Zahn McClarnon

Last updated
Zahn McClarnon
Zahn McClarnon 2016.png
McClarnon in 2016
Born
Zahn Tokiya-ku McClarnon

(1966-10-24) 24 October 1966 (age 58)
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Education Omaha Central High School
OccupationActor
Years active1992–present

Zahn Tokiya-ku McClarnon is a Native American actor known for his performances in the Western crime drama series Longmire , the second season of Fargo , and the second season of Westworld . Since 2022, he has played the lead role of Joe Leaphorn in the AMC series Dark Winds . [1] He features in the FX on Hulu series Reservation Dogs , and the Marvel Cinematic Universe series Hawkeye (2021) and Echo (2024).

Contents

Early life and education

Zahn Tokiya-ku McClarnon [2] was born in Denver, Colorado, the son of a Hunkpapa Lakota mother and a father of Irish ancestry. [3] He grew up near Browning, Montana, where his father worked at Glacier National Park for the National Park Service. [4] He would often visit the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, where his mother grew up, and often stayed with his maternal grandparents on weekends and for longer visits. His mother lived on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. When his father was relocated to Omaha, Nebraska, for work, the family lived in the Joslyn Castle and Dundee neighborhoods. [4] McClarnon has a brother.

McClarnon grew up in Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Ohio, and Montana, and has stated that his childhood was "rough." [5] [6]

In 1985, McClarnon graduated from Omaha Central High School. He credits his drama teacher, Peggy Stommes, as a big influence. [4] [7]

Career

McClarnon got his start in a local production of Jesus Christ Superstar at the Chanticleer Theater in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He connected with John Jackson, a local Omaha casting director who later became known for his work with director Alexander Payne. McClarnon gained some local work and in the early 1990s, he moved to Los Angeles for his career. [4] [8]

In the Into the West (2005) miniseries for TNT, McClarnon played Running Fox. He starred in the 2009 film Not Forgotten and comedy film Repo Chick . In 2013, he was in the horror movie Resolution . He had a recurring role as Bodaway Macawi in Ringer . He played Mike Parker in the first four episodes of the SundanceTV series The Red Road . [9]

From 2012 to 2017, McClarnon portrayed Mathias, the Chief of Indian Tribal Police of the Cheyenne reservation, in Longmire , originally an A&E and later a Netflix television series. [10]

McClarnon portrayed Hanzee Dent in the second season of the TV series Fargo , where his performance received critical acclaim. [5] [11] [12] [13] He appeared in the TV series Timeless as Native American U.S. Marshal Grant Johnson in the episode "The Murder of Jesse James". McClarnon appeared as Toshaway in AMC Network's The Son , [4] [14] for which he learned the Comanche language. [15]

McClarnon appeared as Akecheta, the leader of the Ghost Nation, in HBO's Westworld . Although usually credited as a recurring character, McClarnon was credited as a main cast member in "Kiksuya", the eighth episode of the second season, which focuses on his character's backstory. His performance in the episode received critical acclaim, with the critic's consensus on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes stating that McClarnon delivered a "heart-wrenching, formidable performance" that elevates the episode to "one of the best of the entire series". [16]

In 2019, McClarnon appeared as Crow Daddy, a central antagonist, in the film Doctor Sleep . [17] Since 2021, McClarnon has portrayed Officer Big in the comedy-drama Reservation Dogs . [18]

In 2021, it was announced that McClarnon would star as Joe Leaphorn in Dark Winds , a psychological thriller television series on AMC. It premiered on 12 June 2022 and was renewed for a second season. [19] [1]

Personal life

McClarnon's first name is in honor of his maternal great-great-uncle,[ citation needed ] Frank "Francis" B. Zahn, who was an artist and Lakota elder of Standing Rock Indian Reservation. [20] McClarnon's middle name, Tokiya-ku, loosely translates to mean "first one to come." He was given that name by his mother because he was the first delivered in a set of twins. [2]

In late 2017, McClarnon fell at his home and suffered a brain injury, requiring hospitalization. The accident caused a brief shutdown of production for Westworld. [21] He has since recovered.

McClarnon has discussed his struggles with substance abuse in interviews.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1988 My Neighbor Totoro Additional voicesVoice role; 2005 Disney English dub
1994 Silent Fall Deputy Bear
2002 Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron Little Creek's FriendVoice role
2007 Searchers 2.0 Rusty Frobisher
2009 Not Forgotten Calvo
Repo Chick Savage Dan
Down for Life Grim
2012 Resolution Charles
2013 Awful Nice Romulus
Bloodline Jack
I'm in Love with a Church Girl Jessie
2015 Mekko Bill
Bone Tomahawk The Professor
2016 Neither Wolf Nor Dog Billy
2018 Braven Hallett
2019 Doctor Sleep Crow Daddy
Hell on the Border Sam Sixkiller
Togo Tulimak
2020 The Silencing Blackhawk
2021 The Forever Purge Chiago
2022 The Last Manhunt William Johnson
2023 Americana Ghost Eye
No Hard Feelings Gabe Sawyer

