Kaylee Hottle, a deaf actor best known for her starring role in two \u201cGodzilla\u201d films, died in a car crash in Maryland early Tuesday morning, the Frederick County Sheriff\u2019s Office said. She was 18.<\/p>\n
Hottle was one of two passengers in the car when it went off the road and hit a culvert in Ijamsville before 3 a.m. The driver, a 19-year-old Frederick man, was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and the other passenger declined medical treatment, according to a news release from the sheriff\u2019s office. Excessive speed is believed to be a factor in the crash, which is under investigation, the sheriff\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n
Hottle was a native signer of American Sign Language, and her family members are also deaf. Her parents, Joshua and Ketsi Hottle, shared emotional video statements about her death on social media sites.<\/p>\n
\u201cPrivilege to be your mom, Kaylee Hottle,\u201d Ketsi Hottle wrote on her video post.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI am taking a flight I would never like to take,\u201d wrote Hottle\u2019s father.<\/p>\n
In \u201cGodzilla vs. Kong\u201d and the sequel, \u201cGodzilla x Kong: The New Empire,\u201d Hottle played an orphaned girl named Jia who sees beyond Kong\u2019s threatening appearance and forms a special bond with the monster, communicating with him using sign language.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so devastated to hear this. You will be deeply missed Kaylee,\u201d her \u201cGodzilla\u201d co-star Millie Bobby Brown posted on Instagram.<\/p>\n
Co-star Alexander Skarsg\u00e5rd, 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\u2019s professionalism and her ability to quickly incorporate the director\u2019s notes into her acting.<\/p>\n
In a 2024 interview with The Associated Press, Hottle said through an interpreter that she hadn\u2019t watched monster movies before she was cast in Godzilla, so her father helped her understand the genre.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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,\u201d Hottle signed.<\/p>\n
Hottle signed that when she was working on the first film, she was a bit concerned about whether she would be able to return to her \u201cnormal life,\u201d afterward.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople do recognize me at school, yes, but it\u2019s not as bad as I thought it would be,\u201d Hottle signed.<\/p>\n
Hottle previously appeared in a 2021 television episode of \u201cMagnum P.I.\u201d She was listed as appearing in the upcoming film \u201cWhat Doesn\u2019t Kill Us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so heartbroken. My heart goes out to her family during this unimaginable time,\u201d Alaqua Cox, her co-star in that film and fellow deaf actor, wrote on Instagram.<\/p>\n
Officials with Texas School for the Deaf in Austin also announced Hottle\u2019s death on Facebook, writing that counseling and support services would be available to her classmates and friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease keep Kaylee\u2019s loved ones in your thoughts as we mourn this tremendous loss together,\u201d the school wrote. \u2014\u2014\u2014 Boone reported from Boise, Idaho.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n