Troy Kotsur Height, Age, Girlfriend, Wife, Family, Biography, & More

Bio/Wiki
Full Name	Troy Michael Kotsur ^[1]Wrestling Junkies
Profession(s)	Actor, Film Director, Stage Director
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 183 cm in meters- 1.83 m in feet & inches- 6'
Eye Color	Hazel Green
Hair Color	Salt & Pepper (Dyed Black)
Career
Debut	Film: The Number 23 (2007) as Barnaby TV: Strong Medicine (2001) as Lars in the episode “Fix” Direction: No Ordinary Hero: The SuperDeafy Movie (2013)
Awards	For the film ‘CODA’ (2021) • Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role at Academy Awards (2022) • Best Supporting Actor at BAFTA Awards (2022) • Best Movie Supporting Actor at Critics' Choice Awards (2022) • Outstanding Film Supporting Performance at Gotham Awards (2021) • Best Supporting Male in a Feature Film at Independent Spirit Awards (2021) • 'Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role' and 'Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture' at Screen Actors Guild Awards (2022) Others • An award in the category of 'Lead Performance' by Los Angeles Drama Circle Critics in 2012 for the play 'Cyrano' • Legacy Award at 2016 Heartland Film Festival
Personal Life
Date of Birth	July 24, 1968 (Wednesday)
Age (as of 2022)	54 Years
Birthplace	Mesa, Arizona, US
Zodiac sign	Leo
Nationality	American
Hometown	Mesa, Arizona, US
School	• Phoenix Day School for the Deaf, Phoenix, Arizona • Westwood High School, Mesa, Arizona
College/University	Gallaudet University, Washington, D.C.
Educational Qualification	A course in theatre, television, and film at Gallaudet University (1987-1989) ^[2]Golden Globe Awards Note: In 1989, Troy Kotsur quit his course after he secured a job at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf's touring company, Sunshine Too.
Food Habit	Non-Vegetarian
Relationships & More
Sexual Orientation	Straight
Marital Status	Married
Affairs/Girlfriends	Deanne Bray (actress) (February 1997-August 2001)
Marriage Date	September 1, 2001
Family
Wife/Spouse	Deanne Bray (actress)
Children	Daughter- Kyra Monique Kotsur
Parents	Father- Leonard Stephen Kotsur (police chief in Mesa) Mother- JoDee Louise True (tailor)
Siblings	Elder Brother(s)- Kevin Kotsur (assistant chief of police in Avondale), Brian Kotsur (works at the Mesa Fire and Medical Department) Younger Brother- Brett Kotsur
Favorites
Cartoon	Tom & Jerry
Film Series	Star Wars
Film(s)	Jaws (1975), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Troy Kotsur

Troy Kotsur is an American actor and film and stage director who is known for starring in the ASL adaptations of the plays Big River (2011) and Cyrano (2012) and films Wild Prairie Rose (2016) and CODA (2021). On March 27, 2022, he won an Academy Award in the category of Best Supporting Actor for playing the role of Frank Rossi in ‘CODA’ (2021), becoming the first male deaf actor to win an Oscar. ^[3]The Independent

Kotsur ‘s parents discovered his deafness when he was just nine months old. In an interview, while sharing how his mother discovered his hearing impairment, he said,

I was in the crib when my mother spoke behind me but I didn’t respond…She came back with two pans from the kitchen. She banged real loud but I still didn’t hear.”

Childhood picture of Troy Kotsur with his family

Soon after discovering that their son was deaf, Kotsur’s parents enrolled in American Sign Language (ASL) so the family could communicate.

At the age of four, Troy Kotsur’s younger brother Brett Kotsur drowned in a swimming pool. Troy was seven at that time. Due to remaining underwater for long hours, Brett had severe brain damage and dysfunctionality. As a consequence of the horrific incident, Brett had to depend on a ventilator for the rest of his life before he died at the age of 21.

Growing up as the only deaf member of the family, Kotsur was intrigued by films at the age of eight when he came across one of the American epic space films of the Star Wars trilogy. Mesmerized by the visuals and costumes featured in the film, Kotsur watched the film over 28 times. In an interview, while talking about his first encounter with the Star Wars film, he said,

It was so visual, the costumes, it just blew me away. I watched it again and again. And it got me hoping that someday I could make a movie.”
Despite developing an interest in acting at a very young age, Kotsur took to the stage after enrolling in Westwood High School during his sophomore year. At Westwood High, Kotsur’s drama teacher Jay Jones persuaded him to perform a pantomime skit for the senior variety show. Following his electrifying performance at the show, he received a standing ovation. Although the deaf artist couldn’t listen to the roaring round of applause, watching people stand for him fueled his passion for acting.

