Troy Kotsur won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in CODA. But you may have found yourself asking this question — who is this Troy Kotsur?
Kotsur has been one of the breakout stars of the 2022 awards season — winning multiple trophies for his fantastic performance in CODA. That recognition and the resulting attention have made him one of the most prominent deaf actors in Hollywood. Or as he prefers to describe it, "an actor who happens to be deaf."
Following his historic win, here’s what you need to know about Troy Kotsur.
Troy Kotsur bio
Troy Kotsur has been deaf since he was born in 1968 in Mesa, Ariz. He attended Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., to study acting. The university specializes in the education of deaf and hard-of-hearing students.
Kotsur then began his professional acting career on the stage — touring with the National Theater of the Deaf. Per NPR, Kotsur’s theatrical career included time on Broadway in the Tony-winning play Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and as the lead in productions of Cyrano and A Streetcar Named Desire, with the Deaf West Theater in Los Angeles.
Kotsur made the transition to TV and movies in 2001, with his first credit being an episode of the Lifetime series, Strong Medicine. He added appearances in shows including CSI: NY, Scrubs, Criminal Minds and The Mandalorian, where he played a Tusken Raider Scout in season 1.
Prior to 2021, his movie roles included The Number 23, Universal Signs, No Ordinary Hero: The SuperDeafy Movie (he also directed) and Wild Prairie Rose.
Troy Kotsur in CODA
Though he had been acting in TV and movies for over 20 years, Troy Kotsur’s breakout came when CODA premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. CODA centers on Ruby, the only hearing person in a deaf family, making her a CODA (or Child of Deaf Adults). Ruby is torn between pursuing her passion for singing and staying to help her family and their struggling fishing business.
Kotsur plays Frank Rossi, the brash and hilarious father of Ruby, who is often seen using distinctive American Sign Language (ASL) signs to express the character’s love of foul language. The chance to show what he calls "vulgar sign language" on screen was something he was very excited about, as he told ScreenDaily.
It's fun to watch Kotsur using ASL to curse at people who anger him or flirt with his wife (played by The West Wing's Marlee Matlin), but his range allows him to deliver more emotional scenes. When he asks his daughter to sing for him, then holds his hand against her throat so he can feel the vibrations, it's an intense moment.
Kotsur’s performance in CODA has been widely praised and has seen him heaped with numerous awards for Best Supporting Actor — including major wins at the BAFTAs, the Screen Actors Guild Awards (he also won for Best Ensemble with the rest of the CODA cast) and the Critics Choice Awards.
Troy Kotsur Oscars 2022
Kotsur won Best Supporting Actor at the 2022 Oscars for his performance in CODA. His win, makes him the second deaf actor to win an Oscar, following his CODA co-star Marlee Matlin, who won Best Actress for 1986’s Children of a Lesser God.
He went up against a field that included The Power of the Dog’s Kodi Smit-McPhee and Jesse Plemmons, Belfast’s Ciarán Hinds and Being the Ricardos J.K. Simmons. With his wins at SAG, BAFTAs and Critics Choice, Kotsur is considered the favorite to take home the trophy, with his next closest competitor probably being Smit-McPhee.
Troy Kotsur upcoming projects
Now that Troy Kotsur has charmed much of Hollywood with his performance in CODA, what is next for the actor?
In August 2021, Deadline reported that Kotsur had been cast in Flash Before the Bang, a sports movie based on the true story of an all-deaf high school track & field team. The story centers on the track & field team from the Oregon School for the Deaf, which overcame discrimination and adversity to compete against larger Oregon public schools at the 1986 Oregon State Track & Field Championships.
Kotsur will play the lead, Coach Farrior. He is joined in the cast by Nyle DiMarco, who is best known for being a contestant on America’s Next Top Model but has also appeared on TV shows including Switched at Birth and Station 19. Deanne Bray is also in the movie, who is best known for a recurring role on Heroes and worked previously with Kotsur on No Ordinary Hero: The SuperDeafy Movie and Wild Prairie Rose.
Jevon Whetter, a deaf director, writer and producer, is directing the movie, which is based on his own life experience. No word on when the movie will be released.
Kotsur was also tapped for a role in a new TV show The Last Police, but the show was passed on by Fox, per Deadline. It is not clear if any other network has picked it up.
We suspect there'll be plenty of calls coming in for the actor if Oscars night goes his way!
