Troy Kotsur facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Troy Kotsur
Kotsur at the 2022 Santa Barbara International Film Festival
Born	Troy Michael Kotsur (1968-07-24) July 24, 1968 (age 57) Mesa, Arizona, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1989–present
Spouse(s)	Deanne Bray ​ (m. 2001)​
Children	1
Awards	Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (2022)

Troy Michael Kotsur (born July 24, 1968) is an American actor. He was born deaf. Kotsur started acting in the late 1980s with the National Theatre of the Deaf. He first appeared on TV in 2001 in an episode of Strong Medicine. His first movie was the 2007 thriller The Number 23.

Troy Kotsur has won many important awards. These include a BAFTA Award and an Academy Award. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award. He made his Broadway debut in 2003 in a play called Big River. Later, his acting in a 2012 play called Cyrano earned him a nomination for a top acting award.

He also directed and starred in the movie No Ordinary Hero: The SuperDeafy Movie (2013). Many more people noticed him when he appeared in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian (2019). Kotsur played a deaf father in the movie CODA (2021). Critics loved his performance. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for this role. This made him the first male deaf actor to win an acting Oscar. He is the second deaf actor overall to win, after Marlee Matlin.

Early Life and Education

Troy Kotsur was born in Mesa, Arizona, on July 24, 1968. His parents were JoDee and Leonard Stephen "Len" Kotsur. His father was the police chief in Mesa. When Troy was nine months old, his parents found out he was deaf. To communicate with him, his family learned American Sign Language.

His parents encouraged Troy to play sports and make friends with kids who could hear. Kotsur went to the Phoenix Day School for the Deaf. This is where he first became interested in acting. He later graduated from Westwood High School. His drama teacher there encouraged him to perform in a show. He did a pantomime skit, which people really liked. This made him want to pursue theater even more.

After high school, Kotsur went to Gallaudet University from 1987 to 1989. He studied theater, television, and film there.

Acting Career

Troy Kotsur received an offer to act with the National Theatre of the Deaf. He accepted it and left Gallaudet. He toured with the National Theatre of the Deaf for two years, performing in two plays. In 1994, he started working at Deaf West Theatre in Los Angeles, California. He acted in and directed many plays there. Some of his stage roles included Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire and Prince Hamlet in Ophelia.

In 2001, Kotsur acted in a Deaf West Theatre play called Big River. He shared the role of Pap, Huckleberry Finn's father, with a hearing actor named Lyle Kanouse. Kotsur used sign language, while Kanouse spoke and sang. Big River was very successful. It was performed at the Mark Taper Forum and then moved to Broadway. Kotsur also had a repeating role on the TV show Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye. He also worked as an ASL (American Sign Language) specialist for the show.

In 2012, Kotsur starred in the play Cyrano. This play was based on Cyrano de Bergerac. It was a joint project by Deaf West Theatre and The Fountain Theatre. The play started in April 2012. After Cyrano, Kotsur directed the movie No Ordinary Hero: The SuperDeafy Movie. This film first showed at the Heartland Film Festival in 2013. In 2016, he starred in the movie Wild Prairie Rose. This film won an award at the Heartland International Film Festival.

In the TV series The Mandalorian, the Tusken Raiders use a special sign language. Troy Kotsur helped create this language. He was later cast to play the main Tusken Raider in the show.

In 2021, Kotsur appeared in the movie CODA. He played the deaf father of a teenage daughter who could hear. The director, Sian Heder, had seen his acting in other plays and chose him for the role. Many people praised Kotsur's acting in the film. He won many awards for his performance. These included the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. His Oscar win made him the first male deaf actor to win an Academy Award for acting.

Kotsur is also set to star in a sports drama TV show called Flash Before the Bang. This show will have an all-deaf cast.

Personal Life

Troy Kotsur is married to actress Deanne Bray. She is also deaf. They have one daughter named Kyra Monique Kotsur, who was born on September 8, 2005.

Awards and Recognition

Troy Kotsur has received many awards for his acting.

See also

In Spanish: Troy Kotsur para niños