My Take
Troy Kotsur is one of those performers who makes you rethink everything you assumed about what acting requires — and he does it without uttering a single word. Born deaf in Mesa, Arizona, he spent decades building his craft through the National Theatre of the Deaf and regional stage work before most of Hollywood even knew his name. Then CODA came along in 2022 and the whole world caught up at once. His performance as Frank Rossi — gruff, funny, heartbreaking — earned him both the Academy Award and the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor, making him only the second deaf performer to win an Oscar for acting. What gets me is how physical and alive his screen presence is; American Sign Language becomes pure expressiveness in his hands. He's not a feel-good story, he's just a flat-out great actor who happened to wait a long time for the right role.
Overview
Troy Michael Kotsur (; born July 24, 1968) is an American actor. Born deaf, Kotsur made his acting debut in the late 1980s working with the National Theatre of the Deaf. His television debut was in a 2001 episode of Strong Medicine. His film debut was in the 2007 thriller The Number 23. His accolades include a BAFTA Award, an Academy Award, and a nomination for a Golden Globe Award.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Troy Kotsur
- Name (Japanese)
- トロイ・コッツァー
- Reading
- とろい・こっつぁー
- Born
- July 24, 1968 (age 57)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Leo / Monkey
- Origin
- Mesa, Arizona, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- actor / film director
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Westwood High School
- University
- Gallaudet University
Awards & achievements
- 2022 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
- 2022 BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.