Marlee Matlin has worked with interpreter Jack Jason for roughly 40 years, a partnership that has made his voice familiar to audiences watching her interviews and public appearances.
On the Sept. 28th episode of The Person Who Believed in Me, host David Begnaud asked whether people ever question why a woman uses a male interpreter.
“I want people to think that I smoke five packs of cigarettes a day, and that’s why I have a deep voice,” Matlin joked.
Jason is also her business and producing partner. When they met, however, Matlin said she had only recently left high school and knew little about working with professional interpreters.
William Hurt’s Magazine Interview Led to the Introduction
Matlin had just finished filming Children of a Lesser God and was living in New York with Hurt, her costar and boyfriend at the time. He was preparing for a magazine interview at their home and did not want the reporter to see them together, she told Begnaud, according to PEOPLE.
Hurt arranged for an interpreter through New York University to accompany Matlin around the city while the interview took place. The assignment went to Jason. In the documentary Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore, Jason recalled taking her shopping. They hit it off and became friends.
Matlin Never Worried About Using a Man’s Voice
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In a July 2011 interview with JWI, she was asked whether she had ever thought twice about speaking through a man. “No, it never occurred to me. All I want is someone who is good, and Jack was and still is the best,” she said.
She also credited their shared Jewish upbringing with helping him understand her values, perspective and humor.
During a separate May 2011 appearance on CNN, Matlin described a benefit of their different voices. She felt that hearing a man while watching her sign helped viewers recognize that the words originated with her.
Matlin Still Corrects Him When He Gets a Word Wrong
Jason is a CODA, or child of deaf adults, and sign language was his first language. Matlin discussed how his background influenced her own signing during an August 2025 appearance on Bullseye with Jesse Thorn.
She had been using Signed Exact English, a system that follows English word order. Jason’s fluent American Sign Language captivated her, and she said his style, speed and clarity helped her learn ASL.
“I depend on Jack to make my communication fluent, smooth. And he gets me, most times,” Matlin said.
Speaking for himself during the interview, Jason explained that keeping pace with Matlin requires quick decisions about how to convey her signing in natural spoken English. She signs fast, and he sometimes chooses a word she does not think fits.
Matlin catches those mistakes and corrects him, including during public appearances. Jason said the resulting exchanges sometimes turn into a comedy routine, with the two joking about the error in front of their audience.
He Interpreted Her Oscar Acceptance Speech
Jason interpreted for Matlin when she won Best Actress for Children of a Lesser God at the 1987 Academy Awards. At 21, she became the youngest winner in the category and the first deaf performer to win an Oscar.
He also documented her career from behind a camera. Footage Jason filmed over decades became part of Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore, the 2025 documentary about her life and work.
Matlin’s appearance on Begnaud’s podcast came as she promoted another documentary, HBO’s Siren: The Voices of Shelley Beattie. Matlin is a producer of the film, directed by Irene Taylor, about Shelley Beattie, a deaf bodybuilder and American Gladiators performer.