Graham Greene was 37 when he was cast in the role that would forever change his life and career. He had been acting in a few small roles on the TV and in movies. Born on the Six Nations Reserve in Ohsweken, Ontario, he had been acting since his early 20s.
But in 1989, he was cast as Kicking Bird in what was then a risky movie production called Dances With Wolves. It was directed by Kevin Costner, who was still just an up and coming actor at the time. But he had some big movies after some small roles himself. The movie was based on an obscure book by his Costner’s friend, Michael Blake, and the cover made it appear it was a cheesy romantic novel.
No thanks to Heaven’s Gate, but westerns had fallen out of fashion in the 1980s. Even revisionist Westerns were hard to make as Willie Nelson struggled to get Red Headed Stranger made with a small budget. Luckily Lonesome Dove had been a ratings success in 1989 but Dances With Wolves was still being called “Kevin’s Gate as Costner and his producing partner, Jim Wilson, had difficulty getting the movie made.
And it was being produced and distributed through Orion Pictures which would collapse in the early 1990s due to financial strains. So, it was a risky move all around. Yet, it all worked, despite some criticisms of the White Savior trope. But one of the things which keeps it from being that is Greene’s performance. Kicking Bird may not be the main leader of the tribe but he functions as one of the top tribal members. Greene commanded a type of authority but friendly warmth.
Kicking Bird is probably the most rational men among the Sioux tribe. He also functions as the Sioux equal to Costner’s Lt. John Dunbar. Both men seem to have a deep love and appreciation for the land and lifestyle around them. When we first see Kicking Bird, he is standing in a field in his own Zen serenity. You get the sense Kicking Bird just takes these small trips outside the tribe’s perimeter just to get some time to himself. Even though he is also all by himself, Dunbar enjoys the frontier serenity of Fort Sedgwick. Both Dunbar, who is later called Dances With Wolves, and Kicking Bird fear once the American Civil War has ended, the government will take over the land.
Kicking Bird becomes Dunbar’s first Sioux friend and in the end, he becomes his father-in-law and thus family. The movie shows how we all must learn to live in harmony. Dunbar is serving in the Union Army, yet Americans are fighting other Americans. Later when he helps the Sioux defeat a Pawnee army, he learns why the Sioux and other tribes fights, it’s more about survival rather than politics.
The role brought Greene his own nomination for the Academy Awards in the Best Supporting Actor category. But Greene was in the same category with Joe Pesci as Mafia madman Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas. It was a tough year as Pesci won the Oscar, but Dances walked away with seven Oscars. Yet, public opinion has changed and many people feel Goodfellas should’ve won.
But the role opened many doors for him. However, Greene seemed to be mostly the go-to Indigenous Native American actor for a role, next to his Dances co-star Wes Studi (even though they never shared a screen together). Studi would often played for intense characters as Greene had a more humbling grandfatherly/favorite uncle style to his roles. Studi would go on to be the first Native American to receive an Oscar, even though it was an honorary Oscar.
Greene would win two Gemini Awards in his native Canada as well as a Grammy Award. And in 1995, he was cast as Det. Joe Lambert in Die Hard With a Vengeance alongside Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson. It’s a rare role for Greene has there is no reference made to Lambert’s ethnic background. As a fellow NYPD officer helping Willis’ John McClane, he has his moment to shine as he tries to save kids locked in a school building where a suspected bomb device has been found.
He had over 180 acting roles throughout his career on TV and in movies, such as the Twilight series, The Green Mile, and Maverick where he is the leader of a tribe being paid by a Russian rich man to act more like “stereotypical Indians.” On TV, he was in shows such as Reservation Dogs, Tulsa King and Echo, which put him in the MCU. Incidentally, he had played a tribal police chief in Wind River alongside fellow MCU actors Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen. In Echo, he played another grandfatherly figure who got to appear again with Tantoo Cardinal, who had played Kicking Bird’s wife Black Shawl.
Despite the series’ graphic violence, Greene’s performance showed us why he was a great presence on screen as he tries to flirt with Cardinal’s character. He once said he’d like to see better portrayals of Indigenous people as “less stoic” as they can be “really funny.” Greene showed that in his roles, such as Lambert and in Maverick as Chief Joseph. I agree with him.
Greene died on Sept. 1 at the age of 73.
What was your favorite role of his? Please comment.
Zane Says 