Why Marlee Matlin Was ‘Nervous’ About Accepting the Oscar from William Hurt

Marlee Matlin is reflecting on her rocky two-year relationship with actor William Hurt, which she describes as having included a “habit of abuse.”

At 59, Matlin met Hurt, who passed away in 2022 at the age of 71, while they were filming the 1986 movie Children of a Lesser God. In the film, she played Sarah, a deaf woman who falls in love with her speech teacher, James (Hurt). This role earned her an Oscar for Best Actress, making her the first deaf actress to win the honor.

Hurt presented her with the award that night, and Matlin expressed how frightened she felt walking on stage to accept it.

“I was terrified as I climbed the stairs to receive the Oscar,” she recalls in Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore, a new documentary about her life that debuted at this month’s Sundance Film Festival. “I was scared because I could sense that he was unhappy. The look on his face triggered my anxiety, and I thought, ‘s—!’”

Matlin described her approach to the stage, hesitating as she feared taking the award from her boyfriend.

“I wish it had been different,” she confessed. “I wish I had been able to express my happiness. But I was intimidated because he was right there.”

This is not the first occasion Matlin has recounted that night. In Dave Karger’s 2024 book, 50 Oscar Nights, Matlin recalled a conversation with Hurt, who downplayed her accomplishment.

“‘So you have that little man there next to you. What makes you think you deserve it?’” she remembered him asking. “I looked at him, confused, and replied, ‘What do you mean?’ He continued, ‘A lot of people work for many years, especially those you were nominated with, to achieve what you got from one film.’”

The documentary also includes insights from Matlin’s sign language interpreter Jack Jason, who recounted an incident while on a private jet. Jason claimed Matlin emerged from a room with Hurt displaying a black eye.

The director of Children of a Lesser God, Randa Haines, recalled witnessing bruises on Matlin during production.

“I could tell they were having disputes, fights,” she claimed. “I remember seeing a bruise once. But at the time, no one felt it was their place to intrude on a private relationship or question what was happening.”

Haines also mentioned how Hurt would “tell a joke and turn his back to [Matlin] so that she couldn’t see.”

“I tried to comprehend the situation,” she added. “But it was evident she was struggling with it.”

Before his passing, Hurt stated that he had apologized to Matlin.

“My recollection is that we both apologized and put in substantial efforts to heal our lives,” he mentioned in a statement to E! News in 2009. “Certainly, I did and do apologize for any distress I caused. I understand we have both progressed. I wish Marlee and her family nothing but the best.”