Thaindian News

The night of the 1987 Academy Awards could have meant a lot of Marlee Matlin who was the first deaf actress to win an Oscar for her film “Children of a Lesser God.” She was with her co-star William Hurt that night and her new book “I’ll Scream Later” tells how the night went from happy to scary for her, all because of an abusive relationship with Hurt.

Matlin said, “I was afraid. I was always afraid… of him. But I loved him. I did. Or maybe I thought I did. But look, I was 19, he was 35.” She had met Hurt during the filming of “Children of a Lesser God” and the two hit it off instantly. About their relationship she said, “We had an affair that night, the last day of the audition. We were together for two years. We lived together and it was one of the most… He’s one of the most complex persons that I’ve ever dealt with. But, at the time, living with him was different than anything I’ve ever experienced.”

Matlin said at times things with Hurt got dangerous. She continued, ““I always had fresh bruises everyday. And if I had a split lip, or if… I mean, there were a lot of things that happened that were not pleasant.” In her new book Matlin talks about a fight where Hurt threw her on the bed and tore open her clothes as she wept, “No, no, no. Please Bill, no.”

But why did Matlin not file charges against her abusive boyfriend? She explains, “No, not at the time. I was so wrapped up in his world and my drugs. The drugs took over my life, took over my brain. I was 19 and I was alone in New York City. I had no friends there except my drug dealer. I could say that I understand how women are afraid to leave an abusive relationship. They should, but at the same time, I understand how they don’t know how.”

Hurt was not told that their affair would become public knowledge in her book. Matlin said she had not told him, “I had no contact with him. Really, I had nothing to say to him. He knows what happened, I know what happened. We both were there.”