Marlee Matlin: I hadn’t heard of Teyana before watching “A Thousand and One” (2023), a film in which she plays a mother who kidnaps her son from the foster care system. My kids knew her as a singer; although I don’t experience music the same way hearing people do, I find it fascinating that you can use lyrics to express emotion and tell a story. As an actor, I do that with a script — that’s my music.
Watching Teyana’s movie as a juror at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, I identified with her because I saw fearlessness and rawness in her performance that reminded me of what I did in my first film [the 1986 drama “Children of a Lesser God,” for which Matlin won an Oscar]. As I get older, I’m even more confident as an actress and as a person. Even though I’m Deaf, I make noise.
Teyana Taylor: If I hadn’t broken out of music, Marlee wouldn’t know me from a can of paint. I signed my first record deal at 15. Coming up in the industry, everyone wants you to focus on just one thing, but I’ve never been OK with that.
I’m a New York girl, and we know how to stay hungry. The greatest advice I’ve received is to never take things personally. Once I understood the power in those words, I was able to pass that message along. I had to grow up quickly, but I don’t think I fully experienced adulthood until I had kids and got married. That’s when I started to really find my voice. My art went from being fun to “Listen up: I’ve got something to say.”
Interviews have been edited and condensed.
Production: Peter McClafferty. Matlin: Hair: Craig Gangi. Makeup: Brett Freedman