He spent his high school days participating in skits and plays and playing varsity basketball.

Another mishappening, after Brett’s drowning, took place when Troy was seventeen. His father, Len, met with a car accident that paralyzed his body from the neck down. Thereafter, a communication gap arose between the father-son duo, who earlier used ASL to communicate. After being paralyzed for a long time, Len died in 2001.

After completing high school, Troy Kotsur worked as an editor at KTSP-TV (now KSAZ-TV) for a short period.

His first play was Susan Zeder’s In a Room Somewhere, directed by Victor Brown, in 1989.

In an interview, Kotsur recollected his struggling days in the entertainment industry and said,

During auditions, I would generally never get the role because most of the time they would ask, “Can you speak?” And of course another actor could speak better than I could, since I’m completely deaf and that can be a challenge… I was doing it the old-fashioned way back in the ’90s: I had to buy $300 worth of envelopes and stamps and send these headshots to 300 different casting directors, and out of that, I may get one audition.”
He quit his course at Gallaudet University when he got his first professional offer—National Technical Institute for the Deaf’s touring company, Sunshine Too, where he worked from 1990 to 1991.

Later, he became a member of the National Theatre of the Deaf (NTD). At NTD, he toured with the theatrical productions Treasure Island (from 1991 to 1992) and Ophelia (from 1992 to 1993).

Troy Kotsur and Deanne Bray first met in 1993 at NTD in Chester, Connecticut. They started dating in 1997. Deanne Bray is popular for playing the titular role in the Canadian-American TV series ‘Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye’ (2002-2005), which was telecast on PAX TV.

His career escalated when he joined Deaf West Theatre, a non-profit arts organization based in Los Angeles, in 1994, where he took up projects as an actor as well as stage director.

In 1997, he appeared in the ASL adaptation of ‘Orphans,’ a play by Lyle Kessler, in which he shared the stage with the American Deaf artist Chuck Baird.

Thereafter, he starred in numerous ASL plays like ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ as Stanley, ‘Of Mice and Men’ as Lenny, and ‘True West’ as Lee.’ Working as a stage director at Deaf West Theatre, he directed the ASL adaptations of numerous plays like Aladdin And The Wonderful Lamp, Eye, Aesop Who?, The Giving Tree, Three Musketeers, Lone Star, Where’s the Cross?.

In the Canadian-American TV series ‘Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye,’ Kotsur played the recurring role of Troy Myers from 2002 to 2005. In the show, Troy Myers is a successfully rehabilitated former car thief who originally only turned to crime because he didn’t fit in society due to his deafness.
A still from the TV show ‘Sue Thomas F.B.Eye’ featuring Troy Kotsur as Troy Myers

He has appeared in various American TV series including Doc (2003), CSI: NY (2006), and Scrubs (2007).

In 2009, he was featured in the documentary ‘See What I’m Saying: The Deaf Entertainers Documentary.’

In 2011, Kotsur came into the limelight with the theatrical production ‘Big River’ in which he played the signing role of Huckleberry Finn’s drunkard father, Pap, alongside the hearing American actor Lyle Kanouse. The Broadway show featured a combination of hearing and signing actors for each role. Staged at the American Airlines Theater in New York City, the play was based on Mark Twain’s novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”
Lyle Kanouse (left) in the hearing role and Troy Kotsur (right) in the signing role of Papp in the play Big River (2011)

He won the prestigious accolade ‘LA Drama Critics Circle Award’ for playing the titular role in the ASL adaptation of Stephen Sachs’ play ‘Cyrano’ (2012). A Deaf West Theatre’s production, the play chronicles the story of Cyrano, a brilliant deaf poet who pines for a beautiful hearing woman named Roxy. As the story unfolds, Roxy admits she is attracted to Cyrano’s rock guitarist brother, Chris.
A picture of Troy Kotsur in and as Cyrano (2012)

In 2012, he starred as John Myers in the episode “The Silencer” of the American police procedural crime drama ‘Criminal Minds.’ In the episode, John Myers is a serial-turned-spree killer who tortures his victims by sewing their mouths shut using a unique double-knot ligature.
A picture of Troy Kotsur as John Myers in Criminal Minds (2012)

Casting Troy Kotsur for the role of John Myers in ‘Criminal Minds’ was a remarkable event in the history of Hollywood casting as the production team of the show rewrote the character in the episode from a hearing role into a deaf role solely so they could hire a deaf actor. The casting director of the show first saw Kotsur in the hit play ‘Cyrano,’ staged at the Fountain Theatre. Impressed by Kotsur’s spectacular ASL acting skills, the casting director convinced the show’s team to hire Kotsur.

