Oscar Winner Admits 'Dancing With the Stars' Performance Almost Had Her Leaping Over Tables
Former Dancing With the Stars contestant Marlee Matlin was in the ballroom to support her CODA co-star Daniel Durant during Season 31's second episode and she almost jumped from her table. Matlin was joined by Troy Kotsur, who played Matlin's on-screen husband and Durant's father in CODA. Durant has continued to excel on the show with his pro dance partner, Emma Slater.
"Troy Kotsur and were just bursting with pride to see him on the dance stage," Matlin told E! News during the New York Women in Communications 52nd Annual Matrix Awards on Oct. 26. "I almost leapt over the table and hugged him. I was like, 'Oh, I'm so happy for Daniel. Our baby is dancing on stage!'"
Matlin has her own DWTS experience. She became the first deaf person to compete on the show in 2008. She was paired with Fabian Sanchez, and they were eliminated sixth. The Oscar winner said it takes courage to appear on the show for anyone, "deaf or not." She later added, "It takes a lot of balls – I hope you can say that – to get up on the stage... And put on your dancing shoes and dance outfit and do a dance in front of millions of people."
Matlin also stopped by the DWTS set in 2016. That year, model Nyle DiMarco became the first dead person to win DWTS. DiMarco also made history when he won America's Next Top Model Season 22, which was coincidentally the last season hosted by current DWTS co-host Tyra Banks.
Durant, Matlin, and Kotsur all starred in CODA, which won the Best Picture Oscar earlier this year. The film centered on Ruby Rossi (Emilia Jones), the only hearing member of a Gloucester, Massachusetts family who dreams of becoming a singer instead of continuing to work in her family's fishing business. Kotsur won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for playing Ruby's father and director Sian Heder won Best Adapted Screenplay. Matlin became the first deaf performer to win an Oscar in 1987 when she won Best Actress for Children of a Lesser God (1986) at just 21 years old.
Durant and Slater will take the dance floor again Monday night for DWTS' Halloween episode. They will perform the Paso doble to Billie Eilish's "Bury a Friend" and will join Team Scream for the Freestyle dance to Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Heads Will Roll." DWTS streams on Disney+ live, beginning at 8 p.m. ET Mondays.
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