Oscar-nominated Actor Only Has One Spoken Line
2022-02-20
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1Troy Kotsur is the second deaf actor to be nominated for an Academy Award.
2In his Oscar-nominated performance in CODA, Kotsur spoke just one word.
3CODA stands for Child Of Deaf Adults.
4The movie stars Emilia Jones as the only hearing member of a deaf family.
5Urging Jones, his daughter, to go after her dreams of singing and attending college, Kotsur says: "Go!"
6For Kotsur, that one word meant lots of rehearsal.
7It also meant speaking dialogue he himself could not hear.
8"I hope that young people who happen to be deaf or hard of hearing can get an increased confidence," Kotsur said.
9"I want those kids to not feel limited."
10The Apple TV+ release CODA, is nominated for Best Picture.
11The movie has made Kotsur famous and made history for the deaf community.
12Kotsur is the first deaf actor ever nominated individually for a Screen Actors Guild award.
13He was also nominated for a BAFTA.
14"I feel like I can die happy, with a smile on my face," Kotsur said.
15Kotsur's road to the Oscars began in school.
16As a child, Kotsur loved cartoons like Tom and Jerry.
17He would act out the stories for his deaf classmates on the school bus.
18He later studied acting at Gallaudet University, a university for the deaf in Washington, D.C.
19He later performed with the National Theatre of the Deaf.
20With few roles in television and film available for deaf actors, Kotsur found work in stage acting.
21Beginning with Of Mice and Men in 1994, Kotsur has acted in some 20 productions by Deaf West.
22Deaf West is a nonprofit theater company in Los Angeles.
23On stage, Kotsur is a very physical actor.
24"It's really important for me on stage to show emotion through sign language," Kotsur said.
25"Sometimes, sign language can be more three-dimensional and meaningful than spoken dialogue."
26Kotsur has long been used to seeing simple, if not victimized, deaf characters.
27But the deaf characters of CODA are presented differently.
28The Rossi family in the movie are a family like any other.
29Kotsur wants viewers to change their wrong ideas about what deaf people are like.
30"There are deaf doctors. There are deaf lawyers.
31There are deaf firemen. A lot of hearing people are oblivious to that," he said.
32Perhaps Kotsur's most emotional scene is shared with his daughter, Ruby.
33Unable to hear Ruby's singing, he listens to her sing by feeling the vibrations of her neck.
34The scene has connections to Kotsur's own life.
35His daughter is also the child of deaf adults who plays music.
36"When my daughter is playing music ... I'll walk up and I'll touch the body of the acoustic guitar and I can feel the vibrations of the guitar," Kotsur said.
37The first time Kotsur read the script for CODA, he took it as a warning sign.
38He, like his character, is not ready for his daughter to leave home.
39It is these personal connections that have made it hard for the actor to separate from the character Frank.
40"It took me about half a year to disconnect from Frank," he said.
41Kotsur has since gone on to appear in the Disney+ series "The Mandalorian."
42DJ Kurs is the director of Deaf West. He said Kotsur "is one of the greats."
43"We've been waiting for the world to recognize it for some time now and it is our hope that ... future deaf actors will not have to wait so long to be recognized on this level."
44I'm Dan Novak.
1Troy Kotsur is the second deaf actor to be nominated for an Academy Award. In his Oscar-nominated performance in CODA, Kotsur spoke just one word. 2CODA stands for Child Of Deaf Adults. The movie stars Emilia Jones as the only hearing member of a deaf family. Urging Jones, his daughter, to go after her dreams of singing and attending college, Kotsur says: "Go!" 3For Kotsur, that one word meant lots of rehearsal. It also meant speaking dialogue he himself could not hear. 4"I hope that young people who happen to be deaf or hard of hearing can get an increased confidence," Kotsur said. "I want those kids to not feel limited." 5The Apple TV+ release CODA, is nominated for Best Picture. The movie has made Kotsur famous and made history for the deaf community. Kotsur is the first deaf actor ever nominated individually for a Screen Actors Guild award. He was also nominated for a BAFTA. 6"I feel like I can die happy, with a smile on my face," Kotsur said. 7Kotsur's road to the Oscars began in school. As a child, Kotsur loved cartoons like Tom and Jerry. He would act out the stories for his deaf classmates on the school bus. He later studied acting at Gallaudet University, a university for the deaf in Washington, D.C. He later performed with the National Theatre of the Deaf. 8With few roles in television and film available for deaf actors, Kotsur found work in stage acting. Beginning with Of Mice and Men in 1994, Kotsur has acted in some 20 productions by Deaf West. Deaf West is a nonprofit theater company in Los Angeles. 9On stage, Kotsur is a very physical actor. "It's really important for me on stage to show emotion through sign language," Kotsur said. "Sometimes, sign language can be more three-dimensional and meaningful than spoken dialogue." 10Kotsur has long been used to seeing simple, if not victimized, deaf characters. But the deaf characters of CODA are presented differently. The Rossi family in the movie are a family like any other. 11Kotsur wants viewers to change their wrong ideas about what deaf people are like. "There are deaf doctors. There are deaf lawyers. There are deaf firemen. A lot of hearing people are oblivious to that," he said. 12Perhaps Kotsur's most emotional scene is shared with his daughter, Ruby. Unable to hear Ruby's singing, he listens to her sing by feeling the vibrations of her neck. The scene has connections to Kotsur's own life. His daughter is also the child of deaf adults who plays music. 13"When my daughter is playing music ... I'll walk up and I'll touch the body of the acoustic guitar and I can feel the vibrations of the guitar," Kotsur said. 14The first time Kotsur read the script for CODA, he took it as a warning sign. He, like his character, is not ready for his daughter to leave home. It is these personal connections that have made it hard for the actor to separate from the character Frank. 15"It took me about half a year to disconnect from Frank," he said. 16Kotsur has since gone on to appear in the Disney+ series "The Mandalorian." 17DJ Kurs is the director of Deaf West. He said Kotsur "is one of the greats." 18"We've been waiting for the world to recognize it for some time now and it is our hope that ... future deaf actors will not have to wait so long to be recognized on this level." 19I'm Dan Novak. 20Dan Novak adapted this for VOA Learning English from reporting by The Associated Press. 21_______________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23rehearsal - n. an event at which a person or group practices an activity 24dialogue - n. the things that are said by the characters in a story, movie, play, etc. 25role - n. the character played by an actor 26dimension - n. the amount or number of things that something affects or influences 27oblivious - adj. not conscious or aware of someone or something 28vibration - n. a continuous slight shaking movement 29acoustic - adj. not having its sound changed by electrical devices