Troy Kotsur has become the first deaf male actor to win Best Supporting Actor in Oscars history.
Kotsur, who has been acting in films for more than two decades, won acclaim for his role in Coda, swiftly becoming an awards season favourite following its release on Apple TV+ in August 2021.
The 53-year-old actor, who has been deaf since birth, previously won awards at the Baftas, Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Critics’ Choice Awards.
LIVE UPDATES: Follow all the action across the night on our blog
Coda director Siân Heder cast him in the film after watching Deaf West stage productions of Our Town and Edward Albee’s At Home at the Zoo.
Kotsur thanked these productions for allowing him to “develop” his craft as an actor and hailed Heder as “the best communicator”.
He also thanked his dad, calling him his “hero”, and his wife and daughter. He dedicated the award to the deaf and disabled community, stating: “This is our moment”. The Oscar was presented to him in sign language by Yuh-Jung Youn, the 2021 winner of Best Supporting Actress.
Coda, which is an acronym standing for “Child of Deaf Parents’, is a remake of French film La Famille Belier.
It follows a girl named Ruby (Emilia Jones), who finds herself torn between pursuing her love of music and her fear of abandoning her parents, played by Kotsur and Marlee Matlin.
Matlin previously became the first ever deaf performer to win an Oscar after taking home the Best Actress trophy For Children of a Lesser God in 1987.
