Photo: (Donna Ward/Getty Images)
AUGUST 31, 2018 – 6:00 AM
By WALTER SCOTT
Parade
Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin, who lost most of her hearing as a toddler, is an executive producer of the A&E documentary Deaf Out Loud (September 12), which follows three predominantly deaf families as they raise their children in a hearing world.
“People use different terms to refer to us—hearing impaired, hard of hearing, hearing loss,” says Matlin, 53. “The misconception lies in the fact that deaf people all think alike, talk alike and live alike, and that’s not true.”
youtube.com/watch?v=UKK1vTnq9mI
In a 2017 interview, Parade asked Matlin if she thinks there have been inroads into acting roles for the deaf community. Here’s what she had to say:
“Yes, but not enough. Though deaf and hard of hearing people as well as people with a disability make up 20 percent of our population, only 2 percent of roles in film and TV feature actors with a disability and of that 2 percent, 5 percent are played by actors who actually HAVE a disability. It’s 30 years since I won the Academy Award as the first deaf person to receive this honor and we still have to talk about the lack of inclusion? It’s a sorry situation.”
Get a sneak peek of A&E documentary Deaf Out Loud below and tune for the premiere event September 12.
