‘Dark Winds’ star Zahn McClarnon: ‘It’s a unique time in Native representation’
09.06.2022 - 02:25
/ nypost.com
Robert Redford was in, he was kind of a ladies’ man and he used to carry around a toothbrush in his mouth. And my parents couldn’t get that toothbrush out of my mouth when I was 5 years old.
He was a huge inspiration to me growing up.” McClarnon, one of Hollywood’s most prolific Native American actors (“Fargo,” “Westworld,” “Hawkeye”) stars in “Dark Winds,” premiering Sunday, June 12 (9 p.m.) Based on a book series by Tony Hillerman, the drama is set in 1971 in a remote outpost of the Navajo Nation near Monument Valley. The plot follows Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn (McClarnon) of the Tribal Police, who is joined by his new deputy, Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon, “Twilight”), as they investigate a series of crimes that initially seem unrelated — but end up connecting to Leaphorn’s past. Chee, who left the reservation to attend college and has recently returned, is an eager colleague but also has his own agenda.Leaphorn is savvy and competent in the field, but his personal life is in shambles after the death of his son.
Together with Chee, he investigates a double murder and navigates the interfering presence of the FBI, led by smarmy Agent Whitover (Noah Emmerich), who are also interested in the case because of a high-profile bank robbery that occurred nearby — and exposing how law enforcement behaves differently when the victims are Indigenous. “Like every character that I play, I bring my own life experiences [to Leaphorn],” said McClarnon, who is Lakota. “After all, yes, I’m playing the character, but it’s still Zahn, and I have to draw from my own personal tragedies and dysfunctional relationship.
I grew up on and off the reservation. I spent a lot of time with my grandparents in Montana at the Blackfeet Reservation when I was a
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