Troy Kotsur Makes Oscar History as First Deaf Male Winner, Dedicates Emotional Speech to Father
variety.comRebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“CODA” star Troy Kotsur made history at the Oscars as the first deaf man to win an Academy Award for acting.His victory comes 35 years after his “CODA” co-star Marlee Matlin became the first deaf actor ever to win an Oscar, for her leading role in “Children of a Lesser God.”Kotsur had formidable competition in Ciarán Hinds (“Belfast”), Jesse Plemons (“The Power of the Dog”), J.K.
Simmons (“Being the Ricardos”) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”). But the 53-year-old became the clear frontrunner after taking home key precursor awards, including a British Academy Film Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Critics’ Choice Award.
Kotsur has continued to break new ground during awards season as the first deaf male actor to land those prizes. In his speech, Kotsur mentioned that the “CODA” cast met Joe and Jill Biden at the White House and Matlin stopped him from teaching the president and first lady swear words in sign language.
He also dedicated his win to his father in an emotional speech that made his interpreter choke up.“My dad, he was the best signer in our family, but he was in a car accident and he became paralyzed from the neck down and he no longer was able to sign.
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