‘CODA’ Star Troy Kotsur Becomes First Deaf Male Actor to Win the Oscar
thewrap.cominterview with TheWrap in the wake of his nomination, Kotsur explained that despite being from Arizona and never setting foot on a fishing boat, as well as hardly being as profane as his character generally is, the personality that goes into Frank Rossi is all his own. “If someone else created the signs, it would be their personality, not mine,” he said. “So it was important to have that organic choice, to have that gut feeling and essence of the character.
ASL often tops English in many ways because it’s more detailed, it’s more visual than you can even imagine, especially with vulgarity.”While the Deaf community does not view it to be a disability, the only other performer with a disability to win an Oscar was Harold Russell, also in the Best Supporting Actor race for “The Best Years of Our Lives” from 1946.
Russell lost his hands during World War II and was given two hooks to serve in their place. In William Wyler’s film, Russell portrayed a veteran like himself adapting to life back home post-war.
Up next for Kotsur is a project called “Flash Before the Bang” in which he will play the coach of a high school team of Deaf track stars.
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