Daniel Durant: ‘I’m So Happy’ To ‘Keep Showing The World’ Deaf People Can Dance On ‘DWTS’ (Exclusive)

Daniel Durant and Britt Stewart volition beryllium taking connected the ’90s during the November 7 occurrence of Dancing With the Stars. Ahead of ’90s Night, Daniel traveled to New York City to person the Eleanor Roosevelt Award from the Center for Hearing and Communication. HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Daniel astir being recognized and besides grooming successful the midst of a engaged schedule.

“They recognized maine for deaf representation. It’s a large grant to get an grant from them. I’m truly arrogant of representing my community,” Daniel said. “Just increasing up, I had nary deaf relation exemplary oregon anyone to look up to, particularly adjacent to me. I knew Marlee Matlin and her occurrence successful Hollywood and seeing that I ever kept that successful the backmost of my caput knowing I could bash this. Now that I’m astatine this level, conscionable similar I’ve ever thought astir this, it’s my turn. I look astatine deaf children, and I get to beryllium determination for them. I spot their perspective, I recognize wherever they were at.

Daniel Durant with ‘DWTS’ pro Britt Stewart. (Disney+)

He continued, “I get to instrumentality vantage of my acquisition and my level and springiness them the champion acquisition I tin springiness them. I privation them to cognize that they tin bash immoderate they privation to do, and I privation to promote parents who person deaf children to springiness them entree to ASL. They person to larn ASL. I’m truthful thankful to my adoptive mothers, some my moms adopted maine and learned motion language, and that led maine to success. Because if determination was nary ASL successful my beingness arsenic a kid, I wouldn’t beryllium here. I’m trying my champion to exposure that and fto everybody cognize that’s what we person to do.”

Britt traveled with Daniel and his interpreter, Gabe Gomez, truthful they could get rehearsal clip in. “After each these interviews and speech shows, I went to bash my creation rehearsal with Britt, and past I went to the gala,” helium explained. They’ll beryllium dancing a jazz regular for their paired creation and past the cha-cha for their relay dance.

Daniel marks the 3rd deaf contestant to vie connected Dancing With the Stars. Daniel’s co-star, Marlee Matlin, and ANTM victor Nyle DiMarco are DWTS alums. Daniel opened up astir continuing to correspond the Deaf assemblage connected the show.

“I’m truthful blessed and I’m arrogant due to the fact that Marlee and Nyle they’re some precise different, and I consciousness similar I’m a 3rd antithetic deaf perspective,” Daniel told HollywoodLife. “I’m truthful blessed to amusement up and support showing the satellite that determination are antithetic types of deaf radical and that we tin dance. It doesn’t substance if we tin perceive oregon not. There are truthful galore different things we tin do, and we tin fig it retired and creation smoothly. I’m truthful thankful to my spouse Britt due to the fact that she didn’t cognize ASL erstwhile she met me, and she didn’t cognize thing astir Deaf culture. And past we met and present she’s picking it up truthful quick. My Deaf assemblage is truthful blessed with Britt, and they’re truthful arrogant of her due to the fact that she’s showing the satellite that there’s thing to beryllium acrophobic of. ASL is not weird. Britt was truthful enthusiastic, and we made an instant connection. She’s a large teammate.”

Daniel Durant and Britt Stewart successful the ballroom. (Disney+)

Daniel admitted that he’s “so proud” of Britt for learning ASL truthful quickly. “When we were astatine the CHC Gala, determination were a clump of deaf radical there. They were coming up to Britt, and Britt could speech with them. She’s sitting determination talking with them. Britt has a deaf bosom now, truthful she understands our culture, she understands our community, what it looks like, and she supports us. It means a lot,” helium said.

Despite not being capable to perceive the music, Daniel tin consciousness the vibrations of the music. He revealed that Britt “wanted to adhd cues sometimes wherever she wants to number for maine oregon pat connected me” erstwhile learning the routines.

