BOWIE, Md. — The accolades keeping coming in for a young performer from our area. Keivonn Woodard, who is deaf, got his breakout role as Sam Burrell in the HBO series "The Last of Us."
Since the series aired, Keivonn has been recognized for his powerful performance, particularly in the episode "Endure and Survive." It even led to an Emmy nomination.
Now, the actor from Bowie can add another award to his resumé. He just took home the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series.
He accepted the award and gave his speech in American Sign Language.
"This is amazing! Thank you to everyone from supporting and continuing to support me," he said through an interpreter.
We spoke with Keivonn and his mom when it was first announced that he got the role on the popular show starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. He said he was surprised he was even cast.
“I’m feeling shocked, honestly," Keivonn said. "Can’t believe I made it into a show.”
“For a Black deaf family, sixth generation, that's huge," Keivonn's mom, April Jackson-Woodard said.
Many of those deaf relatives are actors themselves, April said, including her.
“I had a major in acting, and I really hit a lot of barriers being deaf and Black," she said. "That's not what they were looking for.”
But Keivonn continues to break those barriers. His next film project is called "Steal Away." It's reportedly in post-production. Keivonn plays the role of Matteo.
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