Graham Greene, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Kicking Bird in the film Dances With Wolves (1990), has died at age 73. The actor passed away in Stratford, Ontario, from natural causes. His death was confirmed by Gerry Jordan, his agent in his home country of Canada.
With over 200 screen credits, Greene was regarded one of the most respected Indigenous actors in the business. A member of the Oneida Nation, the actor was born on the Six Nations of the Grand River reserve near Brantford, Ontario, in 1952. In his youth, he worked as a steelworker, audio engineer, and carpenter to stay afloat. He was later drawn to the world of acting when a friend looking for Indigenous actors to workshop a script he had written and begged Greene for his help.
Greene made his TV debut in The Great Detective in 1979, and appeared in a movie for the first time in 1983 in Running Brave. However, it was his role in Dances with Wolves that propelled him to stardom, earning him an Oscar nomination and making him the second North American Indigenous person to ever be nominated for an Academy Award. In the film, he plays a Lakota warrior who allies himself with a Civil War soldier played by Kevin Costner, who also directed the film. The film itself represented a watershed moment, as it featured several sequences in the Lakota language, with subtitles.
Looking back at the production process, Greene said that learning the lines was the biggest challenge, prompting him to study the Lakota language for eight hours every day, seven days a week, until every scene worked word for word. “I don’t even speak my own language,” he told the Television Academy in 2023. “We were taught not to speak it. It’s like forgetting your heart.”
While known for often playing Indigenous characters, he resisted being typecasted. “I’ve played old Jewish men, New York police officers, French soldiers,” he said in a 2018 interview with Reader’s Digest Canada. “I’m a fan of diverse casting. I hate that phrase, ‘Graham Greene, Native actor.’ You don’t hear people say, ‘Denzel Washington, Black actor,’ or ‘Kevin Costner, white actor.’”
Greene also appeared in Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995) and The Green Mile (1999). More recently, he played Chief Harry Clearwater in The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009). On TV, he had roles in American Gods, The Last of Us, and Reservation Dogs. Toward the end of his career, he had a starring role as Skully in the 2024 Disney+ miniseries Echo.
Upon his passing, Costner paid tribute to the late actor on Instagram. “A few things come to mind when I think of Graham Greene and our time together on Dances With Wolves,” wrote Costner. “I think of how willing he was to learn the Lakota language. I think of my joy when I heard that his work on the film was recognized with an Academy Awards nomination. He was a master at work and a wonderful human being. I’m grateful to have been witness to this part of his lasting legacy. Rest in peace, Graham.”
Actor Graham Greene, known for playing Kicking Bird in Dances With Wolves (1990), has died at age 73.
With over 200 screen credits, Greene was regarded as one of the most respected Indigenous actors in the business.
In 1991 he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, making him the second North American Indigenous person to ever be nominated for an Oscar.
“He was a master at work and a wonderful human being,” wrote Dances With Wolves director and star Kevin Costner. “I’m grateful to have been witness to this part of his lasting legacy. Rest in peace, Graham.”
Sources: Oscar-nominated actor Graham Greene, of ‘Dances With Wolves,' dies at 73; Graham Greene, Oscar-Nominated Actor for ‘Dances With Wolves,’ Dies at 73; Graham Greene's Credit Score; Kevin Costner on Instagram; Graham Greene: The RD Interview
Related Articles:
RIP Jim Lovell: NASA Astronaut Who Led the Safe Return of Apollo 13 Dies at 97
RIP Ozzy Osbourne: Thousands Honor the Late Legend in His Hometown of Birmingham
RIP Brian Wilson: The Beach Boys Cofounder and Singer-Songwriter Dies at 82
RIP Val Kilmer: Star of ‘Batman Forever’ and ‘Top Gun’ Dies at 65