“We realized that I don’t similar it. It’s a distraction for me. I tin consciousness the vibration easily, and I bask feeling the vibration and dancing to music. It’s fun. And feeling that beat. I emotion feeling it,” Daniel admitted. “But that’s for pleasure, similar successful the car, oregon astatine a barroom oregon a nine oregon thing similar that. I bask bouncing astir to that. But for performing, particularly successful the creation country oregon the creation floor, I can’t bash that. I bid with the euphony on, and I person to person it successful my muscles. I person to person it arsenic musculus memory. So I person to retrieve what parts I person to velocity up, what parts person to dilatory down.”

In summation to Britt, Daniel’s interpreter, Gabe, is simply a portion of Daniel’s DWTS team. Gabe has been successful the ballroom each week interpreting for Daniel. “Gabe and I met astir 2 years agone close after CODA. He was my interpreter for the archetypal time, and aft that, we were similar champion friends,” Daniel told HollywoodLife. “We’re the aforesaid age. We’re some funny successful the aforesaid stuff, and present he’s my interpreter. We’re going to question the world. He ever interprets for me, and Gabe is portion of our squad excessively with Dancing With the Stars.”

Daniel is presently engaged with Dancing With the Stars, but helium has large plans for his post-CODA acting career. “I’m ever going to proceed acting. And really, my extremity is I privation to spot producers and casting directors… I don’t privation them to deliberation you person to find a deaf character. You person to person a deaf quality written. My extremity is to audition for anything,” Daniel explained. “I privation radical to spot that I tin beryllium immoderate quality — a person and evil guy. I tin marque the assemblage hatred me. I privation to enactment and bash combat scenes. I’m inspired by Daniel Day-Lewis. He’s a method actor, and helium dives into his roles. He becomes a antithetic person. I’m the same. I privation to go a antithetic idiosyncratic and dive into idiosyncratic that’s not Daniel. So I’m looking guardant to seeing much opportunities popular up for me. Right present my squad is growing, my idiosyncratic team, truthful we’re acceptable for the adjacent caller thing. We’re excited.”

CODA made a monolithic interaction connected Hollywood and took location 3 Oscars, including Best Motion Picture of the Year. Daniel noted that determination was a “big change” successful Hollywood aft CODA. “I’ve met a batch much deaf actors and deaf radical who say, wow, I’m thrilled that CODA succeeded due to the fact that it’s showing Hollywood. It made it each the mode to the Oscars. Troy [Kotsur] has go the 2nd deaf idiosyncratic to triumph an Oscar. So it’s like, finally, the Deaf assemblage is ace inspired,” Daniel said. “I’ve noticed that, yes, determination are much opportunities popping up for deaf people. There are caller deaf characters being written into shows, and there’s a deaf superhero. That’s happening. But there’s ever the large question successful my heart: volition it continue? It tin beryllium a fad. CODA is conscionable blistery close now. Because we’re deaf, volition that possibly slice away? That’s the question I ever enactment retired there. I anticipation that the doors unfastened and they enactment open.”

Daniel Durant and Britt Stewart connected Prom Night. (Disney+)

Daniel hopes to measurement down the camera much arsenic good successful the future. He wants to assistance springiness deaf actors and anyone successful the assemblage the opportunities he’s been given.

“I would emotion to go a manager successful the future. But first, I privation to enactment more. I request to larn the trade more. I’d similar to beryllium a director’s adjunct first, truthful not conscionable diving into directing,” Daniel told HollywoodLife. “But also, I would love, love, emotion to beryllium a producer. I tin find galore bully stories retired determination that deaf radical request to tell. My extremity is not conscionable for deaf people, but I privation everyone to person their authentic stories. We request to spot much stories successful Hollywood that are different. I wouldn’t caput being a shaper and acting successful it myself and making a quality for myself. It would beryllium truthful overmuch amusive to transportation my ain project. I americium producing 1 task for a TV role, and it’s my archetypal clip doing that. I would beryllium the pb actor, truthful that’s a bully experience. I privation to bash that more. It’s amusive pitching stuff. Also, if I’m a producer, it gives maine the accidental to springiness different deaf actors a accidental and fto them turn their reputations, too.”