Canada has lost one of its most celebrated Indigenous actors with the death of Graham Greene on Monday at age 73. He had a nearly five-decade career that saw him remain steadfastly committed to his homeland while achieving international recognition in Hollywood blockbusters.
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Greene’s agent in Canada, Gerry Jordan, confirmed his death in Stratford, Ontario. The Oneida First Nation actor leaves behind a legacy spanning film, television, and theatre, having worked consistently until his final years with two films scheduled for release later this year.
The actor’s dedication to Canada was unwavering throughout his career. “I don’t like any of those places,” he said in June when receiving Canada’s Governor General’s Award for lifetime achievement in the performing arts, referring to Los Angeles and New York. “I was born in Canada and I’m here to stay, and that’s it.”
Greene’s breakthrough came with his Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor for his role as a medicine man in “Dances With Wolves” (1990). The film won seven awards at the 1991 Oscars, including best picture and best director, establishing Greene as a prominent Indigenous voice in Hollywood.
Born on June 22, 1952, in the Oneida Reserve in southwestern Ontario, Greene graduated from the Centre for Indigenous Theatre in Toronto in 1974. Before entering acting, he worked as a welder, carpenter and audio engineer, bringing working-class experience to his eventual artistic career.
His first television role came in a 1979 episode of “The Great Detective,” a Canadian series, followed by his film debut in 1983’s “Running Brave,” a biopic about Oglala Sioux athlete Billy Mills.
Following his Oscar nomination, Greene appeared in several blockbustre action films, including “Maverick” (1994) and “Die Hard with a Vengeance” (1995), the third installment of the “Die Hard” films starring Bruce Willis. He also played Arlen Bitterbuck, a Native American inmate awaiting execution in the Oscar-nominated film “The Green Mile” (1999).
Greene’s television work earned recognition in Canada, where he was nominated twice in the 1994 Gemini Awards, the country’s television honours. He won for a recurring role as a tree in the children’s series “The Adventures of Dudley the Dragon.”
His commitment to Canadian theatre remained constant throughout his Hollywood success. Greene continued appearing onstage at the Stratford Festival and in productions by Native Earth Performing Arts, an Indigenous theatre company, according to Jordan.
Greene remained remarkably active in his final years, playing the chief of a Native American tribe in the 2009 and 2012 installments of the vampire film series “The Twilight Saga.” He made guest appearances in the television series “Reservation Dogs” and “The Last of Us” in 2023, and starred in the Canadian film “The Birds Who Fear Death” (2024).
His final projects include “Ice Fall” and “Afterwards,” both scheduled for release later this year.
Canada recognised Greene’s contributions with the Order of Canada in 2016 for his achievements in theatre and film and honoured him with a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame in Toronto in 2022.
Greene witnessed significant changes in Indigenous representation during his career. “At first there was nothing, no real outlet for our acting, our storytelling, our careers, our talent,” he was quoted as saying by the Governor General’s Awards. “But today, there are a lot more Indigenous writers and actors, a lot of young kids coming up who are breaking into the industry. It’s great to see that.”
He is survived by his wife, Hilary Blackmore, his daughter, Lilly Lazare-Greene, and a grandson, Tarlo, according to his American agent, Michael Greene, who is not related to him.
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