There are a lot of good Native American actors like Wei Studi and Rodney A. Grant. So why don’t we see them as much in films now-a-days? Why don’t we have more diverse roles for them besides typical tribal indians of the past? Why does Hollywood cast white actors like Johnny Depp to play an Indian charter?
Yes, i think that this is a very onteresting topic. It might be worthwhile noting that it probably comes down to the same thing as everything ekse Hollywood - lack of 'sellable' NA plots/characters/story. Looking at well-known films with NA actors in would be good - off the top of my head, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Warpath (?) in X-Men, Free Willy and (unfortunatly) Twilight. – Francesca Turauskis9 years ago
This is a really good point. There's so much to explore about the Native American narrative both past and present and the roles are relegated to Dances with Wolves and Pocahontas. You might want to look at Irene Bedard and Gil Birmingham who are among the more high-profile Native American actors who play the roles. – Kristin Ronzi9 years ago
Johnny Depp is of Native American descent, but he does not look the part. He was cast on that fact and, of course, because his name sells tickets. Many television shows like Longmire use Native American actors and are very successful, so how do we transition that to films without needing a big name actor? – Liz Watkins9 years ago