Troy Kotsur Oscars Acceptance Speech for Best Supporting Actor

Youn Yuh-jung: (00:00) And the Oscar goes to [inaudible 00:00:18]. Troy Kotsur. Speaker 2: (00:25) This is the first Oscar and nomination for Troy Kotsur. He is the second deaf actor to win. Troy Kotsur: (01:18) 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. It's really amazing that our film CODA has reached out worldwide. It even reached all the way to the White House, and they invited the cast to CODA to visit and have a tour of the White House, and we met President Joe and Dr. Jill. And I was planning on teaching them some dirty sign language, but Marlee Matlin told me to behave myself. So don't worry Marlee, I won't drop any F-bombs in my speech today, instead I really want to thank all of the wonderful deaf theater stages, where I was allowed and given the opportunity to develop my craft as an actor. Thank you. Troy Kotsur: (02:12) I read one of Spielberg's books recently, and he said that the definition of the best director was a skilled communicator. Sian Heder, you are the best communicator. And the reason why, is you brought the deaf world and the hearing world together, and you are our bridge, and your name will forever be on that bridge, Sian Heder Bridge, here in Hollywood. And that was supported by Apple, Sundance, all of our cast, our crew, our producers, and the community of Gloucester, Massachusetts. So I just want to say, "Hey fishermen, hey Popeyes, don't forget to eat your spinach." Troy Kotsur: (03:01) 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. Thank you to my biggest fans, my wife, and my daughter Kyra, and my hometown of Mesa, Arizona, and Mark Finley, my manager and our team. I just wanted to say that this is dedicated to the deaf community, the CODA community, and the disabled community. This is our moment. To my mom, my dad, and my brother, Mark. They're not here today, but look at me now. I did it. I love you. Thank you.