Canadian actor Graham Greene, star of Dances With Wolves, dies at 73

Renowned Canadian First Nations actor Graham Greene has died of natural causes in a Toronto hospital on September 1, 2025, at the age of 73. He is known for his award-winning role in Dances With Wolves as Kicking Bird. He had a long career of over 40 years that paved the way for Aboriginal roles and was one of the most successful Indigenous actors.

Graham Greene (b. Ohsweken, Ontario, June 22, 1952) identified himself as Oneida. Greene had several jobs before becoming an actor, including draftsman, welder, and audio technician for rock bands. Greene began acting in the late 1970s, starting with stage plays in Toronto and UK theatres.

His acting career started with The Great Detective (1979). He was appointed an officer of the Order of Canada in 2015 and will be the recipient of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award in 2025.

A legacy of memorable characters and authentic Indigenous representation

Greene's big chance came in 1990 when he played the character of Kicking Bird, a Lakota medicine man, in Kevin Costner's Dances With Wolves, which earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor, the first-ever nomination of an Indigenous Person in the history of the Oscars. Greene spoke to Canada's Theatre Museum:

 "I told Kevin (Costner), there is a really deep family, really deep relationship in this village and 'fun' is 50% of how they live."

His insistence on real portrayals in a world as a native performer influenced his career.

Greene's character Walter Crow Horse was a wonderfully complex, witty foil for his co-star Val Kilmer in Thunderheart (1992). He brought quiet dignity to Arlen Bitterbuck in The Green Mile (1999), in a truly harrowing, believable execution scene. He was unbelievably funny in Maverick (1994) opposite Mel Gibson, and his intensity gripped the screen in Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), as Detective Joe Lambert.

In The Twilight Saga (2009, 2012), Greene's character Harry Clearwater was a delight as a Quileute elder, and radiated warmth. His Spotted Eagle was a guiding light for the Duttons in the Yellowstone prequel 1883 (2022), and he anchored the show's finale. Recently, he inhabited Old Smoke in Tulsa King (2024) with heart-aching tenderness.

Green's television work offered equal impact. In Longmire, he found villainous Malachi Strand deliciously menacing; a role he loved to be in, saying, "Playing villains is fun... Being nice all the time... it's boring" (Longmire interview, 2017). His comic identifier was as Edgar "K.B.," Montrose in The Red Green Show (1994-2006), when he said, "The native guy was ok. He should have got the Oscar," poking fun at his own role in Dances.

Graham Greene: Tributes to a trailblazer

"One of the wittiest, wiliest, warmest people I’ve ever known. Iconic and Legendary. RIP, My Brother" 

Director Kaniehtiio Horn praised Greene to CBC News and said:

“He never let [stereotyping] happen… he made those roles his own” 

Graham Greene's legacy will continue to live within the hearts of his fans, family, and friends.

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