His directional debut film No Ordinary Hero: The SuperDeafy Movie (2013) follows an eight-year-old deaf boy named Jacob, who escapes from his problems in a TV program titled SuperDeafy featuring a deaf actor named Tony Kane. As the story unfolds, Tony Kane helps Jacob to get rid of his bullies at school.

In 2015, Kotsur featured in another prominent play of his career ‘American Buffalo,’ which earned him a nomination for the LA Drama Critics Circle Award (2015). In the Deaf West Theatre production, Troy Kotsur played the role of Teach, a poker buddy of Don’s.
(Left to right) Troy Kotsur, Matthew Ryan Pest, Paul Raci in American Buffalo (2017)

In 2016, he starred as James Hansen in the indie drama film ‘Wild Prairie Rose.’ Set in 1952, the storyline of the film revolves around Rose Miller, who returns to her rural hometown of Beresford, South Dakota, to care for her ailing mother. At Beresford, Rose falls in love with a deaf man, James, and must decide if she has the courage to follow her heart.
A picture of Troy Kotsur as James in Wild Prairie Rose (2016)

In 2017, he appeared in the theatrical productions ‘Our Town’ and ‘Edward Albee’s At Home at the Zoo.’ In Edward Albee’s At Home at the Zoo, Kotsur played the role of Peter, a well-paid publishing executive who has a rocky marriage with a woman named Ann.
Troy Kotsur (left) as Peter in the play ‘Edward Albee’s at Home at the Zoo’

He starred in the 2017 short film ‘Father’s Day Breakfast’ in which he played the role of Stephen, the deaf father of his hearing son, Michael. The short film features the journey and struggles of the father and son to express their love for each other.
Short film Father’s Day Breakfast

In 2018, Troy Kotsur and his wife, Deanne Bray, were featured in the romantic play ‘Arrival & Departure,’ directed by Stephen Sachs. Troy Kotsur played the role of Sam, while Deanne Bray played Emily. The play focuses on Sam, a deaf man, and Emily, a hard-of-hearing woman, who accidentally meet in a New York City subway station. Despite being married to different people, their casual friendship soon develops into deeper feelings they never expected. The play won 4 BroadwayWorld Los Angeles Awards including an award for ‘Best Play’ in 2018.
A picture of Troy Kotsur as Sam in Arrival & Departure (2018)

In 2019, Kotsur appeared in the Star Wars franchise’s live-action TV series ‘The Mandalorian’ in which he played the role of a Tusken Raider belonging to a tribe of nomads on the planet Tatooine. For the role, Kotsur developed a fictional sign language Tuskens use to communicate.
Troy Kotsur as a Tusken raider in The Mandalorian (2019)

In 2021, he rose to prominence with the coming-of-age comedy-drama film ‘CODA’ in which he played the role of Frank Rossi, a deaf fisherman and the father of a hearing daughter, Ruby. The central character of the film, Ruby, is the only hearing member of a deaf family, who finds herself torn between pursuing her passion for singing and her fear of abandoning her parents.
Troy Kotsur as Frank Rossi in the film CODA (2021)

In 2022, Troy Kotsur struck international stardom becoming the first male deaf actor to win an Academy Award. He is also the first deaf person to win an individual Screen Actors Guild Award. ^[4]Vanity Fair

Kotsur’s pet dog’s name is Stella. An avid dog lover, he uploads various pictures with Stella on his social media account.
A picture of Troy Kotsur with his wife, Deanne Bray, and his dog, Stella

A post on Deanne Bray’s Facebook account states a fun fact about her marriage with Kotsur. In the post, she revealed that she got married to him twice, first in September 2001 and then in November 2001. However, the post does not mentions the reason behind the two marriages.