Marlee Matlin wouldn't change a thing - Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

In 1986, Marlee Matlin got her first movie role at the age of twenty. She'd been doing mostly community theater before and the role she got wasn't just any role. It was the lead part in a big Hollywood drama called Children of a Lesser God. The film wasn't just any big Hollywood drama, either, it was nominated for five Academy Awards including best picture and, for Matlin's part, best lead actress. And when the '87 Oscars rolled around, Marlee Matlin won. She became the youngest winner in the Best Actress category and the first deaf person to win an Academy Award. When a story like that happens in show business, it's not uncommon for that success to fizzle out.


Matlin has since appeared in dozens of TV shows including Seinfeld, Law & Order: SVU and The West Wing. In 2021, she was nominated again for an Oscar this time for her supporting part in the best-picture winning film CODA.

Earlier this year, Matlin was the subject of the documentary Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore. The film chronicles her life and career: her brilliant work as a performer, her efforts to make movies and TV more inclusive for deaf performers, and her own struggles with substance abuse and addiction.

Marlee Matlin and her longtime interpreter Jack joined us to talk about the documentary and Marlee’s career in show business. The two also spoke to their working relationship and of over forty years and much more!


00:00 Intro/Oscars
01:18 About "Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore"
14:36 Children Of A Lesser God
29:24 Early Career and Sobriety
38:29 Deaf vs. Hearing experiences
41:46 Deaf actors and accessible media practices
52:46 Outro

Earlier this year, Marlee Matlin was the subject of the documentary Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore. The film chronicles her life and career as a performer and her efforts to make movies and TV more inclusive for deaf performers. Matlin and her longtime interpreter Jack joined us to talk about the documentary, her career in show business and much more.

Want to hear more? Subscribe to Bullseye now via Apple Podcasts:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/n...

Get MORE of Bullseye with Jesse Thorn:
► FOLLOW us on Instagram: /   / bullseyewithjessethorn  
► FOLLOW us on X: / https://x.com/Bullseye
► LIKE us on Facebook: /   / bullseyewithjessethorn  
► VISIT our show page: / https://maximumfun.org/podcasts/bulls...

Bullseye is a celebration of the best of arts and culture in public radio form. Host Jesse Thorn sifts the wheat from the chaff to bring you in-depth interviews with the most revered and revolutionary minds in our culture. Bullseye has been featured in Time, The New York Times, GQ and McSweeney's, which called it "the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world."