- Actor Graham Greene passed away on September 1.
- He was 73 when he died following a “lengthy illness,” according to his agent.
- Greene was known as a prolific Indigenous Canadian actor, celebrated for his performance in ‘Dances With Wolves’ as Kicking Bird.
On Monday, September 1, actor Graham Greene passed away. He was 73 when he died, and according to his agent, his passing follows a “lengthy illness,’ as reported by NBC News. “He was a great man of morals, ethics and character and will be eternally missed,” said his agent, Michael Greene; the two are not related. “You are finally free. Susan Smith is meeting you at the gates of heaven.” According to Deadline, this is in reference to Graham’s longtime agent, who passed in 2013.
Graham Greene was best known as an acclaimed Indigenous Canadian actor whose breakthrough role came in 1990’s Dances with Wolves. His portrayal of Kicking Bird, a thoughtful Sioux medicine man, earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and brought international recognition to his talent. Greene went on to build a prolific career spanning film, television, and stage, appearing in projects such as Thunderheart, Die Hard with a Vengeance, The Green Mile, and the series Longmire. Over the decades, he became one of the most respected and prolific Indigenous actors in Hollywood, shining a spotlight on a significantly overlooked or misrepresented demographic.
The rising career of Graham Greene
Graham Greene was born on June 22, 1952, on the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario, Canada, and grew up in Hamilton. He worked a variety of jobs in his early years, including as a welder and audio technician, before deciding to pursue acting seriously. To build his skills, he enrolled at the Centre for Indigenous Theatre’s Native Theatre School in Toronto, where he trained in the craft and began performing in stage productions.
His professional career began in Canadian theater before he transitioned to television and film in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Greene first appeared in small roles on Canadian TV series and movies, gradually building a reputation that led to bigger opportunities. His first big screen break came with the 1983 film Running Brave, where he played an Indigenous runner. Over the rest of the decade, he became a regular presence in Canadian films, which paved the way for his casting in Dances with Wolves, and the role that propelled him onto the international stage.
In the decades following his breakthrough, Graham Greene built an exceptionally varied career that spanned film, television, stage, and even video games. He delivered celebrated performances in well-known features such as Thunderheart, Maverick, Die Hard with a Vengeance, and The Green Mile, and more recently appeared in both in Wind River and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2. Over on the small screen, he earned popularity in series including Reservation Dogs, 1883, The Last of Us, and Tulsa King, and even lent his voice to the fan-favorite Chief Rains Fall in the critically-acclaimed video game Red Dead Redemption 2.
Greene’s accomplishments were recognized with numerous awards and honors. He earned a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for Children and received a Canadian Screen Award for supporting performance in Seeds in 2024. In 2025, he was presented with Canada’s Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, further cementing his status as one of the country’s most respected Indigenous artists. His final completed performance was in the thriller Ice Fall, which is slated for release posthumously.
Rest in peace, Graham Greene.