Abhiroop Das
Co-created by Zach Baylin and Kate Susman, Netflix’s ‘Black Rabbit’ chronicles the journey of two brothers who stand worlds apart. While Jake Friedken is regularly making headlines as the face of the next New York hotspot, his elder brother, Vince Friedken, is running around for his life, collecting every bit of money he can along the way, only to lose it in one go. When their paths cross in this crime thriller series, Jake takes on the responsibility of getting Vince out of trouble, but that belies his own skeletons in the closet. His restaurant, Black Rabbit, is marred by internal politics and his own unending ambition, consuming everything in sight. Before long, their journey takes them to the city’s underbelly, where organized crime thrives under the reign of Joe Mancuso. What follows is a tug of war between him and the brothers, with seemingly no way out except victory.
Joe Mancuso is a Crime Boss With Deafness Who Serves as the Brothers’ Primary Foe
Joe Mancuso is introduced into the story as an underworld figure who instills fear and awe into the brothers, Jake and Vince. What makes him particularly unique in the criminal world is the fact that he is deaf, but that does not stop him from exerting his power at every turn. At present, Mancuso works as the mob bookie and is supported by his son, Junior. While Junior serves as his chief translator to the outer world, the entire crew is proficient in American Sign Language, showing how much respect they have for their boss. Given that Mancuso doesn’t speak throughout the show, most of his emotions are conveyed by his complex expressions and, more often, his actions. Even without words, he is effortlessly able to communicate to Jake the threat he poses, and this creeping fear becomes the driving engine for much of the protagonist’s actions.
Mancuso’s deafness also adds a new spin to how communication is portrayed in the show. In one of the most riveting sequences, he rains down on his son for his imprudent decision-making, and the scene transpires entirely in sign language. When Junior’s fate eventually catches up with him, Mancuso’s journey takes a serious turn, as it becomes his life’s mission to hunt down the brothers. Although he is successful in nailing Vince down, their shared history comes in the way. As it turns out, Vince had taken a drastic step in the past, and at that point, it was Mancuso who helped him and his mother out. In the present, this dynamic leads Mancuso to lower his guard for only a moment, which is all Vince needs to escape. However, by the end of the story, Mancuso has a moment of empathy in connecting with Jake, a scene that is entirely without words, showing the potency of the emotions on display.
Troy Kotsur is an Inspiration for Deaf Actors and Artists
Much like the character he essays, Troy Kotsur is a deaf actor who has carved out his distinct creative identity in the world of cinema and beyond. Kotsur began his acting career with the National Theatre of the Deaf, following which he joined the Deaf West Theatre in Los Angeles, California. There, he acted and directed in several productions, gradually making himself a known figure in the industry. The actor’s journey to the screen began with the television show, ‘Strong Medicine,’ following which he joined the cast of ‘Sue Thomas: FBI Eye,’ playing Troy Meyers. While Kotsur has featured in several movies and short films, such as ‘Universal Signs’ and ‘Wild Prairie Rose,’ he is most famous for his role as Frank Rossi in ‘Coda.’ The actor’s performance was a critical success, and he went on to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, becoming the second deaf person ever to win an Oscar. Kotsur also bagged the Screen Actors Guild Award and the Critics’ Choice Award for his work in the movie.
Alongside acting, Kotsur also has experience working on the other side of the screen, having directed and starred in ‘No Ordinary Hero: The SuperDeafy Movie.’ The actor also made headlines for his role in ‘The Mandalorian,’ where he essays a Tuscan Raider Scout, and ‘Foundation,’ in which he plays Preem Palver. The actor has been a lifelong supporter of deaf acting representation in the industry. In a conversation with Ava, he stated: “(Earlier) Hollywood tended to pick the Deaf character as the victim or someone to have sympathy for, and I didn’t really feel any connection to that. I was a complete outsider; no one knew who I was, so I was trying to figure out how I could break into Hollywood.” The big break for Kotsur came with ‘Coda,’ and since then, he has set a new benchmark for how deaf characters are portrayed on screen.
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Troy Kotsur Adds a Special Touch to the Deaf Characters He Brings to Life
The character of Joe Mancuso is a sharp departure from Troy Kotsur’s previous catalogue, and in a conversation with Today, he talked about the contrast between his role in the series and in ‘Coda.’ He explained, ‘Most actors tend to like playing villains, and I am really glad to finally have that opportunity. We have never really seen a deaf villain on screen before, or a deaf criminal in a story, so I wanted to show the audience that type of perspective.” He also revealed that the role of Mancuso was specifically designed with him in mind, as the creators, Zach Baylin and Kate Susman, took note of his interests and incorporated them into their character writing process.
In the interview, Kotsur also talked about the modifications he added to the character in order to make Mancuso a believable figure. The most striking feature about the mob boss is the fact that he uses ASL with just one hand. Kotsur explained that he imagined Mancuso always carrying a gun in his left hand, which made his way of communication more natural. He said, “Imagine, for many years, you are hanging out with all these criminals and you have to hold the gun a lot, and you get in the habit of signing with one hand (…) I really had fun developing this character and adding some flavour, some salt and pepper.” The actor is no stranger to augmenting sign language to fit his roles, as he has previously done this with his role in ‘The Mandalorian,’ which involved the usage of heavy gloves, restricting finger movement, as well as in ‘Foundation,’ where he used visual references of spaceships to coin entirely new phrases that fit the future.
