Oscar winner Troy Kotsur helped create sign language for ‘The Mandalorian’

Troy Kotsur made history at the Oscars by winning the award for his performance in ‘CODA‘ and become the second deaf performer (the first male) to win the statuette.

With the actor in full media focus after his triumph, an interview granted to The Daily Moth more than 2 years ago in which he revealed the details of his collaboration in the development of the Tusken sign language (dwellers of the sands) in the series ‘The Mandalorian’.

Kotsur broke down in the interview the details of the creation of the sign language for the series, stating that he wanted to move away from the conventional language. “I wanted to make sure that the Tusken language was conditioned according to its culture and its environment”.

Kotsur even had the opportunity to get into the skin of a Tusken warrior. He appears in episode five of the series’ first season as an unnamed Sand People.

The actor called his connection to the show a blessing, adding: “When I was eight years old, I dreamed of being a part of ‘Star Wars.’ Many, many years later, almost 40 years later, it is fateAccording to SyFy Wire, series executive producer Dave Filoni wrote an early draft of the script with the Tuskens using some form of signage, which led to Kotsur being hired as a consultant and eventual actor for the project.

Throughout awards season, Kotsur has spoken eloquently about how significant the representation of deaf people is on screen. When he was interviewed about his role in ‘The Mandalorian’ in 2020, the actor implored the general public to ask for consistent deaf representation. “I hope you keep telling Disney+ that you want to see more sign language.“, said. “I hope the producers keep an open mind because this is just the beginning.“.

While Kotsur swept the Best Supporting Actor category at nearly every award show, the Tuskens appeared in a Season 2 episode of ‘The Mandalorian’ using, again, language created by Kotsur. Will they return in the third season?