Adam Beach

Adam Rueben Beach (born November 11, 1972) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles as Victor Joseph in Smoke Signals; Frank Fencepost in Dance Me Outside; Tommy on Walker, Texas Ranger; Kickin' Wing in Joe Dirt; US Marine Corporal Ira Hayes in Flags of Our Fathers; Private Ben Yahzee in Windtalkers; Dr. Charles Eastman (Ohiyesa) in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee; NYPD Detective Chester Lake in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit; and Officer Jim Chee in the film adaptations of Skinwalkers, Coyote Waits and A Thief of Time. He starred in the Canadian 2012–2014 series Arctic Air and played Slipknot in the 2016 film Suicide Squad. He also performed as Squanto in Disney's historical drama film Squanto: A Warrior's Tale. Most recently he has starred in Hostiles as Black Hawk and the Netflix original film Juanita (2019) as Jess Gardiner and Edward Nappo in Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog.

Early life Adam Beach was born in Ashern, Manitoba. He is Saulteaux Anishinaabe and has some Icelandic roots through his great-grandmother. Beach spent his early years with his parents and two brothers on the Lake Manitoba/Dog Creek First Nation Reserve at Lake Manitoba. When Beach was eight years old, his mother, Sally Beach, eight months pregnant with a baby girl, was killed by a drunk driver. Eight weeks after his mother's death, the family discovered their father Dennis Beach had drowned near the community. It is unclear whether his death was an accident or suicide.

Adam and his two brothers initially lived with their grandmother; he was with her from age 8 to 12. Five years after their parents' deaths, the three brothers were taken to Winnipeg to live with an aunt and paternal uncle: Agnes and Chris Beach (his father's brother). Adam refers to his Uncle Chris as "Dad".

Beach attended a drama class at Gordon Bell High School. He began performing in local theatre productions and eventually dropped out of school to take a lead role at the Manitoba Theatre for Young People.

Career Beach has a long list of diverse portrayals. He saw acting as a catharsis and turned to theatre as a venue to express his feelings and tell his own personal stories. At age 18, Beach won a small role in the miniseries Lost in the Barrens, based on the Farley Mowat novel. In the following years, he continued to work in local theatre and guest-starred on television shows such as Walker, Texas Ranger and Touched by an Angel. Shortly afterwards, Beach was cast as a regular on the television shows North of 60 and The Rez. After his performance in Dance Me Outside, he starred in Smoke Signals, which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

In 2002, Windtalkers, starring Beach, was released in theatres; it was about Navajo codetalkers working with the US Marines during World War II. To prepare for this role, Beach spent six months learning the Navajo language. He used this language in his next project, Skinwalkers, based on a novel by Tony Hillerman and directed by Chris Eyre, who had given him his break-out role in Smoke Signals. Between large-scale projects, Beach made small television appearances on such shows as JAG and Third Watch. Also, in 2003, he returned to the character that he first portrayed in Skinwalkers in the movie Coyote Waits, also based on a Hillerman novel. He also made a guest appearance in the hit show The Dead Zone as a Native shaman (in the episode "Shaman").

In 2006, Beach portrayed Ira Hayes in Clint Eastwood's feature film Flags of Our Fathers. During the filming of this movie, both Beach's grandmother and his best friend died. Beach commented, "And if you add those up, there's a lot of emotion. When you're doing a movie, when you let go emotionally, there's nothing to grab onto," he said about the deaths. About playing the part, Beach said, "For me, playing Ira was a meaningful relationship. I would call it – trying to find out how he was, or how he thought and felt". In 2007, Beach starred in HBO Films' adaptation of Dee Brown's history, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. In the film, Beach portrays Charles Eastman (Dakota name Ohiyesa), a doctor, Sioux advocate and author. He explores and expresses the changing understanding of Aboriginal-US relations during the period leading up to the Wounded Knee Massacre.

In addition to starring in the Canadian television series Moose TV, Beach is executive-producing and starring in the movie Older Than America. The independent feature is filmed in Cloquet, Minnesota, mostly on the Fond du Lac Ojibwe reservation. He joined the cast of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Detective Chester Lake for the show's ninth season after guest-starring in season eight. In April 2008, TV Guide announced that he would not return for the show's tenth season. He later stated he grew disillusioned with the strictly procedural nature of the show and opted to leave after the finish of the ninth season.