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1992 Tequila and Bonetti Hispanic Kid1 episode
1992 Baywatch Bear Sutter1 episode
1993 Murphy Brown Man #31 episode
1993–1997 Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Walks on Cloud & Red Deer5 episodes
1994 Renegade Jerry1 episode
1994 Thunder in Paradise Billy Cyprus1 episode
1996 The Lazarus Man Nakai1 episode
1996–1997 Dangerous Minds Carlos Montalvo3 episodes
1997 Chicago Hope George Burroughs1 episode
2005 Into the West Running FoxMiniseries, 3 episodes
2007 Saving Grace Ames Blackbird1 episode
2008 Comanche Moon ErmokeMiniseries, 1 episode
2009 Life Tomas Shasta1 episode
2010 Medium Alex Keeswood1 episode
2011 Castle Roy Horton1 episode
2011–2012 Ringer Bodaway MacawiRecurring role, 8 episodes
2012–2017 Longmire Police Chief MathiasRecurring role, 29 episodes
2014 The Red Road Mike ParkerRecurring role, 4 episodes
2015 Fargo Hanzee Dent Recurring role, 9 episodes
2016–2017 Frontier Samoset3 episodes
2017 Timeless Grant Johnson1 episode
2017 Midnight, Texas Zachariah1 episode
2017–2019 The Son ToshawayMain role, 20 episodes
2018, 2022 Westworld AkechetaRecurring role, 8 episodes
2018 Queen of the South TazaRecurring role, 4 episodes
2019 Drunk History Adam Fortunate Eagle 1 episode
2019 Robot Chicken SnowballVoice role, 1 episode
2020 Barkskins YvonMain role, 8 episodes
2021–2023 Reservation Dogs Officer BigRecurring role, 12 episodes
2021 Hawkeye William Lopez 1 episode
2022–present Dark Winds Joe Leaphorn Main role; 12 episodes
Also executive producer
2023 History of the World, Part II Mingoes3 episodes
2023–present Castlevania: Nocturne OlroxVoice role
2024 Echo William Lopez3 episodes
2024 Ark: The Animated Series Thunder Comes ChargingVoice role [22]

Video games

YearTitleRoleNotes
2010 Red Dead Redemption The Local Population

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References

  1. 1 2 Virtue, Graeme (18 October 2023). "Dark Winds review – this brooding Navajo murder mystery begs to be binged". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  2. 1 2 Maron, Marc (October 10, 2022). "WTF episode 1373 Zahn McClarnon". WTF POD (Podcast). Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  3. ↑ Pond, Roscoe (July 7, 2003). "Zahn McClarnon, more than just Indian and Irish". Indian Country Today . Archived from the original on September 22, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Mertes, Micah (April 10, 2017). "In AMC's 'The Son,' Omaha-raised actor graduates to playing a patriarchal role". Omaha World-Herald .
  5. 1 2 Tobias, Scott (December 14, 2015). "Zahn McClarnon on 'Fargo' and What Makes Hanzee Tick". The New York Times .
  6. ↑ Fienberg, Daniel (December 14, 2015). "'Fargo' Finale: Zahn McClarnon on Hanzee's Future and the Season 1 Easter Egg". The Hollywood Reporter .
  7. ↑ "O-Book '85" (PDF). Omaha Central High School Archives. 1985. p. 44. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-04-17. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  8. ↑ Mertes, Micah (March 11, 2016). "'Fargo' actor, former Omahan is on a good run". Omaha World-Herald .
  9. ↑ Schilling, Vincent (March 13, 2014). "Shady Character: Zahn McClarnon Discusses his 'Red Road' Role". Indian Country Today .
  10. ↑ Schilling, Vincent (March 3, 2015). "'Longmire' Was Saved by the Fans, Says Zahn McClarnon". Indian Country Today .
  11. ↑ Jurgensen, John (December 8, 2015). "Meet Zahn McClarnon, the Man Behind the Lethal Hanzee Dent of 'Fargo'". The Wall Street Journal .
  12. ↑ Fienberg, Daniel (November 23, 2015). "'Fargo' Star Rachel Keller on Simone's Long Walk Into the Woods". The Hollywood Reporter .
  13. ↑ Kavner, Lucas (December 14, 2015). "Fargo's Zahn McClarnon on Hanzee's Backstory and the Types of Roles Native Americans Get Onscreen". Vulture .
  14. ↑ Krol, Debra Utacia (March 6, 2017). "Zahn McClarnon Cast as Comanche leader Toshaway in AMC's 'The Son.'". Indian Country Today .
  15. ↑ Bernstein, Abbie (April 8, 2017). "The Son: Actor Zahn McClarnon on AMC's new series - Exclusive Interview". Assignment X.
  16. ↑ "Westworld - Season 2 Episode 8" – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
  17. ↑ ‘Shining’ Movie ‘Doctor Sleep’ Taps ‘Westworld’s’ Zahn McClarnon to Play Crow Daddy
  18. ↑ ‘Reservation Dogs’ Star Zahn McClarnon Reflects on Series Ahead of Final Season
  19. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (2021-07-09). "AMC Orders 'Dark Winds' Series From Graham Roland, George R.R. Martin & Robert Redford Based On Tony Hillerman Books; Zahn McClarnon & Kiowa Gordon Star". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  20. ↑ "00900 - Photographs - Archives Holdings - Archives - State Historical Society of North Dakota: Zahn Family". State Historical Society of North Dakota .
  21. ↑ Stedman, Alex (November 3, 2017). "'Westworld' Actor Zahn McClarnon Hospitalized, Season 2 Production Paused". Variety. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  22. ↑ Del Rosario, Alexandra (December 11, 2020). "'Ark: The Animated Series': Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh & Elliot Page Among Voice Cast Members In New Video Game-Inspired Show".
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