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Michael Greyeyes

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Michael Greyeyes
Greyeyes at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival
Born
Michael Joseph Charles Greyeyes

(1967-06-04) June 4, 1967 (age 57)
Qu'Appelle Valley, Saskatchewan, Canada
Occupation(s)Actor, dancer, choreographer and director
SpouseNancy Latoszewski
Children2

Michael Greyeyes (born June 4, 1967) is a First Nations (Muskeg Lake Cree Nation) actor, dancer, choreographer, director, and educator.[1]

In 1996, Greyeyes portrayed Crazy Horse in the television film Crazy Horse.[2] In 2018, Greyeyes portrayed Sitting Bull in Woman Walks Ahead to critical acclaim.[3][4][5][6] He has also had TV roles on Fear the Walking Dead, True Detective and I Know This Much Is True. In 2021–2022, he had a main role in the Peacock sitcom Rutherford Falls. He had a recurring role in the first season of the Paramount+ western series 1923. He won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor at the 9th Canadian Screen Awards in 2021, for his performance in the zombie film Blood Quantum.[7]

Life and career

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Born in Saskatchewan, Greyeyes is Plains Cree from the Muskeg Lake First Nation. His father was from the Muskeg Lake First Nation and his mother was from the Sweetgrass First Nation, both located in Saskatchewan. Greyeyes started his performance career as a dancer. He is a graduate of The National Ballet School in 1984. He became an apprentice with The National Ballet of Canada before joining the company as a Corps de Ballet member in 1987.

After three years, he moved to New York City in 1990 to join the company of modern dance choreographer Eliot Feld. Greyeyes performed in many of Feld's seminal works, including Intermezzo, Skara Brae, and The Jig is Up. He performed in roles created for him in such ballets as Common Ground and Bloom's Wake. After years of also working as an actor, Greyeyes later completed his master's degree in Fine Arts at the School of Theatre and Dance at Kent State University and graduated in May 2003.

Greyeyes at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2018 for Woman Walks Ahead

Greyeyes began his acting career in 1993, when he was cast as Juh in TNT's Geronimo. This role led to numerous television appearances, including guest-starring performances in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Walker, Texas Ranger, Numb3rs, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, and Millennium. In 1998 he starred in Stolen Women, Captured Hearts, with Janine Turner and Patrick Bergen. He is featured in the mini-series Klondike, Dreamkeeper, Rough Riders, Big Bear, and True Women.

His films include: Dance Me Outside,[1] Smoke Signals, Sunshine State, Skipped Parts, Skinwalkers (based on the book by Tony Hillerman), and Woman Walks Ahead (2017), in which he played Chief Sitting Bull opposite Jessica Chastain as a portrait painter.

Greyeyes also continued his dance research on the modern form of traditional dancing, Powwow. His journey of exploration was documented in He Who Dreams: Michael on the Powwow Trail for CBC Television by Adrienne Clarkson. He choreographed and performed in Rebecca Belmore's durational performance art work Gone Indian for Toronto's Nuit Blanche.

Greyeyes continues to act and dance regularly. His more recent works include The New World directed by Terrence Malick, Tecumseh's Vision, a PBS documentary/live action drama, and Passchendaele, which opened the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival. Triptych (a short film broadcast nationally on Bravo! Television), and

Untitled #1535 is a site-specific dance work he choreographed for Dusk Dances. The Journey (Pimooteewin) is an opera he directed with music by Melissa Hui and libretto by Tomson Highway.

He did the voice of protagonist Tommy Tawodi in the 2006 action game Prey. He played a recurring role on Fear The Walking Dead (2017).[8][9]

In 2010, Greyeyes founded Signal Theatre, a company that explores intercultural and transdisciplinary live performance. As Artistic Director and choreographer, he has overseen the creation of three major works, including From thine eyes (Harbourfront Centre), Nôhkom (The Banff Centre), and A Soldier's Tale (Fleck Dance Theatre), a work examining the aftermath of war upon soldiers and their families. He has said that he "was not interested in staging ethnicity."[10] A Soldier's Tale was co-produced by The National Arts Centre and The Canada Dance Festival and opened the 2014 Canada Dance Festival in Ottawa at the NAC Theatre.[11] Signal Theater has also produced installations and performance art works, such as Winter Home, which premiered in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Greyeyes won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor at the 9th Canadian Screen Awards in 2021, for his performance in the zombie film Blood Quantum.[7] He has played the main role of Terry Thomas, CEO of a fictional tribe's casino on the Peacock TV series Rutherford Falls (2021-2022).

