11 thoughts on “MCM: Wes Studi

  1. I love Wes Studi! I’m always delighted when he appears in a movie. I guess my favorite would have to be Last of the Mohicans since it is one of my favorite movies. His character is a baddie, but really you do get to see things from his point of view- and partly because of Studi’s amazing acting. And he has an unforgettable face.

  2. Wes Studio could absolutely play non-Native American roles with that striking face. I hope his career hasn’t been limited by his ethnicity.

    1. Not at all; he has had a long run playing heavies in action flicks. My fave costume piece would have to be Penny Dreadful.

    2. He’s done some roles that I don’t think were written as “Native American”– largely action/SF/comic book movies like MORTAL COMBAT (as “Viktor Sagat”), DEEP RISING (as “Hanover”), ICE PLANET (as “Commander Noah Trager”), and MYSTERY MEN (as superhero “the Sphinx”)– but also a few serious roles like HEAT (as “Det. Sammy Casals”).

      1. Quick correction… and it is only because I love both of the fantastic bits of stinking cheese that are Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter that I am pointing this out. Wes Studi was Viktor Sagat in Street Fighter and not Mortal Kombat. If you have not seen Street Fighter I recommend it for the magnificent scene chewing done by Raul Julia. : )

  3. Indeed a familiar face, although I’ve not seen any of these movies. Mainly because they’re almost entirely male character and war story driven and I have no time for either no matter where or when they’re set. I’d love to see more women centred stories about Native Americans. I do get that stories around conflict between colonials and Native American people are an opportunity to tell the other side, but they also constantly put colonials at the centre again. the Colonial Gaze, is that a thing?

  4. Such a wonderful actor! If I had to pick, I’d say my favorite is his turn as Magua.

    I also really enjoy his contemporaneous roles as well, such as Heat. He’s got range.

    1. I don’t remember him in Into the West, although I know he was in it. I think it’s time for me to break out my DVD of the series, even though it angers me to bits. I don’t have a favorite—Wes brings his all to every role.

  5. I saw “Dances with Wolves” when it came out, and was underwhelmed, perhaps because it seemed like just another white male actor-turned-director’s idea of himself as martyr-savior. (Portraying his Lakota allies as uniformly virtuous and wise was doubtless well-intentioned, but lazy.) The one scene I remember liking was the non-virtuous Pawnee (?) warrior galloping up the river to his death, screaming defiance. Was that Wes Studi? (Tried but failed to find the scene on YouTube.) He is beautiful.

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