Oacar frontrunner Troy Kotsur earned the best supporting male award during the 2022 Independent Spirit Awards.

The actor won the honor for his role in CODA, in which he plays deaf fisherman Frank Rossi.

After thanking the audience, Kotsur said he was touched to be in the same room as so many other artists.

“The difference between Gloucester, MA and here in Santa Monica is that a deaf fisherman can’t afford a beer in Santa Monica. It’s expensive,” the deaf actor said via an interpreter onstage. “It’s really interesting to compare the two places.”

He added that he’s “so grateful to the entire fishing community” in Gloucester who supported the film.

Kotsur applauded the film’s producers for their vision: “The
spirit is here and that apple has tumbled into Hollywood. It’s an important movie.”

Kotsur concluded by thanking his wife and daughter, who could not make it to the show but were there in “spirit.”

The actor’s win in the category comes after he made history as the first deaf actor to win an individual Screen Actors Guild award last month.

Kotsur was up against Colman Domingo (Zola), Meeko Gattuso (Queen of Glory), Will Patton (Sweet Thing) and Chaske Spencer (Wild Indian) in the category.

The 2022 Independent Spirit Awards, which is hosted by Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally, took place in Santa Monica. It was televised on IFC and available to stream on AMC+.