Graham Greene, the Canadian First Nations actor whose performance in Dances With Wolves made him an Oscar nominee and helped change the conversation around Indigenous representation in Hollywood, has died. He was 72. Greene passed away on September 1 in a Toronto hospital after a long illness.

“He was a great man of morals, ethics and character and will be eternally missed,” his agent Michael Greene said in a statement. “You are finally free. Susan Smith is meeting you at the gates of heaven,” he added, referring to Greene’s longtime agent who died in 2013.

Born June 22, 1952, in Ohsweken on the Six Nations Reserve, Greene didn’t start out chasing stardom. He worked odd jobs before trying acting, first on stage in Canada and England during the 1970s. By the end of that decade, he had made his TV debut in The Great Detective and his film debut in Running Brave (1983).

What Films Did Graham Greene Appear In?

His life changed for the better in 1990 when he was cast by Kevin Costner as Kicking Bird in Dances With Wolves, with his magnificent performance earning him and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The film went on to win Best Picture and six other Oscars. Greene worked consistently after that, appearing in studio hits like Maverick (1994), Die Hard With a Vengeance (1995), The Green Mile (1999), and even The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009). He also began a fruitful relationship with Taylor Sheridan after being cast in 2017’s Wind River. Sheridan later brought him into the Yellowstone universe in 1883 and gave him a memorable part in Tulsa King.

Television was another constant. Greene was a series regular on Wolf Lake, Defiance, and Marvel’s Echo, and he turned up in Northern Exposure, Longmire, American Gods, and more. One of his last appearances was on Reservation Dogs, a show that carried forward the Indigenous storytelling Greene had championed his entire career. Greene’s work earned him a Grammy, a Gemini, a Canadian Screen Award, and an Independent Spirit Award nomination. He was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame and earlier this year received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award. His final performance, the thriller Ice Fall, in which he starred alongside Joel Kinnaman, has already been completed.

Greene is survived by his wife of 35 years, Hilary Blackmore, his daughter Lilly Lazare-Greene, and grandson Tarlo. Our thoughts are with his fans and his loved ones at this time.