Deaf Godzilla actor Kaylee Hottle dies at 18 in car crash; Father says he ‘forgives’ driver

Kaylee Hottle’s family mourns her death

The news of her death was announced by her father, Joshua Hottle, via a Facebook livestream using American Sign Language. He also confirmed the tragedy to TMZ, saying he was flying from Texas to Maryland to bring her body home. Hottle and her father are both deaf and come from a multi-generational deaf family.

“Kaylee’s mom and four siblings are crushed. They are together at home, grieving. I am on my way to Maryland to bring Kaylee’s body back home,” her father said in ASL in a post from an airport. According to her father, Hottle’s heart stopped before reaching the hospital after being airlifted from the crash site. “Very grateful for the 18 years we had together — and wish we had more,” he added.

Joshua Hottle also reached out to the driver, described by the sheriff’s office as a 19-year-old Frederick man. “I have forgiven you. Don’t let this incident ruin the rest of your life,” her father said. “I still feel Kaylee is with us,” her mother said in ASL in a post.

Millie Bobby Brown, Marlee Matlin and others pay tribute

“I’m so devastated to hear this. You will be deeply missed Kaylee,” her Godzilla co-star Millie Bobby Brown posted on Instagram. Co-star Alexander Skasgard, who learned ASL to communicate with Hottle, told the pop culture website Junkee in 2021 that he and others were impressed by the young ingenue’s professionalism and her ability to quickly incorporate the director’s notes into her acting.

“I’m so heartbroken. My heart goes out to her family during this unimaginable time,” Alaqua Cox, her co-star in upcoming film What Doesn’t Kill Us and fellow deaf actor, wrote on Instagram. Several prominent deaf actors also paid tribute on social media. “I am absolutely gutted about the passing of sweet Kaylee Hottle. May her beauty and talent be a memory for eternity,” Oscar winner Marlee Matlin wrote on Instagram.

Fellow Oscar winner Troy Kotsur, who starred in Sian Heder’s 2021 Oscar-winning Apple TV film CODA, wrote that Hottle’s death made him think of his own daughter, and reminded him not to take time for granted. “I have no words to express on what happened this morning,” Kotsur wrote, offering his “deepest condolences” to the Hottle family.

Officials with Texas School for the Deaf in Austin also also paid tribute to Hottle on Facebook and said counselling and support services would be available to her classmates and friends. “Please keep Kaylee’s loved ones in your thoughts as we mourn this tremendous loss together,” the school wrote.

Who was Kaylee Hottle?

In Adam Wingard’s 2021 hit monster film Godzilla vs. Kong and its 2024 sequel, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Hottle played an orphaned girl named Jia who sees beyond Kong’s threatening appearance and forms a special bond with the monster, communicating with him using sign language. She’s taken in by Dr Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall).

In a 2024 interview with The Associated Press, Hottle said through an interpreter that she hadn’t watched monster movies before she was cast in Godzilla vs. Kong, so her father helped her understand the genre. “I look up to a lot of people, but the one person I look up to, the few people I look up to mostly, are my parents and my sisters,” Hottle said.

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Hottle said that when she was working on the first film, she was a bit concerned about whether she would be able to return to her “normal life” afterwards. “People do recognize me at school, yes, but it’s not as bad as I thought it would be,” Hottle said. She previously appeared in a 2021 television episode of Magnum P.I. She was listed as appearing in the upcoming film What Doesn’t Kill Us.

Hottle also left a lasting impression on those she worked with. Speaking to Junkee in 2021, Godzilla vs. Kong co-star Alexander Skarsgård said he learned American Sign Language to communicate with her and praised her professionalism, adding that she effortlessly incorporated director Adam Wingard’s notes into her performance.