WES STUDI Biography - Actors and Actresses

 
 

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WES STUDI

Name: Wesley Studie                                                                 
Born: 17 December 1947 Tahlequah, Oklahoma, USA                                     
                                                                                     
Wesley "Wes" Studi (born December 17, 1947) is a U.S. actor of Native American       
descent.                                                                             
                                                                                     
Born in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, Studi was schooled at Chilocco Indian Boarding         
School in Northern Oklahoma. Until he attended grade school, he spoke only           
Cherokee. In 1967, he was drafted into the Army and served 18 months in Vietnam.     
After his discharge, Studi studied at Tulsa Junior College.                         
                                                                                     
Studi won a Western Heritage Award (shared with cast and crew) in 1994 for           
Geronimo: An American Legend                                                         
                                                                                     
He is best known for his roles as both brave and vicious Indians, such as the       
Pawnee warrior in Dances with Wolves and Magua in The Last of the Mohicans (1992).   
In 2002, Studi brought to life the legendary Tony Hillerman character Lt. Joe       
Leaphorn, for a series of PBS movies produced by Robert Redford.                     
                                                                                     
In 2005, he portrayed a character inspired by the Powhatan warrior                   
Opechancanough in The New World, a 2005 Academy Award-nominated film directed by     
Terrence Malick, and starring Colin Farrell. The historical adventure is set         
during the founding of the Jamestown, Virginia settlement and includes other         
characters inspired by historical figures, notably Captain John Smith (Farrell)     
and Pocahontas. Much of the film was shot at locations in James City County and     
Charles City County, not far from where the first permanent English colony in       
the New World was established at Jamestown beginning on May 14, 1607.               
                                                                                     
In addition to acting, Studi is a stone carver, an author of two children's         
books, and plays bass in a local band.