Most Famous Indigenous Native Actors/Actresses

Actress Tantoo Cardinal is a Member of the Order of Canada, one of the country's highest civilian honors. The order recognizes Cardinal for her contributions to the growth and development of Aboriginal performing arts in Canada.

Arguably the most widely recognized Native Actress of her generation, Cardinal has appeared in numerous plays, television programs, and films, including Legends of the Fall, Dances With Wolves, Black Robe, Loyalties, Luna, Spirit of the Whale, Unnatural & Accidental, Marie-Anne, Sioux City, Silent Tongue, Mothers & Daughters, and Smoke Signals. Recent work includes the films Eden, Maina, Shouting Secrets and From Above.

Her stirring performance in Loyalties earned her a Genie nomination, American Indian Film Festival Best Actress Award, the People's Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival, plus Best Actress Awards at International Film Festivals in Zimbabwe and Portugal.

Cardinal was recently honored with the 2015 ACTRA Award of Excellence; other honors include Best Actress - Elizabeth Sterling Award in Theatre for All My Relations, and First Americans in the Arts Totem Award for her portrayal of the character Katrina in Widows at the Forum Stage in Los Angeles. She won the American Indian Film Festival's Best Actress Award as well as the first Rudy Martin Award for Outstanding Achievement by a Native American in Film for Where the Rivers Flow North, a Gemini Award for North of 60, and a Leo Award for Blackstone.

Her television credits include recurring roles on the series: Blackstone, The Killing, Arctic Air, Strange Empire, The Guard, North of 60, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, The Lightening Field, Street Legal, The Campbell's, Gunsmoke, Tom Stone, Myth Quest, Lonesome Dove, and Renegade Press.com. MOW's include Full Flood, The Englishman's Boy, Dreamkeeper and the PBS documentary Nobody's Girls.

For her contributions to the Native Artistic community, Cardinal won the Eagle Spirit Award. She has also been honored with the MacLeans' magazine Honor Roll as Actress of the Year, the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Toronto Women in Film and Television, an International Women in Film Award for her lasting contribution to the arts, and induction to the CBC/Playback Hall of Fame.

From small-town Oklahoma native to internationally acclaimed actor and musician, Wes Studi credits his passion and multi-faceted background for his powerful character portrayals that forever changed a Hollywood stereotype. Within a few years of his arrival in Hollywood, Studi caught the attention of the public in Dances with Wolves (1990). In 1992, his powerful performance as "Magua" in The Last of the Mohicans (1992) established him as one of the most compelling actors in the business.

Studi has since appeared in more than 80 film and television productions, including Geronimo: An American Legend (1993), Being Flynn (2012), Avatar (2009), Comanche Moon (2008), Streets of Laredo (1995), Mystery Men (1999), Kings (TV Series), The New World (2005), Hell on Wheels (2011), Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007) and Seraphim Falls (2006). He also brought Tony Hillerman's "Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn" to life in a series of PBS specials produced by Robert Redford: Skinwalkers (2002), Coyote Waits (2003), and A Thief of Time (2003).

Studi was born in Nofire Hollow, Oklahoma, the son of Maggie (Nofire), a housekeeper, and Andy Studie, a ranch hand. Studi exclusively spoke his native Cherokee language until beginning school at the age of five. A professional horse trainer, Studi began acting at The American Indian Theatre Company in Tulsa in the mid-80s.

Studi and his wife, Maura Dhu Studi, live in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They have a son, Kholan. Studi has a daughter, Leah, and a son, Daniel, from a previous marriage.

Adam Beach was born in Ashern, Manitoba, the son of Sally and Dennis Beach, and was raised on the Dog Creek First Nations Reserve, with his two brothers. A troubled childhood saw his mother killed by a drunk driver, and his alcoholic father drowned only weeks afterward. The three brothers went to live with their grandmother and then with their uncle and aunt in Winnipeg, where Adam joined drama classes and began acting in local theatre productions.

Since then he has appeared in over 60 films and television programs. His performance in the Academy Award-nominated Clint Eastwood-directed Flags of Our Fathers (2006) was phenomenal. He played Ira Hayes, a Pima Native American who was one of the six US Marines to raise the American flag on Iwo Jima and who found the resulting fame hard to handle, subsequently giving way to alcoholism. This alone would have been an emotional role for Adam to play; however, during filming, both his grandmother and best friend passed away. His role as Hayes is both realistic and heartbreaking, earning him two Best Supporting Actor Award Nominations. He stands out well above the rest of the cast.

Adam has been further nominated for three Awards for his role in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007) including a Golden Globe. He has put in terrific performances in the comedy film Joe Dirt (2001) and the John Woo World War II war epic Windtalkers (2002) in which he co-starred with Nicolas Cage.

He headlined the cast in the Walt Disney production Squanto: A Warrior's Tale (1994), featured in John Singleton's Four Brothers (2005) and starred with Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig in the science fiction-western smash hit Cowboys & Aliens (2011). He had a starring recurring role in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) and Big Love (2006).

In 2016, he played Christopher Weiss / Slipknot in the supervillain film Suicide Squad (2016).

Adam hopes to be appointed leader of his Lake Manitoba First Nation.

Michael Greyeyes is an actor, director, scholar and founding artistic director of Signal Theatre. He is Nêhiyaw (Plains Cree) from Muskeg Lake Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada. His film work includes the role of Traylor in "Blood Quantum," (Elevation Pictures/ Shudder Original), written and directed by Jeff Barnaby, Sitting Bull in "Woman Walks Ahead," (A24/ DirecTV) co-starring Jessica Chastain and directed by Susanna White. He also appeared in HBO's "True Detective" (Season 3) in the role of Brett Woodard and AMC Television's third season of "Fear the Walking Dead," playing Qaletaqa Walker. He has appeared in numerous feature films, including "The New World," directed by Terence Malick, "Skipped Parts," "Sunshine State," directed by John Sayles, "Passchendaele" directed by Paul Gross and "Dance Me Outside," a cult-classic directed by Bruce McDonald.

Most recently, he can be seen as Ralph Drinkwater in HBO's acclaimed mini-series "I Know This Much is True," written and directed by Derek Cianfrance and starring Mark Ruffalo, Apple TV+ "Home Before Dark," Disney+ "Togo," and "V-Wars" for Netflix. He has appeared in a wide range of roles, including "Law and Order: Criminal Intent," to the title role in "Crazy Horse" (TNT), and Tecumseh in "Tecumseh's Vision" (PBS) to mini-series such as "Klondike" (Discovery), "Saints and Strangers" (National Geographic), and "Dreamkeeper" (ABC). As a director, he has created numerous theatre works including "Bearing," a searing dance opera that premiered at the 2017 Luminato Festival in Toronto, "A Soldier's Tale" (National Arts Centre), "from thine eyes" (Harbourfront Centre), and wrote "Nôhkom" (directed by Yvette Nolan). He was nominated for a Dora award for his direction (with Cole Alvis) for "Two Odysseys: Pimooteewin / Gállábártnit," a full-length evening of Indigenous opera featuring 2 librettos in Cree and Sami.

He is represented by long-time manager Alan Mills (Mills Kaplan Entertainment) and talent agents MaryJane MacCallum (ARC) and Harry Gold (Talent Works).

Ashley Callingbull is a Cree First Nations woman from Enoch Cree Nation, Alberta.

She appears in the Gemini award winning television series Blackstone. Ashley is also featured in CBC's 8th Fire Series and the Catch The Dream series. The loss of some very close family members have led Ashley to support the Stollery Children's Hospital, Walk for the Cure, Run for the Lung and to mentor underprivileged aboriginal youth. Ashley was the first First Nations woman to become Miss Canada in 2010 and represented her nation in international pageants in China, Barbados and Europe.

