Trailblazing actor Graham Green died September 1, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario at the age of 73 after a long illness.
Appearing in nearly 200 productions, Greene is perhaps best known for his role as Kicking Bird in the Kevin Costner film “Dances with Wolves”.
He was born June 22, 1952 on the Six Nations Reserve in Ohsweken, a member of the Oneida Nation. Before making his mark as an actor, he was a draftsman, steelworker, welder, and an audio technician.
His first professional acting roles came on the stage in Canada and England.
He made his screen debut in 1976 in “Bei Shao Lin”. From there he went on to appear in over 175 film and television roles including “Dances with Wolves”, “LA Law”, “The Last of His Tribe”, “Thunderheart”, “Northern Exposure”, “Murder, She Wrote”, “Lonesome Dove: The Series”, “500 Nations”, “Die Hard With a Vengeance”, “The Outer Limits”, “Poltergeist: The Legacy”, “Song of Hiawatha”, “Grey Owl”, “The Green Mile”, “Canada: A People’s History”, “Numb3rs”, “1883”, “The Last of Us”, “Reservation Dogs”, “Tulsa King”, and his final role earlier this year “Paige Darcy: Reluctant Detective”.
A divers actor, Greene did not like being pigeonholed and labeled a “Native actor”; he noted “you don’t call Denzel Washington a black-actor or Kevin Costner a white-actor.” Green considered himself “a North American”.
His accolades include a Grammy, Gemini (Canadian Emmys), and Canadian Screen awards the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award in Canada.
He is survived by his wife of 35 years Hilary, daughter Lilly, and grandson Tarlo.
feature photo courtesy of the Associated Press