Before Will Smith caused The Great Gasp of 2022 and sucked all the air out of the room, one of the most memorable moments of Oscar night was Troy Kotsur’s Best Supporting Actor win for CODA. Not only was Troy only the second Deaf actor in the history of The Academy to win an acting award, but his moving speech was also preceded by last year’s Best Supporting Actress winner Youn Yuh-jung announcing his name in ASL as the winner before reading it to the audience. And Troy’s acceptance speech was so good, even his ASL interpreter, Justin Mauer, got choked while delivering it. Honestly, I think we all would be having a better Monday if they had just ended the show right there, with Yuh-jung standing next to Troy, holding his Oscar for him so he could sign, and looking at him in a way she never looked at Brad Pitt.
Marlee Matlin was the first Deaf actor to win an Oscar in 1986 for Children of a Lesser God. And of course, only slightly overshadowed by the drama of the evening, CODA ultimately won Best Picture. According to The Hollywood Reporter:
With CODA‘s historic wins at the 2022 Oscars on Sunday night, the film, its cast and its creative team helped spotlight American Sign Language and ASL interpretation in a series of historic moments for the Deaf community in Hollywood and beyond.
Along with his heartfelt acceptance and tribute to his father — a win that marked only the second time in Oscars history that a Deaf actor has won and the first time a male actor has received a performance honor — the moment garnered attention partly because of Kotsur’s interpreter, Justin Mauer. After working with Kotsur throughout awards season, Mauer got choked up while signing the actor’s speech and patted the Oscar winner on the back as they exited the stage.
Before saying Kotsur had won, 2021’s best supporting actress winner and this year’s best supporting actor presenter Youn Yuh-jung also signed Kotsur’s name and as the CODA star ascended the stage, much of the Oscars in-person crowd could be seen signing their applause for the first time that night.
Here’s Troy’s win and speech. And as you can see, even though Brad Pitt absolutely has a hat just like Troy’s, Yuh-jung knows it’s not hiding a stinky, shriveled-up vestigial ponytail.
See, unlike with Brad, she totally leaned in and smelled Troy.
Pic: YouTube