Backstage talks with Marlee Matlin

Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin stars in the indie film CODA, which will be released August 13.

image from MarleeMatlin.net

CODA won the 2021 Sundance Grand Jury Prize and was sold to Apple TV+ for a record-breaking sum.

The film tells the story of CODA Emilia Jones’ Ruby who is torn between familial loyalty and pursuing her dreams of becoming a singer. Joining Matlin are Deaf West's Troy Kotsur and Daniel Durant.

Writer-director Sian Heder says the project’s initial investors tried giving those roles to hearing actors. She tells Backstage:

“I felt like I would rather see the movie not get made than see it get made with hearing actors playing deaf roles. There are amazing stories in those worlds, and there are amazing actors. I mean, I was stunned by the talent in the Deaf community…. It was an asset to the project to have the kind of creative freedom that came along with having authentically cast actors"

Matlin adds:

I said to [the producers], ‘If you don’t listen to me, and you don’t respect me and my community, then I won’t be in the film. People think that, like with makeup or a costume, you can just put on being deaf or being disabled. It doesn’t make sense, because there are so many deaf actors out there who can represent our community.”

Read the entire interview here. Here is the trailer: