Trivia: Is Plains Cree, his mother is from the Sweetgrass First Nation, and his father is from the Muskeg Lake First Nation. Apprenticed with The National Ballet of Canada after graduating from there and later joined the company as a Corps de Ballet member in 1987.Acting career began when he was cast as Juh in the 1993 TV movie Geronimo.Directed and choreographed the first Cree language opera, Pimooteewin a.k.a. The Journey, with music by Melissa Hui and libretto by Tomson Highway for Soundstreams Canada in 2008.Founded the company Signal Theatre, which explores intercultural and transdisciplinary live performance, in 2010.

Trivia: Full-blooded Cherokee actor Wes Studi didn't discover his true calling until much later in life than most actors. Stricken by his vocational teacher's early advice that he should be realistic and settle for life as a low-paid and under-appreciated worker, Studi admits that the advice cast a shadow under which he lived for years, uninspired to seek his fortune in the face of overwhelming adversity and slim odds of finding true success.Born in Nofire Hollow, OK, in 1946 (or maybe 1947), Studi laughingly admits that there is some uncertainty to the actual date), the soft-spoken actor was the eldest of four sons and spent the majority of his childhood in Northeastern Oklahoma. The son of a ranch hand, Studi received his early education at Chilocco Indian School before graduating high school and being drafted into the army. Soon after being drafted Studi served 18 months in Vietnam.Returning disillusioned by the horrors of war and the sometimes hostile reception that veterans received, Studi drifted for a couple of years, spending much of his time traveling and visiting his old Vietnam buddies. Seeking further sustenance, Studi entered Tulsa Junior College on the G.I. Bill. After Tulsa, Studi became inspired to make a difference in peoples lives, soon joining the American Indian Movement. Later attending Tahlequah University, Studi made further attempts at positive influence in his work with the Cherokee Nation. Though he had been married previously, the relationship had failed and Studi remarried in 1974. Working for the Tulsa Indian Times while his wife worked as a teacher, the couple had two children while living in their Tulsa ranch before his second marriage suffered the same unfortunate fate as his first. It was the breakup of this marriage that found Studi discovering his true calling as an actor. Studi found success appearing in theater as well as in productions for Nebraska Public Television in the summer of 1985. It was after Studi's role in the 1988 PBS production The Trial of Standing Bear that he fully realized his passion for acting. Soon deciding to make the fateful move to Los Angeles, Studi found work in such films as Dances With Wolves (1990) and Last of the Mohicans (1992) before taking a starring role in 1993's Geronimo: An American Legend. Making memorable appearances in such films as Heat (1995), Crazy Horse (1996), and Deep Rising (1998), Studi flourished in his new calling, finding frequent work with his expressive features and warm sense of humor.

Trivia: Portly American character actor Ned Beatty originally planned to enter the clergy, but after appearing in a single high-school play, he changed his mind and decided to become a thespian instead. By his early twenties, Beatty was playing Broadway and it was his work in the play The Great White Hope that attracted the interest of film director John Boorman, who cast him as one of the four main stars in his gripping backwoods thriller Deliverance (1972). Forever immortalized in the notorious "squeal like a pig" rape scene, Beatty subsequently went on to become one of the screen's more prolific supporting actors, frequently appearing in up to four films per year. His more notable film work includes Nashville (1975), All the President's Men (1976), Network (for which he earned an Oscar nomination), The Big Easy (1987), Hear My Song (1991), A Prelude to a Kiss (1992), Radioland Murders (1994), and He Got Game (1998). In 1999, he could be seen as a small-town sheriff in the Robert Altman ensemble film Cookie's Fortune.At the start of the 21st century the always-employed character actor continued to work steadily in projects as diverse as Roughing It, Where the Red Fern Grows, Shooter, and Charlie Wilson's War. He joined the Pixar family when he voiced Lotso, the bad guy in Toy Story 3, and he provided the voice of Mayor in 2011's Oscar winning animated feature Rango.

Trivia: Peter Horton became a familiar face with his role on the late-80's drama thirtysomething. He would go on to appear in numerous projects, like Brimstone and The Geena Davis Show, in addition to stepping behind the camera as a producer on series like Grey's Anatomy and The Philanthropist.

Trivia: Is of Cree descent and has played First Nations characters in a number of productions such as Tecumseh in documentary series Canada: A People's History.Was the first Aboriginal student to earn a BFA in Acting from the University of Alberta.Is a former rugby player and is a rugby union enthusiast.Played rugby for the Edmonton Druids RFC and later for the Strathcona Druids.Co-directed the documentary Chasing Lear which is about the all-Aboriginal cast National Arts Centre theatre production of King Lear in which Lorne played the Duke of Albany.

Trivia: With a countenance that can effortlessly suggest a beleaguered everyman or a no-nonsense tough, American character actor John Finn has sustained a prolonged and impressively varied career. A New York City native, Finn received one of his earliest assignments under the aegis of Stuart Rosenberg, as Ginty in the ethnic drama (and cult hit) The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984). The actor's resumé over the following ten years packed in a series of key Hollywood films of varying quality -- from the wonderful Ed Zwick drama Glory (1989) and the fine Alan Pakula political thriller The Pelican Brief (1993) to the Bob Clark buddy comedy Loose Cannons (1990). Finn also appeared in occasional telemovies, notably the 1991 Posing: Inspired by Three Real Stories, as Jimmy Lanahan, the husband of homemaker-turned-Playmate Meredith Lanahan (Lynda Carter). After appearances on such hit series as The X-Files, Frasier, and NYPD Blue, and parts in the major studio releases Catch Me If You Can and Analyze That (2002), Finn landed one of his first regular series roles, playing Lieutenant John Stillman on the popular detective program Cold Case.

Trivia: Renowned as both an actor and an activist, Gordon Tootoosis was born into a large family in Saskatchewan, Canada in 1941. Though Tootoosis' family lived a traditional Cree lifestyle, and were committed to preserving the culture of their native people, he was removed from his home and taken to a government run residential school at a young age, where he was forbidden from speaking his native language or practicing its traditions. This would help inspire the young man to commit even more strongly to his heritage, and he would go on to remain a vocal advocate for aboriginal rights, in addition to playing numerous roles that showcased native cultures, including Joe Saugus in the 2002 series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, and Albert Golo on North of 60. Tootoosis would also help found the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company, and serve as vice president of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations. Tootoosis passed away in 2011 at the age of 69.