Troy Kotsur, the guest on this episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast (which is accompanied by video at the bottom of the post), is a trailblazer. Kotsur is a veteran of deaf theater who has appeared on Broadway and on TV shows including The Mandalorian en route to being cast in Sian Heder’s film CODA as Frank Rossi, a deaf fisherman with a hearing daughter — a child of deaf adults, or “CODA” — who serves as his family’s link to the hearing world. For his performance in the Sundance sensation-turned-Apple release, he was a nominee for the best supporting actor Golden Globe Award; he won the best supporting actor BAFTA, Critics Choice, Gotham, Spirit and SAG awards; he became the first deaf male actor ever nominated for an Oscar; and he is now the heavy frontrunner to become the first deaf male actor ever to win an Oscar.
Over the course of our conversation, for which Justin Mauer served as Kotsur’s interpreter, the 53-year-old reflected on what it was like for him growing up as the only deaf member of his family, and how his ability to communicate with his beloved father was tragically robbed of him. Kotsur also discussed how he made his name in deaf theater over a nearly 30-year period, but struggled to make ends meet, to the extent that he almost quit the business shortly before CODA. He detailed what it was like for him making CODA with friends and fellow deaf actors Marlee Matlin and Daniel Durant, as well as Emilia Jones; why the very existence of CODA means so much to the deaf community, what it was like making the film and what his journey through the awards season on behalf of it has been like for him; plus much more.
