, ‘Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore,' produced and directed by Shoshannah Stern, who is also deaf, Matlin reflects on the impact of her upbringing, including being diagnosed deaf at 18 months old-- and being a pioneer for the deaf community in Hollywood.
“I’m very loud. And within myself my mind is never silent” -Marlee Matlin
Critics described Matlin’s breakout role in 1986’s ‘Children of a Lesser God’ as her character being silent in her own world and even pitied her for not speaking. In real life, though, “I’m very loud. And within myself my mind is never silent,” she explains in the doc.
Despite backlash and what she describes as experiencing a “language deprivation” in a world catered to hearing people, childhood friends and director, Randa Haines, share how she was a beacon of hope. “She changed the world” and busted the door open for more opportunities for Deaf persons.
Matlin, 59, reflects on the pressure she felt being the first deaf person with national acclaim. From advocating for closed captioning for all TV, film, and news outlets across the country to using her voice in the ‘Deaf President Now’ movement, which resulted in electing Gallaudet College’s first deaf President, she made a major impact on our society.
But the praise soon turned to criticism after presenting at the Academy Awards, where she chose to speak to announce nominees instead of using ASL simultaneously. Matlin says her win was bigger than she realized, revealing she had a Deaf identity crisis, resulting in her staying away from the hearing-impaired community for 10 to 15 years.
“I mean, I was green. It was just me. I was alone” – Marlee Matlin
Some of the biggest revelations from Matlin include the sexual abuse she suffered during adolescence and, later, domestic violence she claims was at the hands of her then-boyfriend and ‘Children of a Lesser God’ co-star, William Hurt. She also opens up about her journey to sobriety, including having to go to rehab at the Betty Ford Center to treat a cocaine and pot addiction.
“I didn’t know any better at the time. I didn’t know there was such a word [as] ‘domestic violence,’ or ‘drug addict,’ or something called ‘rehab,’ where you could get sober. I was so young.
Matlin continues, “I didn’t have the opportunity to overhear things like people who can hear can. I wasn’t able to learn and maneuver through this life. I had to do it all on my own.”
Growing up around people who didn’t sign, she reflects on how a lack of communication at home and in school sparked her addiction. I felt “cut off, blocked off, dismissed, or ignored” by people from her childhood.
The years of isolation in her family life seem to come full circle when she met her husband, Kevin Grandalski. The two have been married for more than 30 years and share four kids.
Matlin does share some bright spots in the doc, including meeting ‘Happy Days’ star Henry Winkler at 12 years old when he visited her school in Chicago.
Winkler encouraged her to pursue acting despite her mother’s wishes to veer away from the craft. After a bad breakup, Winkler allowed the actress to stay with him and his wife for two years. Matlin even had her wedding to Kevin at their home.
More recently, in 2021, the actress advocated for a Deaf actor to star opposite her in ‘CODA’ as her husband when the studio initially wanted an A-list actor to play the role. Marlin refused to join the project and gave them an ultimatum that they eventually agreed to.
“So I had the balls or boobs to say if they hired hearing to play deaf, I was out.” - Marlee Matlin
From that actor Troy Kotsur starred in the indie film and took home the first Oscar for a Deaf man, paving the way for more change in the film industry for the hearing impaired.
The documentary, 'Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore,’ releases in theaters on June 20.