Ashley is also an international motivational speaker and role model for many educational institutions, workshops, conferences and award ceremonies. Ashley has spoken at Harvard University, TED Talks and WE Day. Ashley's hard work and charity work was recognized as she received the Role Model Award at the Dreamcatcher Gala and she also received the Top 20 Under 30 Award in Canada. Ashley also received a role model award from the United Nations in October 2015 for Global Dignity Day.

Ashley is currently the reigning Mrs Universe 2015 and a Canadian Activist for First Nations Rights and environmental causes in Canada. Ashley is also a spokesperson and model for the Nike N7 organization.

Nôses Kisik-Papimohtew (Mother Walks-in-the-Sky), also known as Roseanne Supernault, is a classically trained Actress who was raised on East Prairie Métis Settlement, and also hails from the Whitefish Lake Atikameg First Nation in the Treaty 8 territory of Canada. Born in the Treaty 8 territory to a Politician Father and Artist Mother, her eclectic upbringing included classical training in art, theatre, and dance; practicing and sustaining her cultural hunting & land rights as a Cree Metis; and being exposed to the politics and social justice movements of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. Her life took a sharp turn into arts when she was discovered by a Los Angeles Casting Director at 13 and thereafter signed to a Talent Agency - she has worked steadily as a performer and has seen her profile rise steadily since.

Recognizable from the APTN hit series, "Blackstone," where her haunting performance has garnered her several accolades; the historical, pre contact epic, "Maina," where she plays the title character, for which she received the Best Actress Award at American Indian Film Festival; and the groundbreaking Feature, "Rhymes For Young Ghouls," by Jeff Barnaby, that premiered at Toronto International Film Festival and was named TIFF Top 10.

She can be seen in several book-to-film adaptations, such as "Neither Wolf Nor Dog," where she plays twins across Dave Bald Eagle, Christopher Sweeney, and Tatanka Means; and "Juliana and the Medicine Fish," across from Adam Beach, and Emma Tremblay. She appears in Sky1's "Jamestown" among a star studded English & Native American cast, produced by the makers of "Downton Abbey." She attended Cannes International Film Festival with sci-fi, "The Northlander," - for which she was also nominated for the Best Actress Award at the American Indian Film Festival.

Recently, she plays the lead role of Jo in CTV Comedy's #1 hit series "Acting Good," which also streams on Crave; she plays across stand up comedian Paul Rabliauskas. She also appeared in the Canadian hit film "Guitar Lessons," which had an immensely successful theatrical run. And she is in production with her feature film directorial debut, "Dusk & Dawn," a dark comedy ensemble piece which she also wrote and produced.

She has been nominated for and received multiple acting awards, namely Best Actress for her performances in "Maina," "Blackstone," "Every Emotion Costs," and Best Supporting Actress for "Rhymes For Young Ghouls." She was recently nominated for an A.M.P.I.A Best Actress/non-Binary award for her performance in Berkley Brady's directorial debut "Dark Nature," where she plays a soldier with PTSD who suffers against a dark entity while on a healing retreat in the Rocky Mountains.

Her stage performance in "Dreary and Izzy," where she played a First Nations woman with FASD, has garnered her rave reviews from various critics. She continues on her storytelling journey as a producer and filmmaker, through her film production companies Flying Up Moon, and Magnate.

Supernault is trained in Theatre, Film, and Television. She graduated from 4 years at Victoria School of the Arts an institution focused on not only the history of the arts, but the execution and constant immersion in the field; this is where she discovered her passion.

Paulina Alexis was born on 10 September 2000 in Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation Reserve, Alberta, Canada. She is an actress, known for Reservation Dogs (2021), Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) and Beans (2020).

Devery Jacobs was born and raised in Kahnawa:ke Mohawk Territory and is an award-winning actor and filmmaker. Her breakout leading role in Rhymes for Young Ghouls (2013) landed her a nomination for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. Since then, Jacobs is mainly known for her performances in Taika Waititi's FX Series Reservation Dogs (2021-), Amazon Prime Video/STARZ's American Gods (2019-20), Netflix's The Order (2019-20) CTV's Cardinal (2018) and the Amazon Prime thriller The Lie (2020).

Alongside acting, Jacobs is also an award-winning filmmaker. Her short film Rae (2017) was an official selection of the 2018 Palm Springs Shortfest, and won Best Youth Work at the 2017 imagineNATIVE Film Festival. Jacobs was named one of Canada's Rising Breakout Stars by the Hollywood Reporter and was honored by Telefilm Canada at the 2017 Birks Diamond Tribute, celebrating women in film. Jacobs was also a TIFF Rising Star at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.

Justin Rain was born on 27 October 1981 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He is an actor, known for Resident Alien (2021), Lean on Pete (2017) and Fear the Walking Dead (2015).

Martin Sensmeier is an American Actor and Producer from the Alaskan Native Tribes, Tlingit as well as Koyukon-Athabascan. He was raised in the village of Yakutat, Alaska.

He is best known for his roles in the Magnificent Seven, Wind River, Yellowstone and Westworld. He next can be seen in Netflix' Mini-Series The Liberator and The Feature Film The Last Manhunt opposite Jason Momoa.

Michelle Thrush is a Canadian actress and First Nations activist for Aboriginal Canadians and the other Indigenous peoples of the Americas.

Thrush, who is Cree, was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, by parents she admits were chronic alcoholics. She recalls being called "Squaw" at Bowness High School and bullied because of her parents' illness. In grade nine she changed schools and attended Calgary's Plains Indian Cultural Survival School. There she felt accepted for the first time. She learned about herself, her language, culture, singing and drumming. She remembers: "They filled in a lot of the voids that my soul was just begging for." Her childhood hardships affected her profoundly. Though she acted in her first film at 17 with a role of Sally Littlefeathers in Isaac Littlefeathers (1984), it did not occur to her it could be a career. She planned to become a social worker and help children. She met Gordon Tootoosis, a First Nations actor, who told her: "If [acting] is what your heart wants, you need to follow it and be true." At this point her parents were sober. With no other ties to Calgary, at age 20 she moved to Vancouver and found an agent.

Thrush has said it's been only the last 20 years that Indigenous people have been able to tell their truth through their own stories, though she credits such luminaries as Tantoo Cardinal and Graham Greene for kicking down the doors for Indigenous people in the industry.

Thrush has had a prolific career since its beginning in the 1980s. She began her acting career in film while attending high school. She got her first theatre job when she moved to Vancouver at age 20. She had a small part in the play The Ecstasy of Rita Joe. She portrayed numerous recurring and guest roles in the television series Madison (1993), Northern Exposure (1990), North of 60 (1992), Highlander (1992), Forever Knight (1992), Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy (1998), Moccasin Flats (2003) and Mixed Blessings (2007).

She has starred in many notable films throughout her career, particularly in films that deal with issues about Indigenous peoples of the Americas, ranging from Canadian Aboriginals to Native Americans/American Indians (U.S.). These include Isaac Littlefeathers (1984), Unnatural & Accidental (2006), Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007), Skins (2002), Dead Man (1995), DreamKeeper (2003) and Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian (2013).

Thrush has also won numerous awards and special recognition, including multiple Awards for her role of Gail Stoney on the dramatic series Blackstone, such as Best Performance by an Alberta Actress 2015 Rosie Awards for the role in Deeper & Deeper (2014), Best performance by an Alberta Actress at the 2014 AMPIA Awards for the role in Never Gonna Stop (2013), and Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role in 2011 CSA (Gemini) Awards for the role in Suffer the Children (2011) and Best Guest Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series at the 2011 Leo Awards in Vancouver for the role in Arctic Air (2012).

In 2011, Thrush wrote the one-woman play Find Your Own Inner Elder. She has performed the show, most often under the title Inner Elder, across Canada. It premiered at One Yellow Rabbit's High Performance Rodeo in Calgary in 2018 and has since been performed with Nightwood Theatre and Native Earth Performing Arts in Toronto (2019). Inner Elder is a structured monologue which recounts Thrush's personal life and experiences.

