Keivonn Woodard

Keivonn Montreal Woodard is an American actor. He made his film debut in 2018 with the film Seeds of Hope: The Andrew Jackson Foster Story before appearing in The Last of Us as Sam, a survivor who travels with his brother Henry in the episodes "Please Hold to My Hand" and "Endure and Survive". He is set to appear in Fractal, a short film by Anslem Richardson.Woodard, who is deaf, was hired for The Last of Us after series co-creator Craig Mazin, looking for a young actor fluent in American Sign Language, sent a casting call out via Twitter. For his role in The Last of Us, Woodard was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, becoming the youngest nominee in the category at age 10 and the second-youngest Emmy nominee after Keshia Knight Pulliam for The Cosby Show. He is the first black deaf actor and second deaf actor overall (after Marlee Matlin) to be nominated for an Emmy. He was also nominated for a Black Reel TV Award.Born on February 9, 2013, Woodard lives in Bowie, Maryland, with his mother, April Jackson-Woodard; his father, Dwayne Woodard, died in 2021. In addition to acting, he plays hockey.