Oscar-nominated Actor Only Has One Spoken Line

Oscar-nominated¹ Actor Only Has One Spoken Line

Troy Kotsur is the second deaf actor to be nominated for an Academy Award. In his Oscar-nominated performance in CODA, Kotsur spoke² just one word.

CODA 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!"

For Kotsur, that one word meant lots of rehearsal³. It also meant speaking dialogue he himself could not hear.

"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."

The 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 Guild⁴ award. He was also nominated for a BAFTA.

"I feel like I can die happy, with a smile on my face," Kotsur said.

Kotsur'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 acting⁵ at Gallaudet University, a university for the deaf in Washington, D.C. He later performed with the National Theatre of the Deaf.

With 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.

On 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."

Kotsur 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.

Kotsur 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 oblivious⁶ to that," he said.

Perhaps Kotsur's most emotional scene is shared with his daughter, Ruby⁷. Unable to hear Ruby's singing, he listens to her sing by feeling the vibrations⁹ of her neck. The scene has connections to Kotsur's own life. His daughter is also the child of deaf adults who plays music.

"When my daughter is playing music ... I'll walk up and I'll touch the body of the acoustic¹⁰ guitar and I can feel the vibrations of the guitar," Kotsur said.

The 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.

"It took me about half a year to disconnect from Frank," he said.

Kotsur has since gone on to appear in the Disney+ series "The Mandalorian."

DJ Kurs is the director of Deaf West. He said Kotsur "is one of the greats."

"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."

Words in This Story

rehearsal — n. an event at which a person or group practices an activity

dialogue — n. the things that are said by the characters in a story, movie, play, etc.

role — n. the character played by an actor

dimension — n. the amount or number of things that something affects or influences

oblivious — adj. not conscious or aware of someone or something

vibration⁸ — n. a continuous slight shaking movement

acoustic — adj. not having its sound changed by electrical devices

1 nominated   

adj.被提名的，被任命的 动词nominate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She has been nominated for the presidency. 她已经获得了董事长职位的提名。
• The movie was nominated for an Oscar. 这部电影获奥斯卡金像奖提名。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

4 guild   

n.行会，同业公会，协会

参考例句：

• He used to be a member of the Writers' Guild of America.他曾是美国作家协会的一员。
• You had better incorporate the firm into your guild.你最好把这个公司并入你的行业协会。

5 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

6 oblivious   

adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的

参考例句：

• Mother has become quite oblivious after the illness.这次病后，妈妈变得特别健忘。
• He was quite oblivious of the danger.他完全没有察觉到危险。

7 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

8 vibration   

n.颤动，振动；摆动

参考例句：

• There is so much vibration on a ship that one cannot write.船上的震动大得使人无法书写。
• The vibration of the window woke me up.窗子的震动把我惊醒了。

9 vibrations   

n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动

参考例句：

• We could feel the vibrations from the trucks passing outside. 我们可以感到外面卡车经过时的颤动。
• I am drawn to that girl; I get good vibrations from her. 我被那女孩吸引住了，她使我产生良好的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 acoustic   

adj.听觉的，声音的；(乐器)原声的

参考例句：

• The hall has a fine acoustic.这个大厅的传音效果很好。
• Animals use a whole rang of acoustic, visual,and chemical signals in their systems of communication.动物利用各种各样的听觉、视觉和化学信号来进行交流。