Despite the credits and the awards, her desire to help children has never faded. In fact, she says acting has opened the door to helping in a way that social work could not. For the past 10 years, Thrush has traveled to aboriginal communities and shelters across Canada to perform as Majica, a therapeutic healing clown. Majica performs for young kids and teenagers, and also has a show for parents. "Beyond film, my passion in life is working with our families and helping to defragment the damage that was done through residential schools to our families," she says. "You cannot disconnect the child from the parent without huge damage being done. When it happens generation after generation, it destroys the family system."

Taika Waititi, also known as Taika Cohen, hails from the Raukokore region of the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand, and is the son of Robin (Cohen), a teacher, and Taika Waititi, an artist and farmer. His father is Maori (Te-Whanau-a-Apanui), and his mother is of Ashkenazi Jewish, Irish, Scottish, and English descent. Taika has been involved in the film industry for several years, initially as an actor, and now focusing on writing and directing.

Two Cars, One Night is Taika's first professional film-making effort and since its completion in 2003 he has finished another short "Tama Tu" about a group of Maori Soldiers in Italy during World War 2. As a performer and comedian, Taika has been involved in some of the most innovative and successful original productions seen in New Zealand. He regularly does stand-up gigs in and around the country and in 2004 launched his solo production, "Taika's Incredible Show". In 2005 he staged the sequel, "Taika's Incrediblerer Show". As an actor, Taika has been critically acclaimed for both his Comedic and Dramatic abilities. In 2000 he was nominated for Best Actor at the Nokia Film Awards for his role in the Sarkies Brother's film "Scarfies".

Taika is also an experienced painter and photographer, having exhibited both mediums in Wellington and Berlin, and a fashion designer. He attended the Sundance Writers Lab with "Choice", a feature loosely based on "Two Cars, One Night".

Taika became a blockbuster director with his film Thor: Ragnarok (2017), and received critical acclaim, and a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar, for his film Jojo Rabbit (2019).

Dwayne Douglas Johnson, also known as The Rock, was born on May 2, 1972 in Hayward, California. He is the son of Ata Johnson (born Feagaimaleata Fitisemanu) and professional wrestler Rocky Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles). His father, from Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada, is black (of Black Nova Scotian descent), and his mother is of Samoan background (her own father was Peter Fanene Maivia, also a professional wrestler). While growing up, Dwayne traveled around a lot with his parents and watched his father perform in the ring. During his high school years, Dwayne began playing football and he soon received a full scholarship from the University of Miami, where he had tremendous success as a football player. In 1995, Dwayne suffered a back injury which cost him a place in the NFL. He then signed a three-year deal with the Canadian League but left after a year to pursue a career in wrestling.

He made his wrestling debut in the USWA under the name Flex Kavanah where he won the tag team championship with Brett Sawyer. In 1996, Dwayne joined the WWE and became Rocky Maivia where he joined a group known as "The Nation of Domination" and turned heel. Rocky eventually took over leadership of the "Nation" and began taking the persona of The Rock. After the "Nation" split, The Rock joined another elite group of wrestlers known as the "Corporation" and began a memorable feud with Steve Austin. Soon the Rock was kicked out of the "Corporation". He turned face and became known as "The Peoples Champion". In 2000, the Rock took time off from WWE to film his appearance in The Mummy Returns (2001). He returned in 2001 during the WCW/ECW invasion where he joined a team of WWE wrestlers at The Scorpion King (2002), a prequel to The Mummy Returns (2001).

Dwayne has a daughter, Simone Alexandra Johnson, born in 2001, with his ex-wife Dany Garcia, and daughters, Jasmine, born in 2015, and Tiana Gia, born in 2018, with his wife, singer and songwriter Lauren Hashian.

Cara Gee is a Canadian film, television, and stage actress.

