Oscar winner Troy Kotsur shatters Hollywood barrier with his Netflix role

Oscar winner Troy Kotsur has discussed about his latest role in Netflix's new series Black Rabbit.

The actor, who made history in 2022 as the first deaf performer to win an Academy Award for CODA, now plays mob boss Joe Mancuso.

In an interview with People Magazine, Kotsur shared that he hopes his latest role will open doors for deaf actors in Hollywood.

He said, "I'm sure folks in the audience have really never seen a mobster who happens to be deaf. It was really fun and exciting for me to create this character."

"It was really fun for me to develop this character, a fresh take and a new perspective. It will open up new roles in the future, I hope. We're not just actors who use sign language, we're characters and we can play all different types of characters," he added.

Kotsur went on to add about his role, "Every scene, my goal was for the audience to feel the emotion."

"What I was trying to do was keep it simple. Less is more. I'm glad that I approached things that way and remained in control in these extremely emotional scenes. Because Joe Mancuso is the boss, he didn't want to be too upset or over the top. He had to keep under control and be aware of his power at all times," Kotsur said.

Notably, Troy Kotsur's Black Rabbit is premiering on Netflix.