LOS ANGELES — A historic win at the 2020 Academy Awards has a connection to our area.
This all centers around the Best Supporting Actor award and the very special man who went home with an Oscar Sunday night.
The winner was Troy Kotsur, for his work in the movie "Coda."
While Kotsur was born and raised in Arizona, his family is from Hazleton, and he still has relatives here.
Kotsur is the second deaf person to win an Academy Award.
After the ceremony, he was asked about being part of history.
He said, "We have talent, and there are many ways to tell a story from different perspectives and different journeys, and I've been trying to figure that out because I just want to make a connection that gives Hollywood more room for storytelling, to think outside the box, to be creative."
Kotsur is the first deaf actor to win an Oscar. Marlee Matlin was the first deaf actress to win an Academy Award. It happened in 1986 for "Children of a Lesser God."
"Coda" is streaming on the Apple+ service. It tells the story of deaf parents and their daughter, who wants to pursue a career in music.