In 2021 Greyeyes was signed to a first look deal with Blumhouse Productions.[12] Greyeyes appears as John Rainbird in the 2022 film Firestarter, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name.[13]

In 2023 he participated as one of the panelists in Canada Reads, championing Emily St. John Mandel's novel Station Eleven.[14]

He has directed episodes of the television series Acting Good. In 2024 his first short film, The Light Before the Sun, premiered at the Hamilton International Film Festival.[15]

Personal life

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Greyeyes is an associate professor of theatre at York University. He is married to Nancy Latoszewski. They have two daughters, Lilia and Eva, born in 2002 and 2004.[1]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1994 Dance Me Outside Gooch
1995 Rude Spirit Dancer
1996 A Nation Is Coming Ghost Dancer Short
1998 Firestorm Andy
Smoke Signals Junior Polatkin
The Minion Grey Eagle
A League of Old Men Red Cloud
2000 Skipped Parts Hank Elkrunner
2002 ZigZag Dale
Sunshine State Billy Trucks
2004 The Reawakening Robert Doctor
2005 The New World Rupwew
2007 Cosmic Radio -
2008 Passchendaele Highway
The Dreaming Spirit Short
2009 Kissed by Lightning Jessie Lightning
2013 Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian Allan
2017 Woman Walks Ahead Sitting Bull
2019 Blood Quantum Traylor
Togo Amituk
2021 Wild Indian Makwa ("Michael Peterson")
Wildhood Smokey
2022 Firestarter John Rainbird
2023 The King Tide Marlon
2024 40 Acres Galen

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1993 Geronimo Juh TV movie
1995 Are You Afraid of the Dark? The Shaman Episode: "The Tale of the Manaha"
1996 Crazy Horse Crazy Horse TV movie
1997 Stolen Women, Captured Hearts Tokalah TV movie
Promised Land Rod Episode: "The Outrage"
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Walks In The Night Episode: "Moment of Truth Part 1 & 2"
True Women Tarantula Main cast
Rough Riders Delchaney (Apache) Episode: "Episode #1.1 & #1.2"
Millennium Joe Reynard Episode: "A Single Blade of Grass"
1998 The Magnificent Seven Imala Episode: "Ghosts of the Confederacy"
Big Bear Wandering Spirit Episode: "Episode #1.1 & #1.2"
1999 Walker, Texas Ranger Brian Falcon Episode: "Team Cherokee: Part 1 & 2"
2000 Harsh Realm The Brave Episode: "Cincinnati"
Race Against Time Johnny Black Eagle TV movie
The Lost Child Eddie TV movie
2001 Sam's Circus Chief TV movie
2001 Charmed Bo Lightfeather Episode: "The Good, the Bad and the Cursed"
MythQuest Strong Bear Episode: "Red Wolf's Daughter"
2002 Body & Soul Detective Cornstalk Episode: "Graveyard Shift"
Skinwalkers: The Navajo Mysteries Dr. Stone Episode: "Skinwalkers"
Skinwalkers Dr. Stone TV movie
2003 Dreamkeeper Thunder Spirit TV movie
2004 The Jury Ty Sawyer Episode: "Lamentation on the Reservation"
2005 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Sonny Brightbill Episode: "Gone"
Numb3rs Thomas Morris Episode: "Bones of Contention"
2007 Dancing with Spirit Lead Dancer Episode: "Triptych"
2009 American Experience Tecumseh Episode: "We Shall Remain Part II: Tecumseh's Vision"
2014 Klondike Cheyeho Recurring cast
2015 Saints & Strangers Canonicus Episode: "Episode #1.1 & #1.2"
2017 Fear the Walking Dead Qaletaqa Walker Recurring cast (season 3)
American Gods Pit Boss Episode: "Git Gone"
2019 True Detective Brett Woodard Recurring cast (season 3)
V Wars Jimmy Saint Main cast
2020 I Know This Much Is True Ralph Drinkwater Main cast
2020–21 Home Before Dark Sam Gillis Recurring cast (season 1), guest (season 2)
2021 Star Trek: Discovery Felix Episode: "The Examples"
2021–22 Rutherford Falls Terry Thomas Main cast
2022–present 1923 Hank Episode: "Ghost of Zebrina", “One Ocean Closer to Destiny”, “The Rule of Five Hundred”, “Nothing Left to Lose”
2024 Spirit Rangers 'Eleyewun Episode: "Finding True North/The Great Swordfish", "Summer's in Charge/Barracuda Brouhaha"
TBA The Abandons TBA Recurring cast
2022–2023 Acting Good cousin Leon S01E01, Just Fok'n Missing Her - S01E04, High Rollers - S02E10, A Man for All Shack-Up Seasons

