Rod Rondeaux is a Native American actor and stuntman. As an actor, his work includes the 2005 miniseries '' Into the West'', ''

Comanche Moon ''Comanche Moon'' (1997) is a Western novel by American writer Larry McMurtry. It is the fourth and final book he published in the ''Lonesome Dove'' series. In terms of chronology, it is the second installment of the narrative. A Comanche Moon ...

'' in 2008, the Cayuse character in the 2010

Kelly Reichardt Kelly Reichardt (; born March 3, 1964) is an American film director and screenwriter. She is known for her minimalism, minimalist films closely associated with slow cinema, many of which deal with working class, working-class characters in small ...

film '' Meek's Cutoff'' (in which he co-starred with

Bruce Greenwood Stuart Bruce Greenwood (born August 12, 1956) is a Canadian actor and producer. He has starred in five films by Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan and has been nominated for three Canadian Screen Awards, once for Best Actor for '' Elephant Song'' ...

Shirley Henderson Shirley Henderson (born 24 November 1965) is a Scottish actress. Her accolades include two Scottish BAFTAs, a VFCC Award and an Olivier Award, as well as BAFTA, BIFA, London Critics' Circle, Chlotrudis, Gotham, and Canadian Screen Award n ...

Will Patton William Rankin Patton (born June 14, 1954) is an American actor. He starred as Colonel Dan Weaver in the TNT science fiction series '' Falling Skies''.Paul Dano Paul Franklin Dano (; born June 19, 1984) is an American actor. His work includes both independent and mainstream projects, and his accolades include nominations for a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Primetime Emmy Awa ...

, and

Michelle Williams Michelle Williams or Michele Williams may refer to: * Michelle Ann Williams (born circa 1965), American public health scholar * Michelle Williams (singer) (born 1979), American singer, previously a member of Destiny's Child * Michelle Williams (actr ...

), and the lead role in the 2015 film, ''

Mekko ''Mekko'' is a 2015 American drama film directed by Sterlin Harjo. Harjo's third feature film, it is a thriller set among a community of homeless Native Americans in Tulsa. Plot Mekko leaves prison, having served a long sentence for having kil ...

''. His stunt work includes ''

Reel Injun ''Reel Injun'' is a 2009 Canadian documentary film directed by Cree filmmakers Neil Diamond, Catherine Bainbridge, and Jeremiah Hayes that explores the portrayal of Native Americans in film. ''Reel Injun'' is illustrated with excerpts from cla ...

'' and ''Comanche Moon''.

Background

Rondeaux is a citizen of the

Crow Tribe The Crow, whose Endonym and exonym, autonym is Apsáalooke (), are Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans living primarily in southern Montana. Today, the Crow people have a List of federally recognized tribes in the United St ...

and is also of

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

descent. He grew up on the

Crow Indian Reservation The Crow Indian Reservation is the homeland of the Crow Tribe. Established 1868, the reservation is located in parts of Big Horn, Yellowstone, and Treasure counties in southern Montana in the United States. The Crow Tribe has an enrolled membe ...

in Montana. For years, Rondeaux was on the rodeo circuit as a horse rider, bull rider, steer wrestler and team roper. His entry into film stunt work was accidental. He was asked to be the double for actor

Michael Greyeyes Michael Greyeyes (born June 4, 1967) is a First Nations ( Muskeg Lake Cree Nation) actor, dancer, choreographer, director, and educator. In 1996, Greyeyes portrayed Crazy Horse in the television film ''Crazy Horse''. In 2018, Greyeyes portrayed ...

in the film ''

Crazy Horse Crazy Horse ( , ; – September 5, 1877) was a Lakota people, Lakota war leader of the Oglala band. He took up arms against the United States federal government to fight against encroachment by White Americans, White American settlers on Nativ ...

''. In 2001, he received the outstanding achievement in stunts award from the First Americans in the Arts. Rondeaux won two awards for his role in the 2015 film, ''Mekko''. He won the best actor award at the 40th Annual

American Indian Film Festival The American Indian Film Festival is an annual non-profit film festival in San Francisco, California, United States. It is the world's oldest venue dedicated solely to Native American/First Nations films and prepared the way for the 1979 formati ...

and at the 2015

Red Nation Film Festival The Red Nation Film Festival is a film festival focused on films about indigenous people. The festival was founded in 1995 and is curated by Joanelle Romero. It is unconnected to The Red Nation. History The Red Nation Film Festival was fo ...

Career

Rondeaux's earliest role was as Tall Bull in the 1996 film ''Crazy Horse,'' which was directed by

John Irvin John Irvin (born 7 May 1940) is an English film director. Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, he began his career by directing a number of documentaries and television works, including the BBC Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (miniseries), ada ...

. For his role in '' Meek's Cutoff,'' as a mysterious and suddenly appearing Native American who joins a lost wagon train on the Oregon Trail, the language he spoke was his own native tongue. Rondeaux had his first lead role in the 2015 film, ''''

''. He played a man who served 19 years incarcerated for murder. Upon his release he discovers his family doesn’t want to have anything to do with him. He has to come to terms with his current situation. In addition, he also has to deal with a violent man (played by

Zahn McClarnon Zahn Tokiya-ku McClarnon is a Native American actor. Since 2022, he has played the lead role of Joe Leaphorn in the AMC series ''Dark Winds'', of which he is also an executive producer. He first came to prominence with key supporting performanc ...

). Director

Sterlin Harjo Sterlin Harjo (born November 14, 1979)Sam Lewin, , ''Native Times News'', reprinted in ''Canku Ota'', May 24, 2004 (article gives his age as 24 in 2004). is a Native Americans in the United States, Native American filmmaker from Oklahoma. He is ...

actually cast Rondeaux the night before the shooting began. Having talked to the actor a couple of times, Harjo had a good feeling about him. With Rondeaux's background as a rodeo bull rider and Hollywood stuntman, he felt he had the right life experience for the role. Film critic Dennis Harvey of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' complimented Rod Rondeaux's "soulful performance", and made comparisons the film to two classic films set on

skid row A skid row, also called skid road, is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people " on the skids". This specifically refers to people who are poor or homeless, considered disre ...

, ''

On the Bowery ''On the Bowery'' is a 1956 American docufiction film directed by Lionel Rogosin. The film, Rogosin's first feature was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film. After the Second World War, Lionel Rogosin made a vow to ...

'' (1956) and '' The Exiles'' (1961). Rondeaux played Raymond in Babak Jalali's 2018 film, ''Land''. Also in 2018, he was in Susanna White's ''Woman Walks Ahead''.Turner Classic Movies
Woman Walks Ahead (2018
/ref>

Filmography (actor)

References

External links

Imdb: Rod Rondeaux

Teddy O'Toole's: Stuntman from Montana: The Rod Rondeaux Story
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rondeaux, Rod 1958 births American male television actors Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors Native American male actors Male actors from Los Angeles Crow Tribe people American people of Cheyenne descent