Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Wes Studi is one of the more recognizable faces in American cinema.
(Read my review of ithere.)
And for more than three decades, Studi has been bringing uncommon depth to a wide variety of parts.
Studi never abandoned his activism.
He considers making films, especially influential ones, a responsibility.
He adds, A Love Songto me is the epitome of that road that Ive asked myself to travel.
I was not only surprised, I was aghast.
No, its definitely a departure from what Ive done before.
For one thing, it was my first movie kiss.
And a very touching script.
But they press forward, huh?
They press forward because thats what humans do.
Their earlier lives are just hinted at through lines of dialogue or even glances.
We get a sense of a very rich past, but we dont actually ever hear about it.
A drop of a head or the widening of an eye, the slitting of an eye.
Most of us in the current world, we communicate that way even if we dont use the words.
For a stage player, thats needed, right?
Thats the human condition.
We also get to see your musical side in this movie, which we often dont see in films.
But youve actually been in a rock band, called Firecat of Discord.Yeah, yeah.
Played that one time.
We played the Fillmore West and a number of Native casinos throughout the States.
That was in the 90s, I think.
So, yeah, Ive been there.
2, and No.
The way I see it is that Dale would be No.
1, and then the Lone Cone would be No.
2, and then Lito, my character, would be No.
And then after that, theres the crawdads.
But I had seen one of the shorts that Max shot somewhere in that same area.
He definitely incorporates the world that he is in love with there in Colorado.
And he does have a sensitivity that is different.
I mean, its not like John Ford.
Or its John Ford, but a much more sensitive John Ford, if you will.
Its very organic to me.
The short film that he allowed me to see before coming to work entranced me.
Great!I mean, were kind of alike in terms of what weve done before.
Our careers have been not the romantic leads.
Weve been the tough guys or something like that.
Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I think weve both been called scene-stealers.
So does that mean that other actors dont want to work with us?
It makes it very easy for me.
But it also keeps you on your toes.
You better be ready for anything that might happen.
But there are adventurous filmmakers in the world as well.
Ive been lucky enough to do what I call sort of crossover films for me.
I started out mainly in westerns, Native parts of all kinds.
Those films have cult followings practically.
Its just amazing how influential films can be.
Thats a responsibility as well.
AndA Love Songto me is the epitome of that road that Ive asked myself to travel.
But you cant blame audiences for saying,Oh, yeah, thats that Magua guy.
But now hes playing someone else.
And this Lito fellow inA Love Songdoesnt have to deal with all of the dramatic components of Maguas life.
Perhaps thats why there are so many silences in the film.
So we can think,Wow, what could it be that hes thinking now?
Whats he going to do?
I didnt expect that.So you leave it to the audience.
Throw it out there and see what happens.
That demonstrated your range fairly early on.Yeah, I think that was actually my first cop part.
I had just moved to Santa Fe at the time and was there for I dont know how long.
That was in the trade papers.
I think Ill call.
A guy answers and says, Who is this?
I explained who I was.
Hold on a second.
And amazingly enough, Michael gets on the phone.
Hey, how are you doing?
He kind of chuckled at that.
And then went on to talk about something else.
Quite the learning experience that film was for me.
We did ride-alongs with county police.
And we were in the Rampart area of the city, patrolling with this one fellow.
And a call comes in about a gang shooting that started with someone in a wheelchair.
Someone in a wheelchair just got popped.
And then within 30 to 45 minutes, there was a reciprocal shooting of the other gang.
But that one and three others had been shot that night.
I dont remember the fatality rate.
That all happened within something like four hours on one evening in that part of town.
It was something that these guys have to deal with on a daily basis.
So that certainly informed the characters that we played, I think.
Youve done a lot of genre movies, particularly westerns.
And so how do you deal with that?
I want to work.
I want to become an actor.
But whats offered me at first is a perpetuation of the American myth.
Well, maybe I can have an effect here.
But I think that film was one of the first steps in recognizing the humanity of everyone involved.
People said that its likeLawrence of Arabia, and certainly, yes, it was to some extent.
I hate to get off onto a rant here, but the pope is in Canada, right?
Youve heard about the apology from the pope and all.
But I will stop there on that.
About two months into the whole thing, the other Native in my company committed suicide.
I never realized why.
What are we doing over here?
A lot of them stopped going out in the field, stopped participating.
So they were hauled off to jail in Long Binh for defying orders.
There were times that our company would have to relocate entire villages of people.
What it reminded me of was the relocation of Cherokees from the Southeast to Oklahoma and to Indian Territory.
The Trail of Tears, all of that.
The other thing was my skin color and what I looked like.
There would be times when Vietnamese guys who had surrendered they were called Chieu Hois would be our scouts.
Sometimes I would talk to them or interact with them despite language being a barrier.
But they would say things to me like, Hey, you same, same Vietnamese.
Go like that [points to the skin on his hand].
You same, same Vietnamese.
And I would begin to think about that.
That was a sociopolitical awakening on my part.
I got involved with Vietnam Veterans Against the War around that time.
We began to learn more about the idea of our own sovereignty in the States.
That was what activated most of the youngsters in universities and colleges at the time.
Thats what built the movement.
And then after that, the American Indian Movement started up in MinneapolisSt.
Paul and then spread from there.
Was it true you were under FBI surveillance for a while?Sure.
They used to sit in front of the house there.
In fact, we started waving at each other after a while.
It was a Marine base there or something.
Dont look like a soldier.
I remember getting off the plane into the airport and moved around in underground hallways.
Moved to one place or another where we got civilian clothes.
Its just now blossoming actually in terms of how many more are involved in different aspects of filmmaking.
Are audiences getting smarter on such matters now?I think they are.
And theyre beginning to realize that theyve been fed a lot of mythology.
I think people are learning more about who we are.
And oddly enough, theyre beginning to not only deal with it but to enjoy what theyre learning.
This is not a new thing.
Mythology has always been used to further a cause.
In this case, the cause was building the American dream.
Where does it come from?
But were getting closer to it.
I mean, self-examination doesnt hurt from time to time.
And to know how you really came about is better than not knowing, I think.
