Troy Kotsur feels like all of his hard work is finally paying off.
The 53-year-old star - whose parents discovered he was deaf when he was just nine months old - won the Supporting Actor gong at the BAFTAs on Sunday (13.03.22) for his performance in 'CODA', and Troy feels like it's a reward for "years" of hard work away from the spotlight.
Speaking from the BAFTAs winner's room, attended by BANG Showbiz and other media, he said through a sign-language interpreter: "I am extremely thrilled. It is a payoff of all of my years of an extremely tough journey."
Troy hopes that his success might encourage filmmakers to cast other deaf actors and actresses in prominent roles.
Reflecting on the current landscape in the movie business, he said: "I feel like I've been an outsider for so long. Now it seems like filmmakers are thinking outside of the box. Trust me. There's some great work to come."
'CODA' tells the story of a girl who is the only hearing member of a deaf family, as struggles to balance her family's business interests and her own ambitions.
Troy ultimately hopes that his own character will "influence audiences".
He said: "Frank is really a hero. I hope that hero will influence audiences."
Meanwhile, Troy recently suggested that attitudes within Hollywood are slowly starting to change.
The actor urged the film industry to "avoid the same old tropes" with deaf characters.
He explained to the Observer newspaper: "I see Hollywood beginning to be motivated to look for something new, something inspiring and avoid the same old tropes that’s not just ‘Oh, have pity for a deaf character’, but have them as the hero."
