Wes Studi: biography and selected filmography

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:41

Wes Studi is an American actor who has starred in such projects as The Last of the Mohicans, Clash, Non-Negotiable, The Only Good Indian, and others. Considering that he comes from the Cherokee, he often played Native Americans. In the article, we will get acquainted with the biography and selected filmography of the actor.

Biography

Wes Studi was born in 1947 in Tahlequah, Cherokee County, Oklahoma. Together with his parents, Maggie and Andy, he lived on a ranch and studied at a local elementary school, so at first he spoke only Cherokee, the native language of his people. Graduated from Chilocco Indian Agricultural School in 1964.

At the age of 17, he was enlisted in the Oklahoma National Guard unit, underwent combat training and training at Fort Polk, the US regular army training center in Louisiana. And in 1967 he was drafted into the army and sent to Vietnam, where he served 18 months in the 9th Infantry Division.

In 1974 Wes Studimarried Rebecca Graves, they had two children - Daniel and Leah, but this did not save the couple from divorce. His next wife in 1990 was the writer and actress Maura Joo. They immediately moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where their son Holan Garrett was born in 1993.

Fight with Geronimo

Wes Studi's filmography began in 1988 when he landed a small role in Marshall Jamieson's TV movie The Trial of Standing Bear. Four years later, he was offered the role of Magua, the main villain of Michael Mann's historical drama The Last of the Mohicans, based on the novel of the same name by James Fenimore Cooper.

In 1993, the actor had a chance to play the role of Geronimo, the leader and healer of the Apache tribe, in W alter Hill's historical western Geronimo: An American Legend. He then played arms dealer Victor Sagart in Steven E. de Souza's sci-fi action movie Street Fighter (1994), based on Capcom's legendary fighting game. And Sam Casals, a detective from the homicide department, played in Michael Mann's crime thriller "Fight" (1995).

The Only Good Avatar

Hannover, the leader of a group of mercenaries who planned to plunder a passenger liner drifting in the middle of the ocean, Wes Studi played in Stephen Sommers' horror film "Rising from the Deep" (1998).

Sweetwater Prisoner, High Security Correctional Facility, Wes played in W alter Hill's drama "Negotiable" (2002).

The role of Joe Liphorn, an experienced officerpolice from the Navajo tribe, performed in Chris Eyre's crime drama Shapeshifter (2002).

And as Richard "Two Rivers", a radio DJ from the reservation, appeared in Georgina Lightning's drama "The Shepherd: A Battle for Souls" (2008).

He played Cherokee bounty hunter Sam Franklin in Kevin Willmott's western The Only Good Indian (2009).

For nine episodes, he played the role of General Linus Abner, an analogue of the biblical Abner and commander-in-chief of the fictional kingdom of Guilbo, in the NBC television series Kings (2009). And in the same year, in the role of Eitukan, the leader of the Omaticaya clan, he appeared in the sci-fi action movie Avatar by James Cameron.

Scary sweets

In 2011, together with Robert De Niro and Julianne Moore, Wes Studi starred in Paul Weitz's drama Being Flynn. Two years later, he joined the main cast of Rotimi Rainwater's drama "Sweetness". He received a supporting role in Seth MacFarlane's comedy western A Million Ways to Lose Your Head (2014).

In 2016, the actor took part in the filming of the third season of John Logan's British-American fantasy thriller Penny Dreadful (2014-2016). He played Keitai, a Native American from New Mexico who can transform into a werewolf on a full moon. He played the role of the dying Cheyenne chief named Yellow Hawk in the adventure western Scott Cooper's Foes (2017).

Whatwait?

Despite the considerable age of the actor, films with Wes Studi continue to delight fans. Projects already completed include Caitlin Casepies' drama The Pipeline, Charles Martin Smith's drama film A Dog's Way Home, Peter Pardini's comedy Rolling Thunder, Eric Hyde's fantasy drama From Ashes to Immortality, and John R. Penn's period film Candles.

In addition, Brett Bentman's crime film Duke City and Mikael Salomon's action movie Terra Infirma are being filmed. True, the fate of three other projects - Into the Fire, Into the Americas and Timberwolf - is still unknown.