Graham Greene (actor)
| Graham Greene | |
|---|---|
 Greene in 1998 | |
| Born |
June 22, 1952 Six Nations Reserve, Ohsweken, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Spouse(s) | Hilary Blackmore (1994–present) |
Graham Greene, CM (born June 22, 1952) is a Canadian First Nations actor who has worked on stage, in film, and in TV productions in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Dances with Wolves (1990).
Early life and career
Greene is an Oneida born in Ohsweken, on the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario, the son of Lillian and John Greene, who was a paramedic and maintenance man.[1] He lived in Hamilton, Ontario, as a young adult.[2]
His first brushes with the entertainment industry came when he worked as an audio technician for rock bands based in Newfoundland and Labrador, when he went by the alias "Mabes". He graduated from the Toronto-based Centre for Indigenous Theatre's Native Theatre School program in 1974. Soon after, he began performing in professional theatre in Toronto and England.
Career
His TV debut was in an episode of The Great Detective in 1979, and his screen debut was in 1983 in Running Brave. He appeared in such films as Revolution and Powwow Highway, as well as the First Nations' CBC TV series Spirit Bay. It was his Academy Award–nominated role as Kicking Bird (Lakota: Ziŋtká Nagwáka) in the 1990 film Dances with Wolves that brought him fame.
He followed this role with films and performances on TV series, including Thunderheart, Benefit of the Doubt, and Maverick, and the television series Northern Exposure and The Red Green Show. Greene also acted alongside Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson in the 1995 film Die Hard with a Vengeance, where he played Detective Joe Lambert. He hosted the reality crime documentary show Exhibit A: Secrets of Forensic Science.
Greene co-starred as Slick Nakai with Adam Beach and Wes Studi in the film A Thief of Time (2004) and Coyote Waits, both adapted from Tony Hillerman novels of the same names and produced by Robert Redford. In 1992, Greene played the role of Ishi, the last Yahi, in the HBO drama The Last of His Tribe.[3] He appeared that year in the contemporary action-mystery film, Thunderheart (1992), playing Walter Crow Horse, a gruff, savvy local cop living on an Indian reservation.
In 1994, he began appearing as Mr. Crabby Tree in the children's series The Adventures of Dudley the Dragon, for which he received the Gemini Award. In 1997, Greene suffered a major depressive episode, and had to be hospitalized after a police encounter. He recovered after help from Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson. Greene was featured as Arlen Bitterbuck, a Native American on death row in the Oscar-nominated The Green Mile (1999). He starred in the short-lived television series Wolf Lake in 2001. In 2005, he played the potential love interest of the female lead in Transamerica. He appeared as himself in a parody of the famous Lakota-brand pain reliever commercials, on CBC Television's Rick Mercer Report.
In 2006, Greene presented the documentary series The War that Made America, about the Seven Years' War (French and Indian War) of the mid–18th century in North America. In 2007, he appeared as Shylock in the Stratford Shakespeare Festival production of The Merchant of Venice as well as Breakfast with Scot. In June 2008, he was awarded an honorary doctor of law degree from the Brantford campus of Wilfrid Laurier University located near the Six Nations reserve he is from.[4]
Greene provides the pre-recorded narration for the highly acclaimed outdoor drama, Tecumseh! in Chillicothe, Ohio, based upon the life of the illustrious Shawnee chief of that name. He portrayed Sitting Bull in a short Historica vignette.[5]
He was a guest star in an episode of the TV series Numb3rs, as a First Nations chief. He also guest-starred on multiple occasions on The Red Green Show as Edgar "K.B." Montrose, an explosives enthusiast. In one episode "Red Green" asks him what he thought of the movie Dances with Wolves. Greene's reply was that "...the native guy (himself as 'Kicking Bird') was OK. Should have gotten the Oscar. But the rest of it was a yawn!"
