Graham Greene CM (June 22, 1952 – September 1, 2025) was a Canadian First Nations (Oneida) actor and recording artist, active in film, television, and theatre.

He achieved international fame for his role as Kicking Bird (Ziŋtká Nagwáka) in Kevin Costner's Dances With Wolves (1990), which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. His other notable films include 

• Thunderheart (1992), 
• Maverick (1994), 
• Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), 
• The Green Mile (1999), 
• Skins (2002), 
• Transamerica (2005), 
• Casino Jack (2010), 
• Winter's Tale (2014), 
• The Shack (2017), and 
• Wind River (2017).

In addition to his Oscar nomination, Greene was a Grammy Award, Gemini Award, Canadian Screen Award, and a Dora Mavor Moore Award winner. In 2025, he received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award.

Early life and career

Greene was an Oneida born in Ohsweken, on the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario, the son of John, a paramedic and maintenance man, and Lillian Greene. He lived in Hamilton, Ontario, as a young man. He was a second cousin once removed of fellow actor Gary Farmer. Before moving into acting, Greene worked as a draftsman, steelworker and welder.

He worked as an audio technician for rock bands based in Newfoundland and Labrador, and later related that musician Kelly Jay repeatedly encouraged him to try out for a play.

A common misconception is that he graduated from the Toronto-based Centre for Indigenous Theatre's Native Theatre School program. As he noted in a 2012 interview, he "helped run it, as executive director of a school-supporting local arts organization". By the 1970s he began performing in professional theatre in Toronto and England and in 1976 he participated in the University of Western Ontario's touring workshop performance of James Reaney's Wacousta.

His television debut was in an episode of The Great Detective in 1979, and his film debut was in 1983 in Running Brave. On viewing his first television role, Greene stated that it was "awful", and that it prompted him to start learning to act as a profession.

Personal life and death

Greene and his wife Hilary Blackmore lived outside of Toronto with a "small army of cats". He enjoyed writing, building boats and playing golf, noting "I just want to go and play, I don't care who's looking. It's a game where you get to play against yourself." He stated that he had no interest in migrating south to California for roles. "There's no reason to live there. A working actor can live anywhere as long as you have a phone, a fax, and know where the airport is." Regarding his time playing Mr. Crabby Tree (and the follow-up role in the pre-teen show Eric's World) he noted "I spent a year paying penance doing kids' shows."

When discussing Native people in film, Greene noted that he would like to see depictions of "his people" as more than stoic, saying "My people are very funny."

In 1997, Greene suffered a major depressive episode, and had to be hospitalized after a police encounter.

In June 2008, he was awarded an honorary doctor of law degree from the Brantford campus of Wilfrid Laurier University.

He was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada (CM) in the 2015 Canadian honours.

Greene died after a long illness in Stratford, Ontario on September 1, 2025, at the age of 73.