Graham Greene was of Oneida descent. He was born on June 22 1952 in Ohsweken on the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario. Before his acting career, Graham Greene worked as a draftsman, civil technologist, and steelworker. He also worked as an audio technician for Canadian rock bands. It was Kelly Jay of Crowbar who suggested that he audition for a play. He graduated from the Centre for Indigenous Theatre in 1974. He made his television debut in 1979 in an episode of the Canadian show The Great Detective.
Graham Greene made his movie debut in Running Brave in 1983. In the Eighties, he appeared in the movies Revolution (1985), Powwow Highway (1989), Where the Spirit Lives (1989), and Dancing with Wolves (1990), for which he was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He appeared on the shows Adderly, Street Legal, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, Spirit Bay, Mount Royal, The Campbells, and 9B.
In the Nineties, Graham Greene had the recurring role of Leonard Quinhagak on Northern Exposure, the recurring role of Edgar on The Red Green Show, and was a voice on the TV cartoon The Adventures of Dudley the Dragon. He guest starred on the shows L.A. Law; North of 60; Murder, She Wrote; Lonesome Dove: The Series; Jake and the Kid; Heritage Minutes; The Outer Limits; Poltergeist: The Legacy; Dead Man's Gun; PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal; Safe Harbor; Big Wolf on Campus; Cover Me; and Royal Canadian Air Force. He was a guest voice on Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Ever Child. He appeared in the mini-series 500 Nations. Graham Greene appeared in several TV movies, including The Last of His Tribe (in which he played Ishi, the last of the Yahi) and an adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper's The Pathfinder (in which he played Chingachgook). He appeared in the movies Clearcut (1991), Thunderheart (1992), Rain Without Thunder (1992), Benefit of the Doubt (1993), Huck and the King of Hearts (1994), Maverick (1994), North (1994), Savage Land 1994), Camilla(1994), Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), Sabotage (1996), Dead Innocent (1997), Wounded (1997), The Education of Little Tree (1997), Song of Hiawatha (1997), Shattered Image (1997), Heart of the Sun (1998), The Proteus Chronicles (1998), Misery Harbor (1999), Grey Owl (1999), Touched (1999), Bad Money (1999), The Green Mile (1999), and Desire (2000).
In the Naughts, he was a regular on the show Wolf Lake. He played Slick Nakai in the TV movies Skinwalkers: The Navajo Mysteries, A Thief of Time, and Coyote Waits, based on Tony Hillerman's John Leaphorn/Jim Lee mysteries. He had a recurring role on the Canadian show Being Erica. He guest-starred on the shows Mister Sterling, The Collector, Numb3rs, This is Wonderland, and Living in Your Car. He appeared in the mini-series Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion, Into the West, and The War That Made America. He appeared in the movies Christmas in the Clouds (2001), Lost and Delirious (2001), Skins (2002), Snow Dogs (2002), Punch & Judy (2002), Duct Tape Forever (2002), Phil the Alien (2005), and Transamerica (2005). When I Find the Ocean (2006), A Lobster Tale (2006), All Hat (2007), Just Buried (2007), Breakfast with Scott (2007), The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009), Gunless (2010), and Casino Jack (2010). He was a voice in the animated movie The Legend of Secret Pass (2010).
In the Teens, Graham Greene had recurring roles on the TV shows Defiance, Longmire, and Goliath. He guest-starred on the shows Caution: May Contain Nuts, Family Tree, Riverdale, The Detour, and Project Blue Book. He appeared in the movies Running Mates (2011), Man on the Train (2011), The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012), Chasing Shakespeare (2013), Maïna (2013), The Birder (2013), Winter's Tale (2014), Corner Gas: The Movie (2014), Unnatural (2015), Out of the Darkness (2016), Te Alta (2016), Wind River (2017), The Shack (2017), Molly Game (2017), We Are Boats (2018), Through Black Spruce (2018), As You Like It (2019), Astronaut (2019), Shadow Wolves (2019), A Dark Foe (2020), The Weekend Fix (2020), Tar (2020), and Blue Ridge (2020).
In the 2020s, Graham Greene guest-starred on the shows American Gods, The Last of Us, Reservation Dogs, and Tulsa King. He appeared in the mini-series 1883, Bones of Crows: The Series, and Echo. He appeared in the movies Defining Moments (2021), The Wolf and the Lion (2021), Antlers (2021), V for Vengeance (2022), The Performance (2023), Squealer (2023), The Great Salish Heist (2024), King Ivory (2024), Seeds (2024), The Birds Who Fear Death (2024), Laws of Man (2024), Sweet Summer Pow Wow (2025), The Protector (2025), Broken Trail (2025), Protectors of the Land (2025), and Paige Darcy: Reluctant Detective (2025).
Graham Greene was an enormous talent as an actor. He may well remain best known as medicine man Kicking Bird in Dancing with Wolves, a role for which he was nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Over the years he played many other roles in both movies and on television. On Northern Exposure, he had a recurring role as Leonard, the easy-going healer in Cicely. On Reservation Dogs, he played Maximus, a delusional recluse who is waiting for the Star People to return. In The Green Mile, he played Arlen Bitterbuck, who regretted having killed a man over a pair of boots. On Longmire, he played a character as far from Kicking Bird or Leonard as one can get. Malachi Strand was a former Cheyenne police chief who had been convicted of extortion and corruption. Graham Greene could play a wide variety of roles and he was always convincing regardless of the role.
No comments:
Post a Comment