Hollywood’s Native Icon Graham Greene Dies at 73
Canadian actor Graham Greene, who reached the peak of fame with his Oscar-nominated performance in Dances with Wolves, died at 73 in a Toronto hospital after a long illness.
“He was an awesome man of morals, ethics and character and will be forever missed,” wrote Michael Greene, the actor’s agent (and not related). “You are finally free.”.
Born in 1952 in Ohsweken on the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario, Greene’s was a non-traditional route to the stage. A recording engineer first, his life was turned upside down when a friend sat him down to read a script. It transformed everything.
By the 1970s, Greene was acting in Canadian and English productions on stage. His career in TV began in 1979 in The Great Detective. Four years later, he made the jump to big screen fame with Running Brave, a biopic that set him on a long-term career in film.
Greene’s Hollywood break came in 1990 in the guise of Kevin Costner’s classic western Dances with Wolves.
Portraying Lakota Sioux medicine man Kicking Bird (Ziŋtká Nagwáka), Greene’s performance garnered an Academy Award nomination, the first of his life and of First Nations peoples in movies.
From there, Greene built a solid filmography, appearing in box office hits such as:
- Thunderheart (1992)
- Maverick (1994)
- Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)
- The Green Mile (1999)
- The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)
In recent years, Greene brought his powerful presence to the small screen, with roles in critically acclaimed series including Taika Waititi’s Reservation Dogs, HBO’s The Last of Us, and Taylor Sheridan’s 1883 and Tulsa King.
Greene’s awards extend well beyond Hollywood. He won many awards, including a Grammy, a Gemini, and a Canadian Screen Award. In June 2024, he was awarded the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award, Canada’s highest performing arts award.
He also has a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame, which guarantees his place in the country’s cultural history.
Graham Greene’s legacy extends far beyond his star roles. Being one of the first successful Native actors in mainstream Hollywood, his body of work has assisted in redefining First Nations people’s presence and role in film and television.
During an open 2024 discussion with Canada’s Theatre Museum, Greene spoke about the stereotypes that he went through when he was a young actor.
“When I began to work in the business, it was a strange situation where they’d give you the script where you’d have to talk like how they perceived the natives would talk.”.
And to get my toe in the door a bit, I did it. I played it along for a bit. You have to be serious. Don’t smile, you have to grunt a lot. I don’t know anybody who does that. The Native people have such a great sense of humour.
He described how closely he worked with Kevin Costner to make sure that Dances with Wolves showed real family and community relationships.
“That’s what I told Kevin. I told him, you see, the people in this movie, in this village, they do have a good family, good relationship, and fun has always been included. Fun is 50% of the way they live and enjoy. Family is family, whatever.”
In spite of deteriorating health, Greene worked until the day he died, and there were a number of unreleased writings in progress. His death is the end of a prolific career, but his mark will be seen on screens and in the hearts of those whom he touched.
Graham Greene leaves behind his wife of 35 years, Hilary Blackmore, daughter Lilly Lazare-Greene, and grandson Tarlo.
