Eugene Brave Rock is a Canadian Blackfoot[1] actor and stuntman. He is from the Blood Tribe of Siksikasiitapiisahkoi, or Blackfoot Country. Brave Rock started as an actor, before being trained as a stuntman; he later appeared in various minor television roles before landing his first major film role as Chief in Wonder Woman.[2][3]
Eugene Brave Rock | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1978 (age 45–46) Stand Off, Alberta, Canada |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2007–present |
Biography
editBrave Rock grew up on the Kainai Nation reserve in Alberta and attended the Plains Indian Cultural Survival School in Calgary, where he landed his first role in a play.[2] He was later trained as a stuntman, and performed for the Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show in Disneyland Paris. Upon his return to Calgary, Brave Rock worked on several television productions as a stuntman and actor, taking on minor roles in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Heartland, Blackstone, Klondike and Hell on Wheels.[2] When The Revenant began filming in Alberta, Brave Rock and his brother were recruited to train native stuntmen; it was during this time he was contacted by the producers of Wonder Woman, who invited him to audition for a role. Though Brave Rock was not confident of his audition, he was cast in the film a month later.[4][5]
Brave Rock was honored with a "ceremonial headdress" / war bonnet by Blood Tribe on June 8, 2017, at a ceremony held at the Tatsikiisaapo'p Middle School— a rare, and highest honour given in First Nations culture.[6][7][8]
Other work
editIn 2022 Braverock founded The Oki Language Project. The mission of Oki Language Project is honoring elders and the preservation of languages and culture of Indigenous communities throughout Turtle Island (North America).[9][10]
His advisory council includes director Chris Eyre, Cheyenne Arapaho, actor Kiowa Gordon - Hualapai – Cree, actor Zahn McClarnon - Hunkpapa and actor Wes Studi -Cherokee and singer Taboo - Shoshone.[11]
Braverock creates platforms through The Oki Language Project to promote other indigenous artists, like Karen Clarkson - Choctaw, actor/artist Michael Horse -Yaqui, Nicholas Galanin - Cheyenne-Tlingit, Cynthia Pinot - Apache,Tony Abeyta - Navajo, and Dennis Ziemienski.[10][12]
Brave Rock - Guest speaker at University of Pennsylvania, "Representation, Symbolization and Indigeneity" Slought Foundation, PA, November 15, 2019[13]
Brave Rock - Guest speaker Princeton University, "The Arts of Anti-Racism and Social Justice" December 15, 2020.[14]
Brave Rock - Guest speaker at the Digital for climate change- Science Summit at the United Nations General Assembly - NYC, SEP 18, 2023[15]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | The Revenant | Alejandro G. Iñárritu | stunts | |
| 2017 | Wonder Woman | Chief Napi | Patty Jenkins | |
| 2020 | The Corruption of Divine Providence | Chief Bird | Jeremy Torrie | |
| 2021 | Montana Story | Mukki | Scott McGehee and David Siegel | |
| 2023 | The Oath | Cohor | Darin Scott |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee | ||
| 2016 | Hell on Wheels | Ute Indian | 1 episode |
| 2017 | Jamestown | [2] | |
| 2021–present | Resident Alien | Shane | |
| 2022–present | Dark Winds | Frank Nakai | |
| 2022–present | That Dirty Black Bag | The Stranger | |
| 2023 | Spirit Rangers | Crane | Voice Episode: "Slow and Steady Eddy/Salmon Where Are You?"[16] |
References
edit- ^ "Eugene Brave Rock: Actor & Storyteller". May 2, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Eric Volmers, Calgary Herald (2016-08-06). "Eugene Brave Rock, actor from Kainai First Nation, to appear in DC's Wonder Woman". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 2017-05-27.
- ^ Vincent Schilling (2016-08-02). "Mystery Native Superhero in DC's 'Wonder Woman' is Eugene Brave Rock". Indian Country Media Network. Archived from the original on 2017-06-24. Retrieved 2017-05-27.
- ^ Friend, David (2017-06-08). "Blood Tribe actor from Alberta on bringing his language to 'Wonder Woman'". Canada's National Observer. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
- ^ Volmers, Eric (2017-06-02). "How a First Nations First World War hero from Alberta helped Eugene Brave Rock find his character in blockbuster, Wonder Woman". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
- ^ https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/behind-first-nations-headdresses-1.3506224
- ^ "Wonder Woman actor Eugene Brave Rock honoured by Blood Tribe with headdress". Yahoo News. June 9, 2017.
- ^ https://ictnews.org/archive/native-actor-eugene-brave-rock-talks-role-wonder-woman#:~:text=Eugene%20Brave%20Rock%20received%20a,dancing%2C%20singing%20or%20riding%20horses.
- ^ "Oki Language Project". A+C Foundation.
- ^ a b Schulman, Sandra Hale (October 13, 2023). "INDIGENOUS A&E: Artists, snakes and Native 'Power Builders'". ICT News.
- ^ "Oki Language Council". Oki Language Project.
- ^ "Artist Cynthia Pinot Will Present Her Artworks At The Oki Language Project Auction". PRLog.
- ^ "Representation, Symbolization, and Indigeneity - Programs – Slought". slought.org.
- ^ "The Art of Anti-Racism and Social Justice: A Conversation with Academy Award Winner Mo'Nique, NY Black Lives Matter's Hawk Newsome, and Indigenous Superhero Eugene Brave Rock". Lewis Center for the Arts.
- ^ chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://voteearthnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Digital-Democracy-for-Climate-Action-september-5vii.pdf
- ^ Joey Clift [@joeytainment] (May 3, 2023). "Spirit Rangers Season 2 comes out May 8th and we just announced a bunch of our voice cast!! It was so fun working with all of these Native and Indigenous superstars and I can't wait for ya'll to hear them in the new episodes! #SpiritRangers" (Tweet). Retrieved September 16, 2023 – via Twitter.