Diné actor shares journey to ‘The Revenant’
Navajo Times | submitted Forrest Goodluck joins actor Leonardo DiCaprio and director Alejandro González Iñárritu at the Los Angeles premiere of “The Revenant” in December.
WINDOW ROCK
For the Native American actor who made his debut in “The Revenant” in 2015, success came on quickly after working since childhood.
In one way or another Forrest Goodluck has been acting and creating films his whole life, but he said he didn’t know he would make it his career until after the release of “The Revenant” when he got a subsequent role in a Hulu production called “Citizen.”
“I think I knew it was a career a couple months ago when Citizen came about, realizing it wasn’t just The Revenant” as a one-time gig,” he said.
“I think the universe kind of gives you what you need when you need it, and “Citizen” came up,” he said. “I’m realizing that this is a project that may turn into a huge, long project for me. I’m feeling like that is a solid career path.”
Goodluck is Diné on his father Kevin Goodluck’s side. His mother, Laurie Goodluck, is from the Mandan and Hidatsa tribes of North Dakota and the Tsimshian people native to Alaska. His parents raised him in Albuquerque.
Before working alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy for that film, the 17-year-old had already made two films of his own and earned recognition for his work.
In fact, he had a busy and successful two years as a filmmaker before The Revenant came out.
In 2013, he won a youth award at the Santa Fe Indian Market for his film “Sun Kink” and followed that up with a 2014 win for “Malady’s Muddy Waters” at the same festival the next year.
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