NDN Cast For The Godfather
Rod Pocowatchit has a great piece with the Wichita Eagle about NDN’s playing roles other than just buckskin wearing Indians to Hollywood’s Cowboys. He utilizes the Twilight: New Moon movie to platform for the thought.
It has been a long time coming. In recent years it was good to see Graham Greene in Die Hard 3 or Wes Studi in Kings.
Both playing roles where the character was never referenced as being NDN or any other ethnicity. For a long time I have been Star Trek fan and many times I have heard that the character Uhuru was important for Black people. Whoopi Goldberg, Martin Luther King Jr, and many others say it was important because it was the first time they saw a Black character that wasn’t in a stereotypical role. I had heard it, but now, I finally get it when I see Wes Studi in roles like Kings or see him across from Pacino in Heat. My favorite Studi role was an action big monster movie Deep Rising. Didn’t see him billed in the movie, so, was pleasantly surprised when he came on screen.
Adam Beach did an awesome job on Law and Order: SVU. His character, Detective Chester Lake, was referenced as being Mohawk but the show’s behind-the-scenes guys were nice enough not to “NDN him up.” They didn’t give him a necklace with a medicine bag, or no feathers anywhere, no cowboy hat, long hair, etc. Don’t recall any episodes where they said he was on a vision quest or went to sweat lodges. The biggest fuss they made about the characters being NDN were references to the Native steel workers who made New York’s skyscrapers. Refreshing to hear a lesser known piece of NDN history being referenced on TV. A proud piece too, rather than another Natives are victims story.
So, with the pleasant trend of Native actors going outside of stereotypes and with Hollywood’s lack of imagination in remaking classic films, I would like to see an NDN cast remake the Godfather. Gather up all the Hollywood Indians to play classic roles. Below are my suggestions of the role and the actor for NDN Godfather.
| Don Vito Corleone | Gary Farmer |
| This role needs girth, so Gary Farmer came to mind. Will need a bit of aging but shouldn’t be a problem for make-up. | |
| Michael Corleone | Adam Beach |
| Think he could pull this off with a wide eyed-innocent look in the beginning, then a world weariness at the end. | |
| Santino ‘Sonny’ Corleone | Wes Studi |
| Studi can do the rage of Santino, but he will have to work on the Sonny’s “softer side”. Sonny always seemed a bit bi-polar to me. | |
| Fredo Corleone | Rodney Grant |
| Just because. | |
| Tom Hagen | Graham Greene |
| Need someone who can do that wise and even tempered counselor. Greene proved he can do this with his Kicking Bird portrayal. | |
| Sal Tessio | Floyd Red Crow Westerman |
| Almost want to keep Abe Vigoda, but Floyd could pull-off being the betrayer. | |
| Connie Corleone | Elaine Miles |
| It would be nice to have a real NDN woman on the screen. Plus with all the screaming Connie does, it would be a nice contrast to Elaine’s quiet, stoic NDN woman role she did in that Alaska TV show. | |
| Kay Adams | Irene Bedard |
| Only Pocahontas will do for Michael Corleone. | |
| Michael’s First Wife Who Gets Blown-Up | Beyonce Knowles |
| OK, she isn’t NDN, but James Caan isn’t Italian either. | |
| Luca Brasi | Will Sampson* |
| Respectfully suggest the producers spend the dollars for computer generation to make it possible that he fill this role, ala Forrest Gump. | |
| Peter Clemenza | TBD |
| We need more round NDN actors, so this role should be filled by open casting call. Commod bods needed. | |
| Godfather 2 Young Vito Corleone |
Sonny Landham |
| According to this report he could really use the work. Plus in all his roles he never wore buckskin or rode a horse. That’s cool! | |
* In Requiem
Speaking of NDN actors stepping out of the Westerns, Will Sampson did this decades ago. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Vegas, Poltergeist II, all had Sampson in quality, non-typical roles. Personally, enjoyed seeing him Vegas as a kid, because he drove an old pick-up like we had. Plus, he was from Oklahoma (everybody knew someone who was related to him). Thought it was worth taking a moment and noting that there was a good NDN actor before Powwow Highway.
