Keivonn Montreal Woodard is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Sam in the HBO post-apocalyptic drama series The Last of Us, for which he received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.

Keivonn Montreal Woodard, 10, stole — and broke — hearts as Sam Burrell, the brother of “the most wanted man in Kansas,” during two episodes of the HBO show’s Emmy-nominated first season

Kirsty Hatcher is an Associate Editor on the People.com Morning Team. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2023. Her work previously appeared on ok.co.uk, in OK! Magazine and Reach PLC magazines.

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Keivonn Montreal Woodard has made history with his Emmy nomination. Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

The Last of Us actor Keivonn Montreal Woodard has made Emmy Awards history.

On Wednesday, the 10-year-old actor scored an Emmy nomination for outstanding guest actor in a drama series for his role as apocalypse survivor Sam Burrell in the HBO hit drama  — becoming the youngest actor to ever do so in the category.

The talented young performer is also the first ever Black Deaf actor to garner a nomination, according to Deadline.

Woodard told the outlet he was “shocked” by the nod and also shared some advice for other actors from similar communities. “I think that everybody should just do their best when they’re trying to act and just go for the auditions,” he said.

“Don’t worry about it, and just go ahead and try to act your best. Yes, it was hard with the facial expressions and learning how to [interpret the script for American Sign Language], but I think it’s really important to also learn to listen to your production team and to collaborate with them. I got in, and so can you,” he added to Deadline, nothing that is he aware of the “importance and huge impact” of his nomination as a young Black Deaf actor.

Woodard as Sam Burrell in The Last of Us.Liane Hentscher/HBO

Woodard also received praise on social media from celebrated actress Marlee Matlin, who has been deaf since she was 18 months old after a childhood illness.

“Congratulations to first time Deaf actor Keivonn Montreal Woodard for being the youngest Emmy nominee as Guest Actor for @TheLastofUsHBO,” wrote Matlin, 57. “As the youngest Best Actress winner myself for an Oscar, my hands are waving in the air for you!”

Matlin won the Best Actress Oscar in 1987 at the age of 21. At the time she was the first Deaf person to win an Oscar. Her CODA costar Troy Kotsur became the first Deaf man to win an acting Oscar when he took home the Best Supporting Actor award in 2022.

Marlee Matlin praised Woodard on social media for his Emmy nomination.Rich Fury/Getty

Keivonn’s mom April Jackson-Woodard also told Deadline how she had been flooded with messages after her son’s nomination was announced, including from his Last of Us costar Bella Ramsey.

“People kept sending messages, and I cried immediately because I never thought or dreamed it would happen to my son,” she said. “You know, I never even considered it. After Keivonn got the role, I asked myself, ‘How do I even prepare my life?’ It wasn’t easy, especially as a Black Deaf mother and also being a widow. I was trying to take care of everything on my own, but he would say, ‘Mom, I got this.’ And he did.”

Nothing it was also her son’s “first TV show” April added, We are completely humbled and honored.”

Liane Hentscher/HBO

Sharing how supportive 19-year-old Ramsey, who uses they/the pronoun, and fellow costar Pedro Pascal were on the set, Keivonn revealed to Deadline: “Bella really became like a big sister, [they] knew [a bit of] British Sign Language, so [they] also picked up some American Sign Language as well, without the interpreter. Pedro, he was able to [receptively] understand and give hugs and [friendly] gestures.

But he says it was Lamar Johnson, who plays his older brother Henry Burrell (a.k.a. “the most wanted man in Kansas”), who became like family off screen.

“Lamar, we were almost like brothers. We would play video games and chat using technology,” he said. “A lot of [the cast] learned sign language, even though we didn’t ask anybody to do anything. It was an amazing experience. A good representation of what the world should be, everybody, interacting and communicating regardless of anything.”

Johnson, 28, has also received a nomination in the guest actor in a drama series category for his appearances in the fourth and fifth episodes of season 1, and fellow guest actors Nick Offerman, 53, and Murray Bartlett, 52, received nominations for their work in episode 3, “Long, Long Time.”

The Last of Us, which can be streamed in full on Max, scored 17 nominations total. The 75th annual Primetime Emmy Awards will broadcast live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sept. 18.