{"id":295202,"date":"2023-07-23T13:24:39","date_gmt":"2023-07-23T18:24:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=295202"},"modified":"2024-05-06T21:13:34","modified_gmt":"2024-05-07T02:13:34","slug":"deaf-actor-emmy-nomination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/deaf-actor-emmy-nomination\/","title":{"rendered":"Preteen Deaf actor makes history as youngest person ever nominated for Emmy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A 10-year-old actor has made history as the youngest person to ever receive an Emmy nomination… and he’s also the first Black Deaf actor receiving the nomination as well.<\/p>\n

Keivonn Woodward had a guest role in HBO’s “The Last of Us” as Sam, a character who was not Deaf in the video game, but was changed to be Deaf with Woodward’s casting. It was Woodward’s first role, and the showrunners highly praised his work.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was astonishing,\u201d showrunner Craig Mazin said on HBO\u2019s “The Last of Us” podcast<\/a>. \u201cI have never been in a circumstance where a kid, who has never really acted on film before, shows up and is so naturally good at it. He was a joy to have around, and a total dream. He\u2019s incredible and I cannot wait to see more from him. I hope that when people watch this episode, here in Hollywood and in our business, that they don\u2019t just stop at the end of it and go, \u2018Boy, that kid was really good playing the character of Sam\u2019. I hope that they go, \u2018That kid ought to be in a lot of things.’\u201d<\/p>\n

His mother, April Jackson-Woodard, is also Deaf, and told Deadline<\/a> that everyone on set was highly supportive of her son.<\/p>\n

\u201cBella [Ramsey] really became like a big sister, she knew [a bit of] British Sign Language, so she also picked up some American Sign Language as well, without the interpreter. Pedro [Pascal], he was able to [receptively] understand and give hugs and [friendly] gestures,\u201d Woodard said. \u201cBut Lamar [Johnson, who plays his older brother in the show], we were almost like brothers. We would play video games and chat using technology. A lot of [the cast] learned sign language, even though we didn\u2019t ask anybody to do anything. It was an amazing experience. A good representation of what the world should be, everybody, interacting and communicating regardless of anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ: As \u2018Sound of Freedom\u2019 exposes child sex trafficking, we must expose horrors of child killing<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

After the Emmy nominations were announced, it was a thrilling moment for the entire family \u2014 and the Deaf community.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople kept sending messages, and I cried immediately because I never thought or dreamed it would happen to my son. You know, I never even considered it.\u201d she said. \u201cAfter Keivonn got the role, I asked myself, \u2018How do I even prepare my life?\u2019 It wasn\u2019t easy, especially as a Black Deaf mother and also being a widow. I was trying to take care of everything on my own, but he would say, \u2018Mom, I got this.\u2019 And he did. He\u2019s the first young Black Deaf actor to be nominated in Emmys history, on top of this being his first TV show [and major audition process]. We are completely humbled and honored.\u201d<\/p>\n

Actress Marlee Matlin, who is also Deaf and won a Best Actress Oscar in 1987, celebrated Woodward’s nomination on Twitter. \u201cCongratulations to first time Deaf actor Keivonn Montreal Woodard for being the youngest Emmy nominee as Guest Actor for @TheLastofUsHBO,\u201d she wrote. \u201cAs the youngest Best Actress winner myself for an Oscar, my hands are waving in the air for you!\u201d<\/p>\n

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Congratulations to first time Deaf actor Keivonn Montreal Woodard for being the youngest Emmy nominee as Guest Actor for @TheLastofUsHBO<\/a>. As the youngest Best Actress winner myself for an Oscar, my hands are waving in the air for you!https:\/\/t.co\/FVtV9YmdvI<\/a><\/p>\n

— Marlee Matlin (@MarleeMatlin) July 12, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n