What did William Hurt say to Marlee Matlin after Oscar win? Actress recounts alleged abusive relationship in new doc

William Hurt is supposedly at the center of one of the most pivotal and painful time periods in the life of Marlee Matlin, one that she re-visits in the new documentary Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore.

In the film, the Oscar-winning actress talks openly about her turbulent two-year relationship with the late actor, which was supposedly marked with “a habit of abuse.”

Matlin, 59, worked with Hurt on the set of the 1986 film Children of a Lesser God. She was 19 years old at the time, and Hurt was 35 (US Weekly). Their on-screen chemistry blossomed into a real-life romance. But, according to Matlin's claims, off-screen, their relationship was toxic and emotionally scarring.

In the documentary, Marlee Matlin shares the anxiety she felt the evening she received her Oscar for Best Actress. A historic victory that made her the first deaf performer to win that accolade.

Matlin has described the unconventional exchange they had that night in the past. In Dave Karger’s 2024 book 50 Oscar Nights, she remembered Hurt telling her:

"'So you have that little man there next to you. What makes you think you deserve it?' I looked at him like, ‘What do you mean?’ And he said, 'A lot of people work a long time, especially the ones you were nominated with, for a lot of years to get what you got with one film.'"

The actor, William Hurt, presented the award that evening and was on stage as she made her way to accept the Oscar. Marlee Matlin confessed that she had a hard time enjoying the experience, worried about how her then-boyfriend would react. She said in her new documentary:

"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, "sh*t!'"

More about Marlee Matlin's relationship with William Hurt

The documentary includes additional commentary from Matlin's longtime interpreter Jack Jason, who remembered one particular private flight from which Matlin reportedly emerged sporting a black eye, after having been left alone in the room with William Hurt.

Director Randa Haines also described witnessing outward indicators of the abuse on a film set, including bruises and an argument, but nobody at the time stepped in. As reported by Fox News, though Matlin credits Hurt with convincing her to go to the Betty Ford Center, she says that her road to recovery led her to see that the relationship was not sustainable (Fox News).

After Matlin published her memoir, I’ll Scream Later, in 2009, where she also referred to the abuse, William Hurt told E! News:

"Of course, I did and do apologize for any pain I caused. And I know we have both grown. I wish Marlee and her family nothing but good."

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