Matlin nervous as she approaches 'L Word' part

Marlee Matlin admits she's been feeling "nervous, anxious — like the new kid in school," as she's joining the cast of Showtime's "The L Word," shooting in Vancouver this month.

"That's the part I love about acting, when people have asked me to do things I've never done that are different and challenging," says the Oscar-winning actress, who'll play an artist, the new lesbian love interest of Jennifer Beals' character on the show. "Certainly the scripts I've been reading are not like any I've done."

Speaking through her interpreter, Matlin, who's been deaf since she was 18 months old, adds of her former series castmates, "When I went to the wrap party for West Wing,' everyone was so supportive of my doing the show. Jimmy Smits said, I love "The L Word,"' and Richard Schiff said, I'm getting Showtime.' I hadn't seen any of the episodes until I got involved. I'm a mom of four, and I go to bed early. But they gave me the DVDs, and I got hooked."

Matlin recently shot both an "Extreme Makeover" — the Aug. 3 edition in which a man who's helped many deaf individuals and who is deaf himself will get a full-on physical transformation — and an "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" that'll air in the fall.

"I've been so busy — the best thing is my kids and my husband, they're the best support group," says the actress, who has been married to Kevin Grandalski since 1993. "And The L Word' (which shoots in Vancouver) has been so generous about letting me go back and forth to be with my family. Otherwise, it wouldn't be possible. They're probably going to come up for my birthday — hint, hint." Marlee celebrates her 41st birthday on Aug. 24.

source: LA Daily News

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