Graham Greene, the actor who earned an Oscar nomination for his role in the 1990 film “Dances with Wolves,” died on Monday, according to his agent. He was 73.
In a statement, his agent said Greene died after a “lengthy illness,” though details of the Canadian actor’s illness are not immediately clear.
“We love you, my brother greene,” the statement continued. “You are finally free.”
Greene is most well-known for his role as Kicking Bird in “Dances with Wolves,” for which he was nominated for best actor in a supporting role at the 1991 Academy Awards.
But his career began a decade prior in the Canadian TV series “The Great Detective” in 1979, followed by a role in “Running Brave” in 1983.
After his breakout role in “Dances with Wolves,” Greene went on to play roles in a number of big Hollywood productions, including “Maverick,” “Die Hard with a Vengeance,” and “Molly’s Game,” as well as playing a recurring role in “The Twilight Saga” series.
Greene spent a lot of his storied acting career on the small screen, with numerous roles in plenty of TV shows including “Murder, She Wrote,” “Wolf Lake,” “The Red Green Show,” “Defiance,” “Longmire,” “Goliath,” “The Last of Us,” “Reservation Dogs,” “Echo,” and “Riverdale.”
In 2000, Greene won a Grammy for best spoken word album for children for his work on “Listen to the Storyteller.”
Greene also nabbed nominations for a Screen Actors Guild award in 2000 for outstanding performance by a cast in a theatrical motion picture for “The Green Mile,” and a Film Independent Spirit Award in 2003 for best male lead in “Skins.” He was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame with a star in 2021.
Actor Lou Diamond Phillips remembered friend and co-actor Greene with a Monday social media tribute.
“Heartbroken. Terribly saddened to hear of the passing of Graham Greene at only 73,” Phillips wrote. “From Wolf Lake to Longmire, we had a beautiful friendship.”
Phillips called Greene “An Actor’s Actor,” adding that he was “One of the wittiest, wiliest, warmest people I’ve ever known.”
SAG-AFTRA also memorialized Greene on social media, calling him a “proud member of the Oneida Nation & a pioneer for Indigenous representation.”
“We honor the trailblazing legacy of Graham Greene,” the union wrote on X. “From ‘Dances with Wolves’ to ‘Reservation Dogs’ & ‘Tulsa King,’ he brought heart & quiet power to every role.”
Greene was born in 1952 in Ohsweken, Ontario. He is survived by his wife, Hilary Blackmore, his daughter, Lilly Lazard-Greene, and his grandson, Talo.
