Will Sampson Defied Stereotypes

Will Sampson remains best remembered for playing "Chief" Bromden in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975). He also appeared in such films as Buffalo Bill and the Indians (1976) and The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976). Sadly, his career as an actor would be short one. He died in 1987 at the age of 53, having suffered from scleroderma in his later years. While Will Sampson's career was short, he made an impact as a Native American actor in refusing to play stereotypes and speaking out against them.

Will Sampson was born on September 27 1933 in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma. He was a citizen of the Muscogee Nation. Before he was an actor, he competed in rodeos for around 20 years. In fact, he was on the rodeo circuit when the producers of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Saul Zaentz and Michael Douglas, took notice of him. They wanted a huge American Indian to play the role of "Chief" Bromden. At 6' 7" Will Sampson certainly fit the bill.

Chief Bromden would be Will Sampson's first role as an actor, and from the beginning he was resisting Hollywood's tendency to portray Native American characters as stereotypes. According to a June 6 1976 article in The New York Times,  One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest director Miloš Forman had wanted  Mr. Sampson to portray Chief Bromden as a stereotypical, "ugh-Tonto Indian." Will Sampson objected, pointing out that the movie was set in 1963, Chief Bromden had been a football athlete in high school, and had served in the Korean War. Chief Bromden would have perfect diction. In the end, Mr. Forman appreciated Will Sampson, telling him, "You were the only actor I didn't have to direct."

During production of The White Buffalo (1977), in which Will Sampson played Crazy Horse, Will Samspson found out the producers had hired white actors to play the majority of Native American roles. Will Sampson then shut down production on the film for a day by refusing to act alongside the white actors playing American Indians. His experience on The White Buffalo would lead Will Sampson to become one of the founders of the American Indian Registry for Performing Arts and to serve on its Board of Directors for years. The American Indian Registry for Performing Arts was founded to advocate for Native American actors, and published a directory of Native Americans in the entertainment industry.

Will Sampson was still speaking out for Native American actors and Native Americans in general only a few years before his death. In an article from the June 8 1984 issue of The Rapid City Journal, he made he point that American Indian stereotypes could still be seen in movies and TV shows, stating, "It's a slow process. Those stereotypes started way back when. The cowboy and Indian movies are what got the (motion picture) industry going, and that wasn't too long after the Indian wars."

In addition to being a groundbreaking actor, Will Sampson was also a talented painter. His artwork can be found in the Creek Council House Museum in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, and has been shown in such venues as the Pierson Gallery, the Gilcrease Museum, and the Philbrook Museum of Art.

In demanding not to play stereotypes and speaking out against such stereotypes, Will Sampson challenged Hollywood to do better by American Indians. In playing characters with dignity, such as William Halsey in Buffalo Bill and the Indians and Crazy Horse in The White Buffalo, he changed the sorts of roles Native Americans were expected to play. While a good deal of progress still has to be made, the portrayal of Native Americans on film and the opportunities Native American actors now have might not exist if it had not been for Will Sampson.