Oscars 2022: 'CODA' star Troy Kotsur makes history with best supporting actor win

By Hayley FitzPatrick

Troy Kotsur made history with his win at the 94th Academy Awards Sunday.

He won the best supporting actor Oscar for his performance in "CODA," and with his win, became the first deaf man to win an Academy Award for acting.

Kotsur previously made history when he became the first deaf man to be nominated for an acting Oscar and the second deaf actor to be nominated for an Oscar.

His "CODA" co-star Marlee Matlin became the first deaf performer to be nominated for and win an Academy Award in 1987, when she won the Oscar for best actress for her performance in "Children of a Lesser God."

During his acceptance speech, Kotsur shared, "This is amazing to be here on this journey. I cannot believe I'm here. Thank you so much to all the members of the Academy for recognizing my work."

"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," he continued.

The Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role goes to... #Oscars pic.twitter.com/k8WdJD2QzS

— The Academy (@TheAcademy) March 28, 2022

He mentioned his wife and his daughter and also spoke about his father's impact in his life. "My dad, 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."

He concluded his speech with a powerful message addressed to the deaf community. "I just wanted to say that this is dedicated to the deaf community, the 'CODA' community and the disabled community. This is our moment."

Kotsur previously spoke to ABC News about the nomination from the Academy and the impact of the Sian Heder-directed film.

"It's really not been easy to get to this point, but I feel extremely honored," he said.

Kotsur and his co-stars Daniel Durant and Matlin are part of the trio of deaf actors leading the cast of the Sian Heder-drama. The movie is about a 17-year-old girl, Ruby (Emilia Jones), who is a C.O.D.A. (child of deaf adults) and the only hearing member of her family. Kotsur plays Ruby's father, Durant plays her brother and Matlin plays her mother.

"It's really important to show hearing people what it's like as a fly on the wall and immerse themselves in deaf culture," Kotsur said about the film in his interview with ABC News. "And really, we had the right team, the right story, the right cast and crew and it just hit it at the right moment."

He also expressed how he hopes the film will continue to impact the evolution of films being made in Hollywood.

"It's such a blessing that Hollywood will begin to recognize deaf talent and increase deaf awareness," he said. "I hope that it changes their perspective, rather than thinking of deaf people as villains or folks to have sympathy about, it is a culture."

"It is a language," he added. "We have our own language and we have our own culture."'