THE FINAL CURTAIN FALLS — Graham Greene’s Quiet Goodbye at 73 Leaves Hollywood in Mourning

Graham Greene, Dances with Wolves Actor, Dead at 73

Stratford, Ontario — Canadian actor Graham Greene, the award-winning star best known for his Oscar-nominated performance in Dances with Wolves, has died at the age of 73. His agent confirmed that Greene passed away of natural causes in Stratford, Ontario.

Born in 1952, Greene was Oneida from the Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario. He rose to international fame in 1990 with his portrayal of Kicking Bird, a Lakota holy man, in Kevin Costner’s Dances with Wolves. The role earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and marked a turning point for Indigenous representation in Hollywood, breaking long-held stereotypes and opening doors for other First Nations actors.

Before stepping into the spotlight, Greene lived many lives: he worked as a welder, steelworker, draftsman, and audio technician, even touring with musicians as a roadie before turning to acting in the 1970s. A chance suggestion from a colleague pushed him toward the stage, where he discovered his gift for performance. That leap of faith would eventually carry him to Broadway, Hollywood, and beyond.

Greene’s career spanned more than four decades, with appearances in Thunderheart, Medicine River, Running Brave, Revolution, The Green Mile, and more recently in hit series such as The Last of Us and Reservation Dogs. His versatility allowed him to play roles ranging from chiefs and medicine men to doctors, inmates, and mentors, all with the same quiet dignity that became his hallmark.

In 2015, Greene received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, Canada’s highest honor in the performing arts. At the ceremony, Greene, with characteristic humility, admitted he initially thought it was a prank, saying he didn’t feel worthy of such recognition. Yet his decades of work — both on stage and on screen — proved otherwise.

Greene remained committed to his Canadian roots throughout his career. Though he was often urged to move to Hollywood, he refused. “I was born in Canada and I’m here to stay. That’s it,” he said in one of his acceptance speeches. His pride in his heritage and homeland became as much a part of his identity as his commanding screen presence.

Colleagues remembered him not only as a trailblazer, but as a friend. Canadian actor and singer Tom Jackson, who worked with Greene on Medicine River and Spirit Rider, said: “Graham was a man in the moment. He was the best theatre actor I’ve ever known. Personally, it’s an honor to speak about him — not for him, but about him. He was like a brother to me.”

Greene’s death leaves a profound absence in Canadian cinema and in Indigenous representation worldwide. At a time when Indigenous actors were rarely given space in mainstream film, Greene carved a path with honesty, skill, and grace.

Graham Greene is gone, but his legacy endures — in the stories he told, the barriers he broke, and the generations of actors who will walk through the doors he opened.

Video