Marlee Matlin (‘Accused’ director): ‘It does not matter whether you’re Deaf, it’s just a matter of knowing and being aware’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
“Directing has always been in the back of my mind. Ever since I started working as an actor … I had to really pay attention to everything that was going on on the set,” explains Marlee Matlin about what inspired her to go behind the camera for the FOX anthology series “Accused.” But “back then I thought, well, wait a minute, how is a Deaf person going to direct? Is that possible?” We talked to Matlin as part of our “Meet the Experts” TV directors panel. Watch our exclusive video interview above. Click the CC button on the video for closed captioning subtitles.
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Based on a British series of the same name, “Accused” tells a different story in each episode of a defendant on trial for a crime. Matlin directed “Ava’s Story,” in which the title character, a Deaf woman (played by Stephanie Nogueras), is accused of kidnapping the child she carried as a surrogate for a hearing couple. The baby is born Deaf, and Ava is conflicted when she learns that the baby’s parents plan to give her cochlear implant in order for her to hear.
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“The one thing that really brought me on board and I knew that I hit the jackpot was the story itself, which had both hearing and Deaf characters in it,” says Matlin. “I began to imagine and envision all the scenes. It was just a perfect coming together of everything for me to make my directing debut.” And getting to work with Deaf actors meant that “it was 100% accessible communication-wise … There were no barriers there.” The experience showed Matlin that when it comes to directing, “it does not matter whether you’re Deaf or not. It’s just a matter of knowing and being aware of what a director has to do, knowing and using your creative mind, knowing and using what you see. And so I took the moment to step into the directing chair, and I am so happy that I did.”
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