If you haven’t seen “Thunderheart,” I highly recommend it. When the lights came down for the movie to start, everyone went silent. There was a sense of love and unity in the air. The theater was packed, and the energy was electric. So, we all felt pretty special to watch the film before it was to be released out into the world. But this particular conference was having a private screening of the film “Thunderheart” for the youth who attended, and the movie wasn’t going to be released for another week, I believe. Unfortunately, I don’t remember what Native Youth Conference it was, as I had attended a number of them in my youth. But, it was his role as Walter Crow Horse in “Thunderheart” that stole my imagination and solidified my decision to want to become a professional actor. And at a young age, I wanted to be a part of it, somehow.Īfter “Dances with Wolves,” Greene followed up with “Clearcut” and “The Last of His Tribe.” Two more great movies and impeccable performances from Greene. One of the many Native actors riding the ’90s wave of Native cinema. I remember feeling so inspired and proud to see this huge movie make such a cultural impact for Indigenous people’s portrayal in Hollywood at that time and era. I remember watching Greene as he walked the red carpet at the ‘91 Oscar ceremony from my television at home, in some small town out in the middle of nowhere. Greene’s portrayal as Kicking Bird was for me one of intuition, patience, curiosity, and a quiet leadership that came through his eyes when he spoke his lines in Lakota Sioux to Kevin Costner’s Lt. He was playing Kicking Bird, a role in which he was rightfully Oscar-nominated for Best Supporting Actor.

Shortly after in 1990, when “Dances with Wolves” came out, I saw Graham Greene again. I was only 13, yet I knew this actor was something special to me. He made his character so fire that I felt he stole the whole movie for me. Graham Greene was only in one scene and his character had barely any dialogue.īut, in my humble opinion, Graham knocked it out of the park.

De stille Amerikaan by Graham Greene