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There's a new Best Supporting Actor in town. During Sunday's 94th Academy Awards, Troy Kotsurtook home the statuette for his role as Frank Rossi in CODA.
The actor beat out Ciarán Hinds (Belfast), Jesse Plemons (The Power of the Dog), J.K. Simmons (Being the Ricardos), and Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Power of the Dog) to take home his first Academy Award on his first nomination.
"This is amazing to be here on this journey. I cannot believe I'm here," Kotsur began his acceptance speech. "Thank you so much to all the members of the Academy for recognizing my work."
Kotsur next touched on the Coda cast's recent visit to the White House, where they met President Joe Biden, and first lady Dr. Jill Biden.
"I was planning on teaching them some dirty sign language, but Marlee Matlin told me to behave myself," he quipped. "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."
Kotsur next thanked his dad, saying, "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."
The actor ended his speech by dedicating his award "to the deaf community, the CODA community, and the disabled community," telling them, "this is our moment."
Kotsur, who is the second deaf actor to take home a statuette, has been on the receiving end of many accolades this awards season, taking home the BAFTA, Critics Choice Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award for his role in CODA.
When ET spoke with Kotsur after his SAG win, the actor revealed how he had been inspired by his CODA co-star, Marlee Matlin.
"I feel like the first time a deaf person won an Oscar, it was a long journey. And I was watching Marlee's journey, and she was such an important role model for deaf people, and was a deaf person who just happened to be an actor. And so, I was watching how persistent she was and how she stuck to her beliefs, and of course, it gave me hope," he said. "I was inspired and now we're both sharing this experience, with me being nominated, and so it feels like Marlee has a lot less educating to do, and she can pull me in, and it's teamwork now, and we're stronger together. We really hope that we can make progress, and Hollywood can make progress too."
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