Community surprises Troy Kotsur with special welcome home

By David Baker

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    PHOENIX (KPHO) — A Mesa man who made history with an Oscar nomination got quite the surprise at Phoenix Sky Harbor on Thursday. Friends, family and the Arizona deaf community were there at the airport to greet Troy Kotsur, who had no idea they would be there. “I am completely overwhelmed that the community would come out,” Kotsur said through an interpreter.

Kotsur was nominated for best-supporting actor on Tuesday for the film CODA, which stands for Child of Deaf Adults. He’s the first deaf actor to be nominated for that specific award. “I am truly blessed,” Kotsur said at the airport.

Some of the greeters at Sky Harbor made signs that said, “My uncle is famous,” and “We are so proud of you!” Kotsur’s teachers when he was a kid were among those who welcomed him back home. “I’ve got so much pride in where I’m from, the community I was raised in. These are people that have known me for all my life and they’ve known I’ve always wanted to be involved in theater,” said Kotsur.

CODA has also been nominated for best picture and it centers around a young girl named Ruby who wants to pursue music. Kotsur plays her father. “How this world has taken to this movie is really unexpected. I could not have dreamed of this kind of reaction to this film,” said Kotsur. CODA is on Apple TV Plus. Last week, he received the British Academy Film Awards nomination for supporting actor and earlier this month, he became the first deaf actor to score an individual SAG nomination, with a best-supporting actor for CODA.

Kotsur was born in Mesa in 1968 and grew up there. He learned he was deaf at an early age and attended Phoenix Day School for the Deaf. He went to Westwood High School, where he first appeared on stage. Kotsur then attended Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. before his acting career took off. He still lives in the Valley. “It’s truly home sweet home for me,” Kotsur said on Thursday.

Kotsur’s co-star, Marlee Matlin, is the youngest best actress Oscar winner for her role in 1986’s Children of a Lesser God, and is the only deaf performer to win an Academy Award.

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