From small-town Oklahoma native to internationally acclaimed actor and musician, Wes Studi credits his passion and multi-faceted background for his powerful character portrayals that forever changed a Hollywood stereotype. Within a few years of his arrival in Hollywood, Studi caught the attention of the public in Dances with Wolves (1990). In 1992, his powerful performance as “Magua”” in The Last of the Mohicans (1992) established him as one of the most compelling actors in the business.Studi has since appeared in more than 80 film and television productions, including Geronimo: An American Legend (1993), Being Flynn (2012), Avatar (2009), Comanche Moon (2008), Streets of Laredo (1995), Mystery Men (1999), Kings (TV Series), The New World (2005), Hell on Wheels (2011), Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007) and Seraphim Falls (2006). He also brought Tony Hillerman’s “”Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn”” to life in a series of PBS specials produced by Robert Redford: Skinwalkers (2002), Coyote Waits (2003), and A Thief of Time (2003).Studi was born in Nofire Hollow, Oklahoma, the son of Maggie (Nofire), a housekeeper, and Andy Studie, a ranch hand. Studi exclusively spoke his native Cherokee language until beginning school at the age of five. A professional horse trainer, Studi began acting at The American Indian Theatre Company in Tulsa in the mid-80s.Studi and his wife, Maura Dhu Studi, live in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They have a son, Kholan. Studi has a daughter, Leah, and a son, Daniel, from a previous marriage.”
Wes Studi
Movies
Champion
George “Ice Man” Chambers (Rhames) is a top ranked heavyweight boxer. However Chambers has his world turned upside down when he is accused of rape and sent to prison. Upon his arrival he hears talk about Monroe Hutchen (Snipes) who is the top ranked prison boxing champ 10 years running.…
Fun Facts
Is a Native American of the Cherokee Nation.
Father, with Rebecca Graves, of Daniel Studi & Leah Studi.
Spoke only the Cherokee language prior to attending grade school.
Drafted into the army in 1967, he served 12 months in South Vietnam with the 9th Infantry Division in the Mekong Delta.
Attended Chilocco Indian School in northern Oklahoma; studied at Tulsa Junior College.
Plays guitar and bass. Used to perform in a six-piece band called 'Firecat of Discord'. His wife, Maura Dhu Studi, is a lead vocalist. They primarily performed original music.
Father, with Maura Dhu Studi, of Kholan Studi (b. October 29, 1993 in Santa Fe, New Mexico).
He attended and was a mentor at the 2nd annual HatcH audiovisual festival in Bozeman, Montana, in October 2005. HatcH is a film and arts festival whose mission is to provide mentorship, education, inspiration, and recognition to the next generation of creative innovators.
Uncle of Delanna Studi.
On June 11, 2010, Wes Studi visited Yakama Nation Legends Casino, located in Toppenish, Washington to MC the Casino's Tribal Jam IV event. During his visit Wes met with the Yakama Nation Tribal Council and Legends Casino Board of Directors. Legends Casino is owned and operated by the Yakama Nation.
In 2013, Wes Studi became only the second Native American to be inducted into the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum's Hall of Great Western Performers.
He has portrayed a number of legendary Indian chiefs such as Geronimo in Geronimo: An American Legend (1993), Red Cloud in Crazy Horse (1996) and Cochise in A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014).
Son-in-law of Jack Albertson & June Wallace Thomson.
Quotes
[on being in Street Fighter (1994)] This is a fun movie about a kind of fantasy land, sort of like Star Trek: The Original Series (1966).