Gee was primarily known as a stage actress in Toronto, Ontario, where her acting credits included productions of Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad, Daniel MacIvor's Arigato, Tokyo, Tomson Highway's The Rez Sisters, Cliff Cardinal's Stitch, Birdtown and Swanville's 36 Little Plays About Hopeless Girls and Louise Dupré's Tout Comme Elle.

She made her feature film debut in Empire of Dirt for which she was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award. The film also won a Special Jury award at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival and Cara won Best Actress at the American Indian Film Festival. In 2013, Gee was named one of TIFF's annual Rising Stars.

Gee has also worked in television, playing guest roles in the television series King and Republic of Doyle. In 2014, she starred as the lead character in the Western drama series Strange Empire on CBC Television, for one season until it was cancelled in 2015.

As of 2016, Gee stars in the 33-episode web series Inhuman Condition, which airs on the KindaTV YouTube channel. In 2017 she began to star in the recurring role of Camina Drummer on the Amazon television series The Expanse.

Gee is Ojibwe (Chippewa). She was born in Calgary, Alberta, and raised in Bobcaygeon, Ontario.

Tanaya Beatty was born on 12 February 1991 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She is an actress, known for Yellowstone (2018), Through Black Spruce (2018) and Hostiles (2017).

Rising star, Joshua Odjick is of Algonquin-Anishinabe/Cree heritage and hails from the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nations Community. Belonging to the Deer clan, he is recognized in ceremony as 'Nabigabow,' "he who replaces the first."

Odjick has been honored with two Canadian Screen Awards: Best Ensemble Performance for the acclaimed series "Little Bird" (2024) and Best Supporting Actor in the award-winning feature film "Wildhood" (2022), which also earned him a Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award.

His performance in "Wildhood" (directed by Bretten Hannam) was described as "scene-stealing" by Gary M. Kramer of Salon. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and has screened at numerous festivals worldwide.

Odjick is quickly gaining recognition as the new Stephen King "IT boy", with roles in multiple King adaptations, including the upcoming feature, "The Long Walk", directed by Francis Lawrence, known for his work on "I Am Legend" and "The Hunger Games" series ("Catching Fire, Mockingjay - Part 1", and "Mockingjay - Part 2"). Odjick will also appear in the HBO, IT prequel series, "Welcome to Derry", directed by Andy Muschietti, renowned for his work on the hit horror films "IT" (2017) and "IT Chapter Two" (2019).

In 2023, Odjick took on a lead roles in the series "The Swarm," an ecological thriller that explores the delicate interconnectedness between mankind and Earth, produced by Primetime Emmy Award winning producer Frank Doelger (known for "Game of Thrones").

Industry professionals have noted Odjick's rare, deep presence, often dubbing him the "Native Brando."

Having grown up on a reserve with relatives who are survivors of residential and day schools, Odjick brings an authenticity to his work, capturing the love, vulnerability and brokenness of his characters.

Odjick approaches everything from a place of Spirit.

He holds a powerful connection with his creator, his guardians, and the land with all the beautiful creatures who inhabit it. Odjick is grateful for the opportunity to have a platform to tell the stories, teachings, and traditions of his people.

Eric Schweig was born on 19 June 1967 in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada. He is an actor, known for The Last of the Mohicans (1992), Big Eden (2000) and Skins (2002). He was previously married to Leah ?.

Jemaine Clement was born and raised in Masterton, New Zealand, the oldest of three brothers. His mother is Maori. Clement was educated at Makoura College in Masterton, NZ. He went on to study drama and film at Victoria University of Wellington. Whilst there he met Taika Waititi, and they formed comedy troupes So You're a Man and The Humourbeasts. The Humourbeasts proved popular in New Zealand, touring extensively.

Clement also met Bret McKenzie at Victoria University, and they formed musical-comedy duo Flight of the Conchords. Flight of the Conchords went on to have considerable international success including tours, radio shows and TV spots, culminating in the well-received series Flight of the Conchords (2007). Clement was nominated for an Emmy for his performance in the show.

