Hollywood didn’t think Kevin Costner could pull it off. In 1990, the industry was whispering about "Kevin’s Gate," a snide reference to the legendary flop Heaven’s Gate. They saw a three-hour Western, half of it in the Lakota language, and figured it was a vanity project destined for the bargain bin. They were wrong. Dead wrong. The film didn't just win seven Oscars; it fundamentally changed how indigenous people were portrayed on screen.
When you look back at the Dances with Wolves actors, you aren't just looking at a cast list. You’re looking at a group of people who took a massive gamble on a film that felt more like a documentary than a blockbuster. Kevin Costner was at the peak of his "Golden Boy" era. He was the guy from Field of Dreams and Bull Durham. But instead of playing it safe, he went into the mud and the snow of South Dakota. He hired real people. He insisted on authenticity that, quite frankly, most studios at the time found inconvenient and expensive.
Kevin Costner and the Weight of Lieutenant Dunbar
Costner was everywhere. He directed, produced, and starred as John Dunbar. It’s easy to forget now, but Dunbar was a radical departure from the typical Western hero. He wasn't there to conquer. He was there to see the frontier before it was gone. Costner’s performance is quiet. It’s soulful. It relies heavily on his voiceover and his eyes.
After the movie swept the Academy Awards, Costner’s career went into the stratosphere, though it wasn't all smooth sailing later on. You had the highs of The Bodyguard and then the strange, water-logged era of Waterworld. But honestly? Costner’s legacy is bookended by Westerns. If you look at his current massive success with Yellowstone or his massive Horizon saga, you can see the DNA of John Dunbar in everything he does. He never really left the plains. He just traded the Union uniform for a Stetson.
The Indelible Impact of Graham Greene
If Costner was the heart of the movie, Graham Greene was the soul. Playing Kicking Bird, the stoic but curious holy man, Greene brought a level of nuance that was almost entirely absent from Native American roles in the decades prior. He wasn't a caricature. He was a father, a leader, and a man trying to solve a puzzle.
Greene, an Oneida actor from Ontario, actually earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for this role. Think about that for a second. In 1990, that was a seismic shift for the Academy. Greene didn't stop there, obviously. You’ve seen him in everything from Die Hard with a Vengeance to The Green Mile and Wind River. He has this incredible ability to be the smartest person in the room without saying a word. In Dances with Wolves, his chemistry with Costner—especially during the "Tatanka" scene—is the reason the movie works. It’s a masterclass in non-verbal communication.
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Mary McDonnell: The Bridge Between Worlds
Mary McDonnell played Stands With A Fist. It’s a tough role. You’re playing a white woman raised by the Lakota who has largely forgotten her native tongue. McDonnell had to act through a layer of trauma and linguistic confusion. She was 37 at the time, playing a character that could have easily been written as a "damsel," but she made her fierce.
McDonnell’s career exploded afterward. She went on to get another Oscar nod for Passion Fish and then became a sci-fi icon as President Laura Roslin in Battlestar Galactica. It’s funny how people forget she started in the dirt of the 1860s before leading humanity through the stars. She’s always brought that same grounded, "don't-mess-with-me" energy to her characters.
The Supporting Cast: Faces You Definitely Recognize
The Dances with Wolves actors weren't just the big three. The depth of the ensemble is what makes the world of the film feel lived-in.
Take Rodney A. Grant, who played Wind In His Hair. He was the warrior counterpart to Kicking Bird’s diplomat. Grant brought this raw, aggressive energy that eventually softened into one of the most heartbreaking friendships in cinema. His final shout from the clifftop—"Can you see that you are my friend?"—still hits like a physical punch. Grant continued to work in films like Geronimo: An American Legend and Wild Wild West, but Wind In His Hair remains his definitive stamp on pop culture.
Then there’s Floyd "Red Crow" Westerman. He played Chief Ten Bears. Westerman was a real-life activist and musician before he was a film star. He brought an undeniable authority to the screen. When he talks about the Spanish and the Texans, you aren't watching an actor recite lines; you're watching a man who understood the historical weight of those words. He passed away in 2007, leaving behind a legacy that was as much about indigenous rights as it was about acting.
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Why the Casting Was Controversial (And Revolutionary)
Costner was obsessive about the details. He hired Doris Leader Charge, a Lakota language instructor from Sinte Gleska University, not just to translate the script, but to act in it. She played Pretty Shield, Kicking Bird’s wife. This wasn't "Hollywood" Lakota. It was the real deal.
However, it wasn't perfect. Critics over the years have pointed out the "White Savior" tropes. It’s a valid conversation. The movie is seen through Dunbar’s eyes, after all. But at the time, the casting of actual Indigenous actors was a massive middle finger to the "Redface" casting of the 50s and 60s. For the first time, a massive audience saw Native characters with complex emotions, humor, and domestic lives. They weren't just obstacles in the way of a wagon train.
The Incredible Career of Wes Studi
We have to talk about Wes Studi. He played the Pawnee fierce leader. Studi is a powerhouse. He has this intense, piercing gaze that can be terrifying or deeply moving. While his role in this film was as an antagonist, it paved the way for his iconic performance as Magua in The Last of the Mohicans.
In 2019, Studi became the first Native American actor to receive an Honorary Oscar. It was a long time coming. His work in the early 90s, starting with the Dances with Wolves actors, broke down doors that had been bolted shut for a century. He’s still working today, recently appearing in Reservation Dogs, showing the younger generation exactly how it’s done.
The Real Buffalo and the Unsung "Actors"
Believe it or not, the buffalo were a nightmare to film. You can’t exactly "direct" a herd of several thousand animals. The production used a combination of a massive real herd owned by Roy Houck and animatronic buffalo for the closer, more violent shots.
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There was also Two Socks. The wolf was actually played by two different wolves named Buck and Teddy. They were notoriously difficult to work with. Costner spent weeks just sitting in the dirt trying to get them to trust him enough to take a piece of jerky from his hand. That "acting" was mostly just patience.
What Happened to the Frontier?
The film was shot mostly in South Dakota, specifically on the Triple U Standing Butte Ranch. If you go there today, you can still feel the ghost of the production. The movie did wonders for South Dakota tourism, but it also sparked a renewed interest in Lakota culture and language preservation.
The actors went their separate ways, but many of them reunited in spirit through various Western projects over the years. The "Costner Circle" is a real thing. He tends to work with people who share his obsession with the American West.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Historians
If you’re looking to dive deeper into the world of these actors and the history they portrayed, don't just stop at the credits.
- Watch the Director's Cut: It’s nearly four hours long. It adds a massive amount of context to the relationship between the Dances with Wolves actors, specifically more scenes involving the Lakota camp's daily life.
- Research the Language: Look into the work of Doris Leader Charge. Her contribution to preserving the Lakota language through this film is a story in itself.
- Check out "The West": If you want to see more of these actors in a historical context, the Ken Burns documentary series The West features several cast members (including voice work) and covers the real events that inspired the film.
- Support Indigenous Cinema: Follow the careers of the younger actors who were inspired by this cast. Shows like Reservation Dogs or films like Killers of the Flower Moon are the direct descendants of the ground broken by Greene and Studi.
The legacy of the Dances with Wolves actors isn't just about a movie that won some gold statues. It's about a moment in time when Hollywood finally stopped and listened to the people whose stories they had been telling wrong for a hundred years. It wasn't a perfect correction, but it was a start. And thirty-plus years later, the performances still hold up. The wind is still blowing, and Wind In His Hair is still shouting from that ridge.