Starting in 2009, Beach played a supporting role on the HBO series Big Love as a manager in an Indian casino with Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton). On February 10, 2010, it was announced that Beach will portray Tommy Prince, the Canadian war hero, in an upcoming movie about his life. According to Bay Film Studios, the movie will be a "true account of Canada's most highly decorated First Nations soldier." Beach said he is honoured to portray Prince, calling him a positive role model for all First Nations. In 2011, he starred in Cowboys & Aliens, an American science fiction Western film directed by Jon Favreau and starring Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde. The film is based on the 2006 graphic novel of the same name created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg. Also in 2011, Beach returned to Canada to star in the TV series Arctic Air, which premiered on January 12, 2012. In 2015, Beach appeared on several episodes of Backstrom as Sheriff Jesse Rocha. In 2017, he played Black Hawk in Hostiles, starring Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike and Wes Studi.

In 2022 Beach was selected as host of the Canadian chainsaw carving competition show A Cut Above.

Personal life

Adam Beach has been married three times and has three children. He has two sons with his first wife, Meredith Porter (married 1999–2002). He did not have children with his second wife, Tara Mason (married 2003⁠–⁠2007). In 2008, his current wife, Summer Tiger, gave birth to a daughter.

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result 1995 American Indian Film Festival Best Actor Dance Me Outside First American in the Arts Awards Best Actor My Indian Summer 1998 San Diego World Film Festival Best Actor Smoke Signals 2006 Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor Flags of Our Fathers Satellite Awards Best Supporting Actor 2007 American Indian Film Festival Best Actor Luna: Spirit of the Whale 2008 Golden Globe Award Best Actor — Mini-Series or Television Film Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee Image Awards Outstanding Actor 2012Indspire AwardsArts Himself 2015 Canadian Screen Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role Arctic Air

Filmography Films

Television Year Title Role Tribe Notes 1990 Lost in the Barrens Hunting Party Member Television film 1993 Spirit Rider Paul LeBlanc Television film 1993–1995 North of 60 Nevada 4 episodes 1995 Walker, Texas Ranger Tommy Bright Hawk Episode: "On Sacred Ground" CBS Schoolbreak Special Ben Episode: "My Indian Summer" 1996 Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years Red Crow Lakota Episode: "Medicine"Touched by an Angel Dillon New Eagle Episode: "Written in Dust" The Rez Charlie Ojibwe 1997 Dead Man's Gun Tom Nez Perce Episode: "Medicine Man" 2001 Higher Ground Aaron Reifel Episode: "What Remains" 2002Skinwalkers Officer Jim Chee Navajo Television filmBliss Angel Episode: "Valentine's Day in Jail" The Dead Zone Shaman Episode: "Shaman" 2003 Coyote Waits Officer Jim Chee Navajo Television filmEverwood Mr. Grey Cloud Episode: "Unhappy Holidays"Third Watch Christian 2 episodes 2004 Officer Jim Chee NavajoTelevision filmJAG Marcus Tillco Episode: "Whole New Ball Game" 2005 Johnny Tootall Johnny Tootall Nuu-chah-nulth Television film 2007 Moose TV George Keeshig Cree 8 episodesBury My Heart at Wounded Knee Charles Eastman (Ohiyesa) Sioux Television film 2007–2008 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Det. Chester Lake Mohawk Main role, 21 episodes2008 Comanche Moon Blue Duck Comanche 3 episodesWapos Bay Himself Voice role 2010Big Love Tommy Flute Blackfoot 9 episodesHawaii Five-0 Navy Seal Graham Episode: "Ho'apono" 2011 Combat Hospital Joe / Snake Eater 3 episodes 2012–2014 Arctic Air Bobby Martin Main role, 35 episodes 2013 Hell on Wheels Red Bear Kiowa Episode: "The Game" 2015 Backstrom Cooch County Captain Jesse Rocha 3 episodes 2017 Monsters of God Sees Two Moons Television film 2019 Drunk History Richard Oakes Episode: "National Parks"Supernatural Sheriff Mason Episode: "Don't Go in the Woods" 2019–2020 Nancy Drew Chief E.O. McGinnis 7 episodes 2020 The Good Doctor Billy Carr Season 4 episode 4: "Not the Same" 2022 A Cut Above Host TBA Avatar: The Last Airbender Chief Hakoda