Film roles followed, including playing Jarrod in Taika Waititi's Eagle vs Shark (2007), Chevalier in Gentlemen Broncos (2009), Kieran in Dinner for Schmucks (2010) and Boris The Animal in the hit sequel Men in Black³ (2012).

The actress Tessa Lynn Thompson was born on October 3, 1983 in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of singer-songwriter Marc Anthony Thompson and the granddaughter of actor-musician Bobby Ramos. She was raised in Los Angeles before moving to Brooklyn, New York. Her father is of Afro-Panamanian ancestry and her mother is of Mexican and British Isles ancestry. Thompson attended Santa Monica High School, where she was featured in numerous theatre productions. After graduation, she enrolled at Santa Monica College, where she obtained a degree in cultural anthropology.

She starred as Juliet in William Shakespeare's drama "Romeo and Juliet" in a production held at the Boston Court Theatre in Pasadena, California. Her performance from earned her the NAACP Theatre nomination the same year. Away from the theatre stage, In 2005, Tessa made her first television appearance when she starred in the CBS series Cold Case (2003). Talented like her father Marc, Tessa's versatility extends to music, as a member of Electro Band, through which she has produced many songs, including one used in her film Dear White People (2017).

Since her acting career began in 2002, Tessa has played remarkable roles in popular television series and movies including Murder on the 13th Floor (2012), Make It Happen (2008), Red & Blue Marbles (2011), Selma (2014), Creed (2015), Creed II (2018), War on Everyone (2016), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Sorry to Bother You (2018), Annihilation (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Men in Black: International (2019), Lady and the Tramp (2019) and Sylvie's Love (2020).

Julian Dennison was born on 16 October 2002 in Wellington, New Zealand. He is an actor, known for Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), Deadpool 2 (2018) and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021).

Keisha Castle-Hughes was born on 24 March 1990 in Donnybrook, Western Australia, Australia. She is an actress and producer, known for FBI: Most Wanted (2020), Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021) and Game of Thrones (2011). She has been married to Donny Grahamer since 10 January 2021. They have one child. She was previously married to Jonathan Morrison.

Carmen has had an extensive career in film and television for over 25 years, with prominent roles in many fan favorite shows.

With a start in local theatre in Vancouver she quickly gained recognition with a couple of Jesse nominations. Auditions for film started a slew of guest starring and recurring roles on many popular TV series. From 2004-2005 Carmen played one of the leads, "Simone", in Vancouver's "Godiva's" and was nominated for her first Leo (BC Film/Television Awards) for her performance as the mysterious, sexy bartender. After Godiva's Carmen played the leading role of "Rebecca" in the Canadian Independent Feature Film "Unnatural & Accidental" and was honored for her performance with the Women in Film & Video Artistic Merit Award at the Vancouver Film Festival in 2006. She played the leading role of "Leona Stoney" for 5 seasons in APTN's multi-award winning Blackstone for which she won the 2011 Leo award and was nominated for a Gemini award; was nominated for another Leo in 2012 and 2015, and won the 2014 Leo Award and the 2016 Leo Award. She was nominated for a 2017 Canadian Screen Award for her performance in Blackstone's Series Finale. Carmen played "Loreen Cassway" for the 3 seasons of CBC's "Arctic Air" with Adam Beach, for which she was nominated for a Leo Award in 2012. The past few years have had her recurring on "Girlfriend's Guide to Divorce", "Arrow", "iZombie", "Chesapeake Shores" and the Fox series "Second Chance" in which she played "Special Agent in Charge Sue Adair". 2018 proved to be an exciting year. She found herself overseas in Scotland running through the forest with Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe aka "Jamie and Claire" as the fierce warrior "Wahkatiiosta" in Starz hit TV series "Outlander" Season 4. Once home, she jetted off to Quebec to shoot the leading role of "Susan Russel" in the Indy feature "Rustic Oracle", the story of a Mohawk woman desperately searching for her missing teenage daughter; meeting racism, ignorance, and indifference in the years following the Oka crises. Told through the lens of her 8-year-old daughter "Ivy" played by the brilliant "Lake Delisle". With several awards from film festivals (including two for Carmen so far for her heart wrenching performance) , Rustic is set for limited theatrical release across Canada soon. She was then off again near the end of 2018...and found herself in Ireland as a recurring guest star on another hit series...which she unfortunately is under strict gag orders about...more on that to come later ;) 2020 has Carmen guest starring in CTV's 4th Season of "Cardinal" as "Shiela Gagne", MLA and mysterious wife to district attorney Robert Quillen, as well as recurring as "Hannah Gruen" on The CW's "Nancy Drew".