He appeared in The Twilight Saga: New Moon as Harry Clearwater, Charlie Swan's old friend. He played Rafe McCawley in the science fiction series Defiance, which ran for three seasons from 2013 to 2015, and in A&E's Longmire as Malachi Strand. He was named a Member of the Order of Canada in 2015.[6]
Awards and nominations
| Years | Award | Category | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Academy Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Dances with Wolves | Nominated |
| 1994 | Gemini Awards | Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series | The Adventures of Dudley the Dragon | Won |
| Gemini Awards | Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series | North of 60 | Nominated | |
| 2004 | Gemini Awards | Earle Grey Award | Lifetime achievement | Won |
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | The Great Detective | episode "The Black Curse" | |
| 1983 | Running Brave | Eddie Mills | |
| 1984 | Spirit Bay | Pete "Baba" Green | |
| 1985 | Revolution | Ongwata | |
| 1987 | Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future | Cherokee | appeared in Episode 2: "Wardogs" |
| 1987 | Street Legal | Paulo | appeared in season 1, episode 6: "Tango Bellarosa" |
| 1988 | 9B | Dan Jackson | appeared in five episodes |
| 1989 | Powwow Highway | Vietnam Vet | |
| Where the Spirit Lives | Komi's Father | ||
| 1990 | Lost in the Barrens | Mewasin | |
| Dances with Wolves | Kicking Bird | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor | |
| The Making of 'Dances with Wolves | Himself/Kicking Bird | TV Short documentary | |
| 1992 | Clearcut | Arthur | |
| Murder, She Wrote | Sheriff Sam Keeyani | Episode: Night of the Coyote | |
| The Last of His Tribe | Ishi | ||
| Thunderheart | Walter Crow Horse | ||
| Rain Without Thunder | Author on History | ||
| Northern Exposure | Leonard | appeared in five episodes | |
| 1993 | Medicine River | Will | |
| Huck and the King of Hearts | Jim | ||
| Spirit Rider | Vern | ||
| Cooperstown | Raymond Maracle | ||
| North of 60 | Rico Nez | episode "The Art of the Deal" | |
| Benefit of the Doubt | Calhoun | ||
| The Broken Chain | Peace Maker (Spirit) | ||
| 1994 | The Adventures of Dudley the Dragon | Mr. Crabby Tree | |
| Camilla | Hunt Weller | ||
| Lonesome Dove: The Series | Red Hawk | appeared in three episodes | |
| Murder, She Wrote | Peter Henderson | Episode: Northern Explosion | |
| Savage Land | Skyano | ||
| The Red Green Show | Edgar K. B. Montrose | appeared in nineteen episodes from 1994 to 2006 | |
| Maverick | Joseph | ||
| North | Alaskan Dad | ||
| 1995 | Die Hard with a Vengeance | Joe Lambert | |
| Die Hard 3: Bruce Willis Interview | Himself/Joe Lambert | Video Short | |
| HBO First Look | Himself/Joe Lambert | Episode: Behind the Scenes: 'Die Hard: With a Vengeance' | |
| The Pathfinder | Chingachgook | ||
| 500 Nations | |||
| 1996 | The Outer Limits | Chief Weapons Officer | episode "The Light Brigade" |
| 1997 | The Education of Little Tree | Willow John | |
| Exhibit A: Secrets of Forensic Science | Himself (host) | ||
| Song of Hiawatha | O Kagh | ||
| 1999 | Grey Owl | Jim Bernard | |
| The Green Mile | Arlen Bitterbuck | ||
| 2000 | Big Wolf on Campus | Ferryman | |
| Desire | |||
| 2001 | Lost and Delirious | Joe Menzies | |
| Wolf Lake | Mr. Sherman Blackstone | ||
| 2002 | Duct Tape Forever | Edgar K. B. Montrose | |
| Snow Dogs | Peter Yellowbear | ||
| Skins | Mogie Yellow Lodge | ||
| 2003 | Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion | Elijah Cobb | |
| Coyote Waits | Slick Nakai | ||
| Dances with Wolves: The Creation of an Epic | Himself/Kicking Bird | Video documentary | |
| 2004 | A Thief of Time | Slick Nakai | |
| A Beachcomber's Christmas | Colin Reid | ||
| 2005 | Transamerica | Calvin Many Goats | |
| Spirit Bear: The Simon Jackson Story | Lloyd Blackburn | ||
| Into the West | Conquering Bear | ||
| Numb3rs | Chief James Clearwater | Episode: Bones of Contention | |
| Buffalo Dreams | John Blackhorse | ||
| Christmas in the Clouds | |||
| A Lobster Tale | Sheriff | ||
| 2007 | Luna: Spirit of the Whale | Bill Louis | |
| All Hat | Jim Burns | ||
| Just Buried | Henry Sanipass | ||
| 2008 | Turok: Son of Stone | Lost Land Shaman | |
| 2009 | The Twilight Saga: New Moon | Harry Clearwater | |
| Tales of an Urban Indian | Adam | ||
| 2010 | The Wild Girl | ||
| Casino Jack | Bernie Sprague | ||
| Gunless | Two Dogs | Cameo | |
| Being Erica | Dr. Arthur | ||
| The Legend of Secret Pass | Granpa | ||
| 2013 | Defiance | Rafe McCawley | |
| Chasing Shakespeare | Mr. Mountain | ||
| Atlantic Rim | Admiral Hadley | ||
| Maïna | Mishtenapuu | ||
| 2014 | Longmire | Malachi Strand | Recurring during Season 3 |
| Winter's Tale | Humpstone John | ||
| Corner Gas: The Movie | Fisherman | Cameo | |
| Attack From Beneath | Admiral Hadley | AKA Atlantic Rim | |
| 2016 | The Shack | Filming | |
| 2017 | Wind River | Filming | |
See also
References
- ↑ "Graham Greene bio". Encyclopedia of World Biography. April 18, 2006.
- ↑ Hemsworth, Wade (April 18, 2006). "The Greatest Hamiltonian". Retrieved May 23, 2007.
- ↑ Higgins, Bill (March 20, 1992). "Makers of HBO's 'Tribe' Given a Warm Reception". Los Angeles Times.
- ↑ "Wilfrid Laurier Headlines". Retrieved March 13, 2015.
- ↑ "First Nations: Sitting Bull". Historica. Retrieved May 23, 2007.
- ↑ "Four Nova Scotians among Order of Canada honourees". The Chronicle-Herald, July 1, 2015.
External links
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