Marlee Matlin reveals ex William Hurt’s ‘habit of abuse’ in new doc: ‘I was afraid’

nypost.com:

Marlee Matlin is now looking back at a darker period in her life.A new documentary about the 59-year-old actress includes details about her relationship with William Hurt, her co-star in the 1986 movie “Children of a Lesser God.”In the new doc “Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on Thursday, Matlin said there was “a habit of abuse” with her then-boyfriend.Hurt, who died in 2022 at age 71, was 35, and the actress was 19 when the two were cast in the project, which marked Matlin’s first feature film debut.The movie was a screen adaptation of the Mark Medoff play about a deaf woman’s romantic relationship with a hearing speech teacher.

When she won the Oscar for best actress at the 1987 Academy Awards, “The Miracle Season” actor presented her with the trophy.“I was afraid as I walked up the stairs to get the Oscar,” Matlin recalled about the moment in an interview with filmmaker Shoshannah Stern. “I was afraid because I knew in my gut that he wasn’t happy.

Because I saw the look on his face and my thought was, ‘S–t!'”Hurt was also nominated for “Children of a Lesser God” but did not win, with Matlin previously admitting that he reacted coldly when they were alone later that night.

Hurt had won the best actor Oscar the year before for his role in “Kiss of the Spider Woman.”In Dave Karger’s book “50 Oscar Nights,” Matlin revealed what Hurt told her that night. “‘So you have that little man there next to you.