Graham Greene, the Canadian First Nations actor whose career opened doors for Indigenous performers in Hollywood, died Monday in a Toronto hospital after a long illness. He was 73, according to Deadline.
“He was a great man of morals, ethics and character and will be eternally missed,” said his longtime agent, Michael Greene (no relation) in a statement to the entertainment news site. “You are finally free. Susan Smith is meeting you at the gates of heaven,” referencing Greene’s former agent who died in 2013.
Greene was born on June 22, 1952, on the Six Nations Reserve in Ohsweken, Ontario. He worked odd jobs before pursuing acting, beginning his career on stage with Canadian and English theater productions throughout the 1970s. He made his screen debut in 1979 on the Canadian drama The Great Detective and appeared in his first film, Running Brave, in 1983.
His breakthrough came in 1990 when Kevin Costner cast him as Kicking Bird (Ziŋtká Nagwáka) in Dances with Wolves. The film earned 12 Academy Award nominations — including one for Greene as best supporting actor — and won seven Oscars, including best picture.
Following Dances with Wolves, Greene became a familiar and commanding presence in Hollywood. He appeared in Maverick (1994), Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), The Green Mile (1999), The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009), and Aaron Sorkin’s Molly’s Game (2017). He also starred in Thunderheart (1992), Transamerica (2005), and Taylor Sheridan’s Wind River (2017), and Sheridan later cast him in the Paramount+ series 1883 and Tulsa King.
Greene’s television career was equally extensive. From early appearances on Northern Exposure and Murder She Wrote to starring or recurring roles on Wolf Lake, Defiance, Longmire, Goliath, American Gods, Reservation Dogs, Marvel’s Echo, and Riverdale, he brought depth and authenticity to Indigenous characters.
In addition to his Oscar nomination, Greene won a Grammy in 2000 for best spoken word album for children for Listen to the Storyteller. He also received a Gemini Award and a Canadian Screen Award and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. Greene earned a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2021 and received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award earlier this year.
Even near the end of his life, Greene continued working. One of his final roles was on FX’s Reservation Dogs, a series praised for nurturing Indigenous talent, and he also completed the thriller Ice Fall, starring Joel Kinnaman.
Greene is survived by his wife of 35 years, Hilary Blackmore; their daughter, Lilly Lazare-Greene; and grandson, Tarlo, Deadline confirmed.
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