Actor Daniel Durant Become Deaf
Daniel N Durant is a well know American screen and stage actor. He was born on 24 December 1989. He burst into the limelight through his starring role as Moritz Stiefel in the 2015 Broadway revival of Spring Awakening. He also starred in the Academy Award-winning movie CODA, which was released in 2021. He and the rest of the cast won the Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast in the US Dramatic Competition at their world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. They also won the award for Outstanding Performance by a cast in a motion picture at the 28th Screen Actor Guild Award. He is also known for his role in the ABC Family series “Switched at Birth.”
He was born deaf in Detroit, Michigan, to deaf parents. His parents struggled with addiction, so he was adopted as a toddler by his paternal aunt Lori Durant and then by her later wife, Mary Engels. Durant’s aunt introduced him to American sign language. He was raised in Minnesota. Daniel attended the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf in Faribault and graduated in 2008. He also studied at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. Daniel received an associate degree in applied computer technology in 2011. He also attended Gallaudet University, where he got another degree in 2014. He joined the Deaf West Theatre in 2012 for the production of Cyrano de Bergerac.
He is participating in the Dancing with the Stars season 31. His professional dancing partner is Britt Stewart. There have been two deaf contestants in the past well. They are Marlee Matlin and Nyle DiMarco.
Earlier, he voiced his views about the challenges of having deaf actors on set. He said there are already so many challenges, and deafness will not make a big difference. He told wants filmmakers to think that deaf actors are an extra burden. He said they don’t want to be known as deaf actors and wants to be just known as actors. We have to commend him for this spirit.
Featured Image Credit: Heavy.com
Pooja
View More PostsPooja Yadav is the editor at Search Vatika. She reads multiple newspapers and online blogs daily to boost his knowledge. Pooja always researches his topics before writing. She writes mostly in the entertainment and tech category.
