Marlee Matlin & Troy Kotsur Reflect On 'CODA' Success At Diversity Luncheon

"CODA" star Marlee Matlin was the first Deaf actress to win an Academy Award for her role in "Children of a Lesser God" in 1987.

Now, 35 years later, "CODA" costar Troy Kotsur became the second Deaf performer and first male Deaf actor to win an Oscar for his role in the Sundance Film Festival success story.

Both Oscar winners spoke at The Hollywood Reporter's inaugural “Raising Our Voices: Setting Hollywood’s Inclusion Agenda” luncheon Wednesday, which was sponsored by Walmart.

Matlin delivered the keynote address at the event, which also featured appearances by Daniel Durant, Geena Davis, Wilmer Valderrama, Natalie Morales, and Gloria Calderón Kellett.

Troy Kotsur, who is also the first Deaf actor to appear in "Star Wars" and create the Tusken Sign Language for the Disney+ live-action shows "The Mandalorian" and "The Book of Boba Fett," introduced Matlin ahead of her keynote speech.

He began by teasing Geena Davis, saying that she said she would take a photo years ago but never did. In response, Davis rushed onto the stage and Matlin snapped a photo of the two on her phone.

Kotsur also joked, "Before I was a famous award-winning actor, I used to buy clothing at Walmart, so I’d like to thank our sponsor Walmart — you provided me with so many pairs of socks and underwear over the years, I really appreciate it."

Kotsur then addressed Matlin and her historic Academy Award win, saying, "Marlee seemed like the only deaf actress in the world. Sometimes she was the token deaf actress. Marlee dealt with discrimination, barriers, and closed-mindedness with such patience, elegance, and grace. Marlee never gave up."

He then thanked Matlin for keeping "my hope and the hope of the Deaf community alive."

Matlin began her speech by saying, "I’m so grateful that I’m not alone any longer."

Matlin recalled what it was like as a young actress facing discrimination. She decided that "if I wanted to continue to be an actor who happened to be deaf in Hollywood, I couldn’t just sit there; I had to make noise, I had to collaborate and I had to make things happen for myself."

"Most importantly, I had to speak out about those who wished to handicap me and the community I represented," she continued.

At the 94th Annual Academy Awards, "CODA" scooped up all three of its nominations: Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, and the coveted Best Picture prize.

Reflecting on the historic win, Matlin said, "How wonderful it was that our film really busted out the myth that no one wanted to see a family-friendly film, without special effects, or a coming-of-age story of a young girl and her working-class deaf family. With open captions! Thank you [director] Sian [Heder] for that."

"And that we were on the stage, the cast, the director, the producers, and our interpreters for everyone to see, showing that we could do it," she continued. "That inclusion and authenticity and accessibility can be entertaining and creatively and commercially successful."

"It’s hard to imagine any executives these days that will have the ability to finance a film or studio who can greenlight a project after what we succeeded, saying, 'Well, how do we do it?' calling on those who rattle off excuses to not hire authentically deaf or disabled talent because of the supposed difficulty to 'figure it out,'" she continued, adding that it wouldn't take over three decades to see another Deaf actor win an Academy Award.

Matlin concluded, "As I looked to an earlier generation like Linda Bove and Bernard Bragg who inspired me, and as Troy and Daniel have said that I inspired them, we hope that you can look to us as one of the thousands of artists who are deaf or disabled to inspire you to ensure that the future of diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and authenticity in Hollywood is a success."

"CODA" is currently available to stream on Apple TV+ and is available on VOD.