Wes Studi Movies
Full-blooded Cherokee actor Wes Studi didn't discover his true calling until much later in life than most actors. Stricken by his vocational teacher's early advice that he should be realistic and settle for life as a low-paid and under-appreciated worker, Studi admits that the advice cast a shadow under which he lived for years, uninspired to seek his fortune in the face of overwhelming... (read more) adversity and slim odds of finding true success.
Born in Nofire Hollow, OK, in 1946 (or maybe 1947), Studi laughingly admits that there is some uncertainty to the actual date), the soft-spoken actor was the eldest of four sons and spent the majority of his childhood in Northeastern Oklahoma. The son of a ranch hand, Studi received his early education at Chilocco Indian School before graduating high school and being drafted into the army. Soon after being drafted Studi served 18 months in Vietnam.
Returning disillusioned by the horrors of war and the sometimes hostile reception that veterans received, Studi drifted for a couple of years, spending much of his time traveling and visiting his old Vietnam buddies. Seeking further sustenance, Studi entered Tulsa Junior College on the G.I. Bill. After Tulsa, Studi became inspired to make a difference in peoples lives, soon joining the American Indian Movement. Later attending Tahlequah University, Studi made further attempts at positive influence in his work with the Cherokee Nation.
Though he had been married previously, the relationship had failed and Studi remarried in 1974. Working for the Tulsa Indian Times while his wife worked as a teacher, the couple had two children while living in their Tulsa ranch before his second marriage suffered the same unfortunate fate as his first. It was the breakup of this marriage that found Studi discovering his true calling as an actor.
Studi found success appearing in theater as well as in productions for Nebraska Public Television in the summer of 1985. It was after Studi's role in the 1988 PBS production The Trial of Standing Bear that he fully realized his passion for acting. Soon deciding to make the fateful move to Los Angeles, Studi found work in such films as Dances With Wolves (1990) and Last of the Mohicans (1992) before taking a starring role in 1993's Geronimo: An American Legend. Making memorable appearances in such films as Heat (1995), Crazy Horse (1996), and Deep Rising (1998), Studi flourished in his new calling, finding frequent work with his expressive features and warm sense of humor. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Being Flynn
R 2012
Robert De Niro and Paul Dano headline writer/director Paul Weitz's adaptation of Nick Flynn's memoir Another Bullshit Night in Suck City. The story concerns a...
The Only Good Indian
2009
Filmmaker Kevin Willmott offers a bitter, revisionist look at the conventions of the traditional western in this powerful drama. Nachwihiata (Winter Fox Frank) is a...
Kings [TV Series]
2009
In this drama, a king and his family navigate the challenges of a modern-day monarchy fraught with power struggles and conflict, while a young soldier rises quickly through the...
Call of the Wild
PG 2009
Independent filmmaker Richard Gabai gives Jack London's literary classic a modern-day makeover with this family-friendly adventure. Nine-year-old city girl Ryan...
Avatar
PG13 2009
A paraplegic ex-marine finds a new life on the distant planet of Pandora, only to find himself battling humankind alongside the planet's indigenous Na'vi race in this ambitious...
Comanche Moon
2008
This epic western starring Val Kilmer, Steve Zahn, Linda Cardellini, and Rachel Griffiths was adapted from Larry McMurtry's sprawling novel of the same name, and...
Cosmic Radio
2008
The owner of a Idyllwild counter-culture radio station finds his modest business unexpectedly threatened when the daughter of a conservative senator comes to town and sparks a...
El Camino
2008
Human disconnect, frailty, and redemption serve as the predominant themes in director Erik Weigel's drama about a man who learns that his childhood friend is dying, and sets...
Older Than America
2008
The truths of the past come to light in a series of haunting visions in this drama starring Adam Beach, Tantoo Cardinal, and Wes Studi. Traumatized by the strange...
Three Priests
2008
A romantic rivalry strains the bonds of an already fragile family relationship in this independent drama. Jake Sands (Michael Parks) runs a ranch on the plains of Montana...
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
2007
Director Yves Simoneau explores the plight of the American Indian in the later half of the 19th century in this docudrama exploring the effects of westward expansion and...
The New World
PG13 2005
Terrence Malick, the universally acclaimed American filmmaker responsible for the key 1970s features Badlands and Days of Heaven, returns for a rare directorial outing...
Christmas Miracle at Sage Creek
PG 2005
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Into the West
2005
Executive produced by Steven Spielberg, the sprawling six-part, 12-hour TV miniseries Into the West covers 65 years of American history, from the first major migration...
Animal
R 2004
A notorious gangster must reconcile his past in order to make a future for his criminally-minded son in this crime-drama starring football superstar Jim Brown and Pulp...
The Alamo
PG13 2004
Re-teaming Dennis Quaid with John Lee Hancock, the director of 2002's The Rookie, The Alamo retells the story of the historic 1836 battle in the Texan War of...
The Lone Ranger
2003
To those who have grown up with the radio and TV versions of the old Lone Ranger series, this retro TV-movie adaptation will appear as if it has just landed from another...
A Thief of Time
2003
This adaptation of Tony Hillerman's A Thief of Time keeps that book's original storyline. The protagonists Joe Leaphorn (Wes Studi) and Jim Chee (Adam Beach) are a...
Coyote Waits
2003
When gunshots ring out in a tragic roadside shooting, police officer Delbert Nez winds up dead. His close friend Officer Jim Chee (Adam Beach) is the first on the scene,...
Edge of America
2003
Native American filmmaker Chris Eyre directs the made-for-TV sports drama Edge of America, based on a true story and shot entirely in Salt Lake City, UT. James...