The Mandalorian

[Barry Wallis]

So, The Mandalorian season 2 has started. I noticed that the Tusken raiders communicated in a mix of spoken words and sign language (no small feat given their clunky hands). Well, it turns out that one of my favorite deaf actors, Troy Kotsur, was hired as a consultant to create a Tusken-specific sign language for the show. Although Troy is also in the show, I can't tell which one he is because they all look the same to me.

 

[PHoganDive]

As an aside, Troy Kotsur is married to Deanne Bray (also deaf), who was in Sue Thomas, FBI...one of my favs.

 

[Barry Wallis]

As an aside, Troy Kotsur is married to Deanne Bray (also deaf), who was in Sue Thomas, FBI...one of my favs.

Absolutely true. They also belong to a deaf theater troupe in Southern California called Deaf West Theater. They generally produce shows that mix hearing and deaf actors in a way that is both novel and accessible to both communities. In addition to numerous local awards (their production of Pipping at the Mark Taper Forum was exemplary) they've brought two productions to Broadway (Big River and Spring Awakening) and have received five Tony nominations.

I took this photo of Troy and Deanne at a panel discussion of See What I'm Saying: The Deaf Entertainers Documentary during Disney's Signin' in the Street event.