First-Time Nominee Spotlight: Troy Kotsur
This year’s recently released list of Oscar nominations came with a historic moment as Troy Kotsur became the first deaf male actor to garner a nod. The 53-year-old actor received the recognition for his work in CODA, Sian Heder’s sophomore feature endeavor that sold for a record-breaking figure to Apple TV+ out of last year’s Sundance. The Academy Awards accolade is the latest in a long list of nominations that Kotsur has already accumulated for his performance in the film, which includes nods from the BAFTA Awards, the Golden Globes, the Critics Choice Awards, and the SAG Awards. Now with his first-ever Oscar nom added to that list, it’s about time we share a look at the actor’s journey leading up to all the inaugural accolades.
Kotsur was born and raised in Mesa, Arizona before he left home to study acting at Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. The thespian gained stage experience by touring with The National Theatre of the Deaf and then made his way to Broadway, where he appeared in the Tony-nominated 2003 American Sign Language adaptation of Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Kotsur gained further notoriety for his stage work at the Deaf West Theatre in Los Angeles, leading productions of plays like Cyrano and A Streetcar Named Desire.
The actor accumulated some onscreen credits along the way, as well. “I like to play villains [and] then have police officers chase after me, which I did in Criminal Minds,” he told NPR. “It’s nice to see just kind of the range of the characters I portray and the diversity — romantic, mean, heroes — you name it.” Kotsur also appeared in series such as CSI:NY, Scrubs, and The Mandalorian. In the latter, the thespian portrays one of the Tusken raiders, and he also helped develop a fictional sign language used by the Tuskens in the Disney+ series.
Then came CODA. The film’s title references the acronym for “child of deaf adults,” a nod to its central character. Seventeen-year-old Ruby Rossi is the only hearing member of her family, and CODA tells her coming-of-age story in Gloucester, Massachusetts when a newfound passion for singing interferes with her obligations to the family fishing business. Kotsur plays her father Frank in the film and detailed to the Los Angeles Times what the role meant to him personally since his own daughter is a CODA. “I see my daughter beginning to feel proud,” he shared. “Sometimes CODAs are scared or even embarrassed because a lot of their hearing peers don’t understand what having deaf parents is like. … ‘CODA’ has been a game-changer, not [just] for her, but for all CODAs out there, in general, to feel finally recognized.”
Kotsur told The Hollywood Reporter that the film was also meaningful because it brought the hearing and deaf communities together in collaboration. And from a career standpoint, the plethora of awards recognition was impactful for the actor. “I’m so glad that they recognized me — not because I’m deaf but because I’m a talented actor,” Kotsur explained. His CODA co-star Marlee Matlin became the first deaf performer to receive an Oscar nomination back in 1987 thanks to her work in Randa Haines’ Children of a Lesser God, going on to win Best Actress for the performance. Now that Kotsur has joined her to be the only deaf actors who’ve received Academy Awards nominations, it remains to be seen if he’ll make another historic moment at this year’s ceremony by taking home Best Supporting Actor. But in the meantime, he’s certainly earned his place in the spotlight.
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