Here's Who Twitter Declared The Real Winner Of The Oscars
In a world divided, perhaps the one thing we can all agree on is the wonderful rediscovery of Troy Kotsur. Kotsur has been a veteran actor for 20 years, with IMDb credits including popular shows such as "Criminal Minds," "The Mandalorian," and "CSI: NY." Most recently, however, Kotsur made waves with his performance as the eccentric father Frank Rossi in the Oscar-nominated "CODA."
Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, Kotsur won the category in competition with Ciarán Hinds in "Belfast," Kodi Smit-McPhee and Jesse Plemons in "The Power of the Dog," and J.K. Simmons in "Being the Ricardos" as shared by Variety. Experts predicted the award for Kotsur, and Twitter did as well with the actor a seeming social media favorite.
Yet, while Kotsur may have been an early favorite to take the award home, there were factors that could easily have derailed this much deserved recognition. Prior to the deaf actor's win, "CODA" co-star Marlee Matlin was the only deaf performer to win an Oscar — and that was 35 years ago as reported by the Los Angeles Times. Although Matlin did win that award, no deaf male had yet earned this recognition and no deaf performer since.
Troy Kotsur's Oscar brings Twitter to tears
You know you've reached people if you have BuzzFeed in tears as they shared, "Crying at how they're clapping for [Troy Kotsur] in sign language Congratulations!!" Social media wasn't simply happy for the fan-favorite performer, but overjoyed to watch his acceptance speech as well. Sharing on another Twitter thread, "sobbing" fans wrote, "Troy Kotsur is an incredible actor. What an outstanding movie. His speech was so inspirational. God Bless him." While another noted the moment as a whole, "The way [presenter Yuh-jung Youn] looked at him...and knew to take his Oscar so he could sign...broke me." Some even think Kotsur's moment may be the highlight of an otherwise underwhelming awards show, writing, "Even the show can't ruin these magic moments."
As shared by the The New York Times prior to the win, Kotsur spoke on his Oscar nomination, saying, "And it doesn't matter if I win or not: My name has been put down in the history books. By the time I've left this planet, that will remain." And now, Kotsur shall remain a winner in both the history books and our collective hearts too.