Carmen was honored at the 2013 UBCP/ACTRA Awards with the "Lorena Gale Woman of Distinction Award", for her contribution to the empowerment of women in the Vancouver Film Industry. She has producing credits on two Feature Films, "Two Indians Talking" and "White Indians Walking", as well as a short film "Not Indian Enough". Carmen made her directorial debut on the short film "Ariel Unraveling", a BravoFact award winner, in 2015. Ariel premiered in February 2016 at the Victoria Film Festival.

Her biggest and most important production to date is her son Jaden.

Michelle St. John was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is an actress and producer, known for Pocahontas (1995), Every Emotion Costs (2010) and The Business of Fancydancing (2002).

Irene Bedard (born July 22, 1967) is an Alaska Native actress enrolled in the Native Village of Koyuk who has played many aboriginal American characters in a variety of television shows and films. She is best known for her voice role as the title character in the Disney animated film "Pocahontas," and the cult-classic "Smoke Signals" as Suzy Song. She is known for bringing a powerful emotional presence to her characters.

Bedard was born in Anchorage, Alaska, raised primarily in Alaska, but also spent a few years as a child in Washington state. Her father was Bruce Bedard, and mother was Carol Bedard, and she is their oldest of four - Leslie Bedard, Joseph Bedard and David Bedard are her younger siblings. She is Inupiaq and Yup'ik on her mother's side and Cree on her father's side. She graduated from Anchorage's Dimond High School in 1985, and then earned a Musical Theatre degree from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Bedard's son Quinn Wilson was born in 2003.

Her first role was as Mary Crow Dog in the television production, "Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee," which depicted the 1970s stand-off between police and aboriginal Americans, many of the Pine Ridge Reservation, at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. She received a Golden Globe nomination for the role. Besides the first Disney Pocahontas movie, she also voiced the sequel "Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World." Bedard was the physical model for the character. She appeared in a different take of the Pocahontas story in Terrence Malick's 2005 film "The New World," as Pocahontas' mother Nonoma Winanuske Matatiske. In 2005 she was cast in the television mini-series Into the West, portraying the half-Lakota, half-white Margaret "Light Shines" Wheeler. In 2011 Bedard portrayed the Messenger in the Academy Award-nominated film, "Tree of Life." In 2018, Bedard reprised her voiced role of Pocahontas for Disney's "Ralph Breaks the Internet."

Her television roles span from 1995, including Stephen Spielberg's "Into the West," "The Spectacular Spider-Man," "Longmire," "Westworld," and "FBI: Most Wanted." She has performed in two Stephen King series, 2017's "The Mist" as Kimi Lucero, and 2020's "The Stand" as Ray Rentner. In the 2017 she portrayed the future Co-President of the United States for the Jay-Z music video "Family Feud," directed by Ava Duverney.

Bedard's decades of creative work includes singing, theatre, spoken word, producing television and movies, speaking, and teaching. She fosters a passion of many creative disciplines, and is a great lover and adopter of non-human animals. Bedard was chosen in 1995 as one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People." She's served on the American Indian Enterprise and Business Council to the United Nations and is involved in frequent activist work around the environmental and aboriginal issues.

Graham Greene was born on 22 June 1952 in Six Nations Reserve, Ontario, Canada. He is an actor and writer, known for The Green Mile (1999), Wind River (2017) and Dances with Wolves (1990). He has been married to Hilary Blackmore since 20 December 1990. They have two children.