Eugene Brave Rock

Canadian actor and stunt man
Eugene Brave Rock
Born
Eugene Brave Rock

1978 (age 45–46)
Stand Off, Alberta, Canada
OccupationActor
Years active2007–present

Eugene Brave Rock is a Blackfoot[1] actor and stuntman born in Canada. Brave Rock 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]

Biography

Brave 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]

Eugene 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]

Legacy

In 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 actively 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.[12][13]

Brave Rock - Guest speaker at University of Pennsylvania, "Representation, Symbolization and Indigeneity" Slought Foundation, PA, November 15, 2019[14]

Brave Rock - Guest speaker Princeton University, "The Arts of Anti-Racism and Social Justice" December 15, 2020.[15]

Brave Rock was a guest speaker at the Digital for climate change- Science Summit at the United Nations General Assembly - NYC, SEP 18, 2023[16]

Filmography

Film

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

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?"[17]

References

  1. ^ https://nativemaxmagazine.com/eugene-brave-rock-actor-storyteller/
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/behind-first-nations-headdresses-1.3506224
  7. ^ https://ca.news.yahoo.com/wonder-woman-actor-eugene-brave-235141219.html
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ https://givebutter.com/c/okilanguageproject?s=jkrufs
  10. ^ https://ictnews.org/news/indigenous-a-e-artists-snakes-and-native-power-builders
  11. ^ https://www.okilanguageproject.org/council
  12. ^ https://ictnews.org/news/indigenous-a-e-artists-snakes-and-native-power-builders
  13. ^ https://www.prlog.org/12989759-artist-cynthia-pinot-will-present-her-artworks-at-the-oki-language-project-auction.html
  14. ^ https://slought.org/resources/representation_symbolization_and_indigeneity
  15. ^ https://arts.princeton.edu/events/the-arts-of-anti-racism-and-social-justice-exhibition-and-conversation/
  16. ^ chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://voteearthnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Digital-Democracy-for-Climate-Action-september-5vii.pdf
  17. ^ 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.

https://www.okilanguageproject.org/council==External links==

  • Eugene Brave Rock at IMDb


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