When actor Graham Greene got the call that he'd won a Governor General's Award, he thought it was a prank

Kelly Boutsalis · CBC Arts

· Posted: Jun 09, 2025 12:48 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

With a adust consciousness of humour and a penchant for teasing, it's nary wonderment that acclaimed histrion Graham Greene believed his ain friends were pranking him erstwhile helium got the telephone from Governor General Mary Simon's bureau letting him cognize he'd beryllium receiving a Governor General's Performing Arts Award.

"'Yeah, yeah, who is it?'" helium recalls saying. "I recovered retired it was true, and I said, 'Oh my gosh, I'm terribly sorry, I thought it was immoderate friends playing a joke.' The aforesaid happening happened erstwhile I got the Order of Canada, I thought idiosyncratic was pulling my leg."

The 72-year-old histrion volition beryllium receiving a Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award for his immense assemblage of enactment successful signifier and screen, which includes unforgettable portrayals of chiefs, medicine men, doctors, a justice (Molly's Game), a detective (Die Hard with a Vengeance) and a decease enactment inmate (The Green Mile). For his show arsenic Kicking Bird, a Sioux medicine antheral successful the 1990 movie Dances with Wolves, helium earned an Academy Award nomination. 

Often playing specifically Indigenous characters, and often speaking languages and representing tribes and nations not his ain (he's Oneida from the Six Nations of the Grand River), Greene is 1 of the astir recognizable Indigenous actors successful North America. 

"It's fantastic to beryllium recognized successful your ain country, and I'm grateful for that," helium says. "I'm conscionable a moving histrion and I'm fortunate capable to past arsenic agelong arsenic I did successful the business. There's a batch of amended actors that person not survived and there's immoderate that are inactive progressive that ne'er got immoderate recognition, which is unfortunate."

His 4 decades of acting each stemmed from Greene's fascination with quality behaviour erstwhile helium was a dependable technologist for bands. He'd beryllium down the dependable console and ticker the crowds alternatively of the band. "I conscionable picked idiosyncratic and started asking questions and making things up astir them."

Filling successful a character's backstory came people to him successful film, but helium wanted to bring much assurance to his acting, truthful helium did theatre to make subject and larn "how to dance," arsenic helium calls ad-libbing. Some of his favourite "dance partners" person been Felicity Huffman and Mel Gibson, from Transamerica and Maverick, respectively.

Despite announcing his status from acting, helium says helium gets much calls than ever. He tells his cause to nonstop lone the bully stuff, and his requirements see moving 4 days oregon less, precise small dialog and "a batch of money." 

Acclaimed tv bid The Last of Us and Reservation Dogs must person acceptable the criteria, arsenic Greene made notable appearances successful some successful caller years. 

Sometimes, a small convincing brings him into the fold. The 2024 thriller/comedy Seeds was written specifically for Greene by the film's writer, manager and star, Kaniehtiio Horn. "She says, 'I wrote a relation for you, and you amended bash it.' I said, 'Well, I conjecture I better.'"

Seeds is the closing nighttime movie of imagineNATIVE Film Festival, wherever Greene volition person different beingness award, the August Schellenberg Award of Excellence.

"I deliberation they're trying to archer maine thing with each these beingness accomplishment awards," helium says. And what does helium deliberation that mightiness be? "That I'm dead," helium quips.