Wes Studi

Actor, Director, Artist

Wes Studi’s native language is Cherokee, which he spoke until he started primary school.  A Vietnam veteran, Mr. Studi is committed to the protection and teaching of Native languages, and he is a spokesperson for the Indigenous Language Institute in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Mr. Studi became formally involved in acting in the mid-1980s and found success appearing in theater, as well as in productions for Nebraska Public Television.  It was after his role in the 1988 PBS production of The Trial of Standing Bear that Mr. Studi fully realized his passion for acting.  After moving to Los Angeles, he found work in such films as Dances with Wolves (1990) and Last of the Mohicans (1992) before taking a starring role in 1993 in Geronimo: An American Legend.  Mr. Studi has since appeared in such films as Heat (1995) and Deep Rising (1998).

A winner of numerous acting awards, Mr. Studi is also the author of children’s books, as well as an artist and musician.