Arthur Redcloud facts for kids
Arthur Redcloud is an actor who is a member of the Native American community. He is well-known for playing the character Hikuc in the 2015 movie The Revenant.
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Early Life and Background
Arthur Redcloud is from the Navajo people, which is a large Native American nation. He grew up in Window Rock, Arizona, which is located on the Navajo reservation. After high school, he went to Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas. Later, he made his home in Colleyville, Texas. Before becoming a full-time actor, Redcloud worked as a police officer and a security guard.
Starting His Acting Journey
The movie The Revenant was Arthur Redcloud's first big role in a major film. Before this, he had taken some acting classes and worked in smaller movies for a few years.
Auditioning for The Revenant
To try out for the part of Hikuc, Redcloud took time off from his job. He was working as a fuel delivery driver at the time. He drove 635 miles from Dallas, Texas, all the way to Santa Fe, New Mexico, in just one night. He wanted to audition for the role of Hikuc, a Pawnee man who helps the main character, Hugh Glass. Hugh Glass was played by the famous actor Leonardo DiCaprio. After a second audition in Canada, Redcloud got the part.
Filming The Revenant
Redcloud shared that making the movie was very challenging. The actors often rehearsed for 12 to 14 hours a day in very cold weather. They filmed near Calgary, Alberta, in Canada, and later in Argentina. He described the film as a "spiritual awakening" for him. It helped him feel closer to his co-star Leonardo DiCaprio and the rest of the cast. It also made him understand how much harder life was for people in the past. He thought about how difficult it must have been for his own ancestors and others to survive long ago.
Honoring Native Cultures in Film
Redcloud has praised the movie's director, Alejandro G. Innaritu. He believes the director helped show Native American and First Nations people in a respectful way. He also said the director was open to learning about their cultures from the actors. Redcloud felt the movie truly showed the spirit of his people and honored their ancestors.
For his role, Redcloud studied the time period his character lived in. He also learned some of the Pawnee language. The healing prayers that Redcloud speaks in the movie are actually Navajo blessings. These blessings were passed down to him from his grandfather, who was a medicine man. Redcloud also credits his grandfather's knowledge for a scene where his character quickly builds a shelter in the wild. This scene was mostly made up on the spot during filming.
Leonardo DiCaprio mentioned that Redcloud inspired him to eat raw bison liver in the movie. Redcloud's own ancestors used to eat raw bison meat when they traveled.
Recent Work
In 2022, Arthur Redcloud played a Mabo warrior in an episode of the HBO series Our Flag Means Death. This was in the second episode of the first season.
