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American actor Troy Kotsur has made history as the first deaf actor to bag an award at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards on February 27.
The 53-year-old actor received an award in the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role category for his performance in CODA as Frank Rossi. In his acceptance speech (delivered by an ASL interpreter), he reflected on his career.
Troy Kotsur began the speech by thanking all the members of SAG and said that even though he has been a member since 2001, it is now that he "finally" feels like a part of the family.
"I know you all are artists, and I know you all know what it’s like to be a starving actor. Back then, I used to sleep in my car. I slept in my dressing room backstage, I couch-surfed and all of that, you feel me, right? So, thank you so much. I’m so grateful to SAG [for protecting] us actors."
Talking to the press backstage, Troy Kotsur said that he was "overwhelmed" and did not realize how heavy the trophy is.
"This is my first time holding something like this and I think I’m going to sleep with it in bed tonight.”
Revealing that his father called him a "risk taker," Kotsur said that his "tough journey" has finally paid off.
In addition to Troy Kotsur, other contenders included Ben Affleck for The Tender Bar, Bradley Cooper for Licorice Pizza, Jared Leto for House of Gucci, and Kodi Smit-McPhee for The Power of the Dog.
Who is Troy Kotsur's wife Deanne Bray?
Born on May 14, 1971, Deanne Bray is a native of Los Angeles, California. She earned her bachelor of arts degree in biology from California State University, Northridge. She graduated from Gallaudet University with a master's degree in sign language education (linguistics).
Born deaf, she is bilingual in American Sign language and spoken English. She is totally deaf in her right ear, but wears a hearing aid in her left ear.
It was while she was performing with the deaf dance troupe Prism West that she was discovered. Her breakthrough came with the TV series The Pretender in 1996, where she played a deaf woman. In 1997, she portrayed Juliet in Elle, and in the same year, she played Jan Curran in Diagonist: Murder.
She played Dr. Gilbert in an episode of CSI titled Sounds of Silence in 2000, and from 2001 to 2005 she played the main character in Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye. She appeared in the episode Rescue Me in 2004 and played Amy in The L Word. She also starred as Joanne Mors in Two Broke Girls.
Additionally, Troy Kotsur's wife has worked with both the National Theater of the Deaf and the Deaf West Theater in California. She is also an advocate for literacy and created the Little Bookworm Club. In addition, she wrote a book with a colleague that was titled Grow with Your Child. The book provides fun, interactive games and activities for parents with deaf children.
