Coda’s Troy Kotsur Makes History at the Oscars with Best Supporting Actor Win

Coda’s Troy Kotsur has become the first deaf male to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, beating Ciarán Hinds, Jesse Plemons, J. K. Simmons, and Kodi Smit-McPhee.

While the first male, Kotsur is the second deaf actor to be nominated for an award, as his co-star Marlee Matlin won an Oscar for lead actress for Children of a Lesser God in 1986.

“I just wanted to say that this is dedicated to the deaf community, the C.O.D.A. Community, and the disabled community,” Kotsur said Sunday night. “This is our moment. To my mom, my dad, and my brother Mark. They’re not here today, but look at me now, I did it. I love you.”

The actor’s win was honored by the stars in the audience, who gave him a standing ovation and cheered for him in American Sign Language as he took the stage.

Kotsur had already made history when he became the first deaf actor nominated individually for a Screen Actors Guild award. He went on to win the Supporting Actor nomination.

Kotsur was also the first deaf actor to win BAFTA, Gotham, and Critics’ Choice awards for his best-supporting performance in Coda. 

In addition to Kotsur’s Best Supporting Nomination, Coda was nominated for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.

The film — an English-language remake of Éric Lartigau’s 2014 French film La Famille Bélier — is about a Gloucester, Massachusetts teenager named Ruby, portrayed by Emilia Jones.

Jones stars as the only hearing member of a deaf family.

Coda, written and directed by Sian Heder, also features Eugenio Derbez, Troy Kotsur, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Daniel Durant, and Marlee Matlin.

“I feel like I had all of this dust covering my back, and with the nomination, it began to evaporate. I’ve been through so much: financial struggle and oppression, folks not ready to work with a deaf actor,” Kotsur said of his Oscar nomination in an interview with The New York Times.

“With all of that struggle and trauma, I feel like I had cuts all over my body that have finally healed. I didn’t realize what a big step forward this would be — even bigger than I thought — and it is truly a blessing.”

Read Kotsur’s full Oscar speech below:

This is amazing to be here on this journey. I cannot believe I’m here. Thank you so much to all the members of the academy for recognizing my work. It’s really amazing that our film Coda has reached out worldwide. It even reached all the way to the White House, and they invited the cast of Coda to visit and have a tour of the White House. We met the President [Joe Biden] and Dr. [Jill Biden].

And I was planning on teaching them some dirty sign language but Marlee Matlin told me to behave myself. So don’t worry, Marlee, I won’t drop any “F” bombs in my speech today. Instead I want to thank all the wonderful deaf theater stages where I was allowed and given the opportunity to develop my craft as an actor. Thank you.

I read one of Spielberg’s books recently and he said that the best director, the definition of the best director was a skilled communicator. Sian Heder, you are the best communicator. The reason why is you brought the deaf world and the hearing world together and you are our bridge. And your name will forever be on that bridge, Sian Heder bridge here in Hollywood, that was supported by Apple, Sundance, our cast, crew, producers, and the community of Gloucester, Massachusetts. I want to say hey, fishermen, hey, Popeyes, don’t forget to eat your spinach.

My dad, he was the best signer in our family. But he was in a car accident and he became paralyzed from the neck down. And he no longer was able to sign. Dad, I learned so much from you. I’ll always love you. You are my hero.

Thank you to my biggest fans, my wife, and my daughter Kyra, and my hometown of Mesa, Arizona, and Mark Findley, my manager and my team. I just wanted to say that this is dedicated to the deaf community, the C.O.D.A. Community and the disabled community. This is our moment. To my mom, my dad, and my brother Mark. They’re not here today, but look at me now, I did it. I love you.

Watch above, via ABC.