PeopleThis Oscar-winner used sign-language to deliver her speech
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Moya Lothian-McLean
Published
4 years ago
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“My hands are shaking so I do apologise”.
A former Hollyoaks actress became the fourth person in Oscar history to deliver her acceptance speech accompanied by sign language yesterday.
“I made a promise to our six-year-old lead actress that I would sign this speech,” 30-year-old Rachel Shenton told the 2018 Academy Awards audience whilst accepting her statuette for Best Live Action Short Film. “My hands are shaking a little bit so I apologise.”
Shenton was speaking of Maisie Sly, who starred in her short feature, The Silent Child, as Libby, a young deaf girl whose world is opened up by a social worker who teaches her sign language. Shenton both stars in and wrote the feature.
Directed by Chris Overton, Shenton’s fiance and former Hollyoaks co-star, The Silent Child is one of only a handful of films featuring disabled actors to win an Oscar. Over 20 able-bodied actors have taken home awards for portraying disabled individuals and this year’s Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water starred Sally Hawkins as a mute cleaner. In comparison, only two disabled actors have ever been recognised [...]