Video games

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Year Title Role Notes
2006 Prey Domasi Tawodi (Tommy)/Hiders #1/Abducted #2/Radio Caller #1

Awards and nominations

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Year Awards Category Recipient Outcome
2018 Saturn Awards Saturn Award for Best Guest Performance in a Television Series Fear the Walking Dead Nominated

References

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  1. ^ a b c Johnson, Falen (19 February 2021). "From ballet dancer to zombie slayer: Cree actor Michael Greyeyes on his prolific career". Unreserved. CBC Radio. Archived from the original on 24 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  2. ^ Critic, Hal Boedeker, Sentinel Television (1996-07-07). "TNT'S 'CRAZY HORSE' IS A DUD OF A TRIBUTE". OrlandoSentinel.com. Archived from the original on 2021-05-14. Retrieved 2020-11-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "Review: A 'Woman Walks Ahead,' and Sitting Bull Stands Up". mobile.nytimes.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-04. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
  4. ^ "Review". www.rogerebert.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-04. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
  5. ^ "Jessica Chastain plays the artist who painted Sitting Bull in the inert history lesson 'Woman Walks Ahead'". www.latimes.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-04. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
  6. ^ ""Woman Walks Ahead" Finds Jessica Chastain and Sitting Bull Lost on the Plains". www.villagevoice.com.
  7. ^ a b Zach Harper, "'Schitt's Creek' and 'Kim's Convenience' win big at 2021 Canadian Screen Awards". Hello! Canada, May 21, 2021.
  8. ^ Schilling, Vincent (2017-08-14). "An Extensive Interview With 'Fear The Walking Dead' Star Michael Greyeyes". Indian Country Media Network. Archived from the original on 2018-01-30. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
  9. ^ amc (Director). Fear the Walking Dead: 'Michael Greyeyes on Representation' Comic-Con 2017 Panel. Event occurs at 136 seconds. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
  10. ^ Citron, Paula (2011-09-20). "Michael Greyeyes: 'I'm not interested in staging ethnicity'". The Globe and Mail (Online ed.). Archived from the original on 2017-02-23. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
  11. ^ Crabb, Michael (2014-02-19). "A Soldier's Tale hybrid approach to a harsh wartime tale". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2018-01-19. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
  12. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2021-08-26). "'Firestarter's Michael Greyeyes Signs First-Look Deal With Blumhouse". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2021-08-27. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  13. ^ Leydon, Joe (29 April 2022). "First Look: Michael Greyeyes in Firestarter". Cowboys & Indians. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  14. ^ "Meet the Canada Reads 2023 contenders" Archived 2023-01-25 at the Wayback Machine. CBC Books, January 25, 2023.
  15. ^ Nicholas Sokic, "Blackbird Productions takes flight with Michael Greyeyes film". Playback, October 2, 2024.
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