AVATAR - Final Notes 12.3 - Visual Hollywood

the Bureau of Indian Affairs Building. In 1973, Studi participated in the occupation ofWounded Knee, South Dakota, for which he was arrested and later released from jail onthe condition that he would depart the state.Shortly thereafter, Studi moved to the Cherokee reservation in Oklahoma. Heenrolled at Tulsa Junior College on the G.I. Bill, where he helped start a Cherokeenewspaper. During his college years, Studi began teaching the Cherokee languageprofessionally. Later attending Tahlequah University, Studi continued his work to benefitthe Cherokee Nation.After college, Studi shifted his attention to running his own horse ranch andbecame a professional horse trainer. At the same time, he began acting at The AmericanIndian Theatre Company in Tulsa. In 1988, he landed his first film role, in “PowwowHighway,” and made his TV debut in a small role in the ABC TV-movie “Longarm.”In 1990, he landed the role of a Pawnee warrior in “Dances with Wolves.” Twoyears later Studi was cast in the role he is most-famous for, as the vengeful Magua inMichael Mann’s “The Last of the Mohicans.”Studi played the title character in Walter Hill’s “Geronimo: An AmericanLegend,” alongside veteran actors Gene Hackman and Robert Duvall; Studi won aWestern Heritage Award (shared with cast and crew). He also made memorableappearances in the film’s “Heat” (as Al Pacino's partner), “Crazy Horse” and “DeepRising.” In 2002, Studi brought to life the legendary character Lt. Joe Leaphorn, for aseries of PBS movies produced by Robert Redford, based on Tony Hillerman's booksSkinwalkers, A Thief of Time and Coyote Waits.In 2005, he portrayed a character inspired by the Powhatan warriorOpechancanough in the 2005 Academy Award-nominated film “The New World,”directed by Terrence Malick. Studi's other film credits include: “500 Nations,” “Big GunsTalk,” “Broken Chains,” “The Doors,” “Highlander,” “Ice Planet,” “The Killing Jar,”“Lone Justice 2,” “Mystery Men,” “Ned Blessings,” “Seraphim Falls,” and the acclaimedtelevision films “Comanche Moon,” “Streets of Laredo” and “Bury My Heart atWounded Knee.” His recent projects include “The Only Good Indian,” which premieredat the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, as well as the television series “Kings,” which airedearlier this year.33