Arthur Redcloud is aNative American actor, known for his role as Hikuc in the 2015 filmThe Revenant.
Redcloud isNavajo and grew up inWindow Rock, Arizona,[1] on theNavajo reservation. He attendedHaskell Indian Nations University inLawrence, Kansas, then eventually settled inColleyville, Texas.[2] Redcloud became a Christian in the early 2000s, and while working as a part-time security guard forGateway Church when he was a police officer, he began attending weekend services in 2004.[3]
The Revenant was Redcloud's first role in a major feature film. Before it, he had taken some acting classes and acted for two to three years inlow budget films.[4] For his audition, Redcloud took time off from his job as a fuel delivery driver and drove 635 miles fromDallas,Texas toSanta Fe, New Mexico in one night to try out for the part of Hikuc, aPawnee man who comes to the aid ofHugh Glass (played byLeonardo DiCaprio). After a call-back audition in Canada, he got the part.[5]
To make the film, Redcloud said the actors frequently rehearsed for 12 to 14 hours in the freezing cold nearCalgary,Alberta, and later inArgentina.[6] He called the film a "spiritual awakening" for him that not only brought him closer to his co-star DiCaprio and the rest of the cast but made him appreciate how much more difficult life was for everyone in the past. He said, "I think we're forgetting about how hard it was for not just their ancestors, but people like your own lineage of your family. What was it like for your grandfather's grandfather to make it, and to get through whatever."[7]
He has credited directorAlejandro G. Innaritu for correcting perceptions ofNative andFirst Nations people in his film and for being open to learning about their culture from his Native and First Nations actors.[8] "This film gets to the heart of our people as far as who we are and what we are, and also honors our ancestors," he said.[9] For the role, Redcloud researched his character's time period and learned thePawnee language.[10] The healing prayers that Redcloud speaks in the film are Navajo blessings that were handed down to him from hismedicine man grandfather. He also credits his grandfather's knowledge for a mostly improvised scene when his character creates an impromptu shelter in the wild.[11]
DiCaprio said that Redcloud, whose ancestors ate rawbison meat on their migrations, gave him the strength and incentive to eat raw bison liver in the film.[12]
In 2022, Redcloud played the role of a Mabo warrior in the HBO seriesOur Flag Means Death (Season 1, Episode 2).