Keivonn Woodard

Woodard made his film debut in 2018 with the film Seeds of Hope: The Andrew Jackson Foster Story. He earned wider recognition and critical acclaim for his performance in the HBO post-apocalyptic drama series The Last of Us. Woodard starred as Sam, a survivor who travels with his brother Henry in the episodes "Please Hold to My Hand" and "Endure and Survive".^[1][2][3]

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.^[4][5] For his role in the series, 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.^[6][7] He is the first black deaf actor and second deaf actor overall (after Marlee Matlin) to be nominated for an Emmy Award.^[8][9] His performance also earned him an Independent Spirit Award^[10] and nominations for a Black Reel TV Award^[11] and an NAACP Image Award.^[12] In August 2024, Woodard was an honoree of Time's Kid of the Year.^[5]

As of August 2024,^[update] Woodard is set to appear in Fractal, a short film by Anslem Richardson,^[5][8] as well as Steal Away, a feature film by Stephen Ashley Blake.^[5]

Born on February 9, 2013,^[6][13] Woodard lives in Bowie, Maryland, with his mother, April Jackson-Woodard; his father, Dwayne Woodard, died in 2021. In addition to acting, he plays ice hockey.^[1][4]

Key

†	Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

More information Year, Title ...

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2018	Seeds of Hope: The Andrew Jackson Foster Story	Deaf student	Film debut
TBA	Fractal †	Tamir	Short film; Completed
	Steal Away †	Matteo	Pre-production

Close

Television

More information Year, Title ...

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2023	The Last of Us	Sam	2 episodes
2024	Bunk'd	Miles	Episode 160: "Slapshot to the Heart"[citation needed]

Close