CODA Oscar Winner Troy Kotsur Helped Create Tuskan Raider Sign Language in the STAR WARS Universe
Actor Troy Kotsur became the first deaf actor to win the Best Supporting Actor Award at the Oscars for his role in the wonderful film CODA. It was great to see him win because he gave a fantastic and moving performance in the movie.
It turns out that Kotsur has also helped in building the Star Wars universe. Not only did he appearing in The Mandalorian as a Tuskan Raider, he also helped create the sign language that was used by the Tuskan Raiders as well!
While previously speaking with The Daily Moth, Kotsur explained how he was asked to help create the Sign Language as well as his process, which involved researching their culture and environment in order to create a language that avoided ASL. He shared:
"I did research on the culture and environment of Tusken Raiders. I researched on the desert called 'sand people.' That is what Luke Skywalker calls them, 'sand people.' Anyway, my goal was to avoid ASL. I made sure it became Tusken Sign Language based on their culture and environment.
"I hope that you keep telling Disney+ that you want to see more sign language. I hope that the producers keep an open mind because this is just the beginning."
I think it would be great to see Start Wars continue to play with that. The actor went on to share how Star Wars changed his life when he was 8 years old. He CBS Saturday Morning:
"So, imagine sitting in the theater not being able to hear anything. But the visuals of this of this film were amazing. I saw the lights shooting back and forth from their guns. The battleships. I went back to the theater and saw it 28 times, and that was the first film that inspired me. I was fascinated by the fantasy and all of the characters and that really sparked my interest into film and led me here to this day."
He went on to talk about how excited he was to be a part of The Mandalorian saying:
"Oh, I was thrilled. Since the age of eight, my dream was to be involved. They had so many aliens and they spoke all these different languages, so where was sign language? And so, as a Tusken raider, it was perfect to create that sign language for the desert."
I’m curious to see what kind of projects that Kotsur ends up being a part of next, but I hope he continues to get to live out his Star Wars dream!