Zahn Tokiya-ku McClarnon (born October 24, 1966) is an American actor known for his performances in the Western crime drama series ''
Longmire'', the
second season of ''
Fargo'', and the
second season of ''
Westworld
''Westworld'' is an American science fiction-thriller media franchise that began with the 1973 film ''Westworld'', written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film depicts a technologically advanced Wild-West-themed amusement park populate ...
''. In 2022, he played the lead role in the AMC series ''
Dark Winds
''Dark Winds'' is an American psychological thriller television series created by Graham Roland based on the ''Leaphorn & Chee'' novel series by Tony Hillerman. It premiered on AMC and AMC+ on June 12, 2022, with the first season consisting of ...
''. He also features in the 2021
FX on Hulu
FX Networks, LLC, is a company consisting of a network of cable channels plus a production company and a subsidiary of the Disney General Entertainment Content segment of The Walt Disney Company. Originally a part of 21st Century Fox, the comp ...
series ''
Reservation Dogs
''Reservation Dogs'' is an Indigenous American teen comedy drama television series created by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi for FX Productions. It is the first series to feature all Indigenous writers and directors, along with an almost ent ...
,'' and the
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
series
''Hawkeye'' (2021) and ''
Echo
In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...
'' (2023).
Early life
McClarnon was born in
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, the son of a
Hunkpapa Lakota
The Hunkpapa (Lakota: ) are a Native American group, one of the seven council fires of the Lakota tribe. The name ' is a Lakota word, meaning "Head of the Circle" (at one time, the tribe's name was represented in European-American records as ...
mother and a father of Irish ancestry.
He grew up near
Browning, Montana
Browning is a town in Glacier County, Montana, United States. It is the headquarters for the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and the only incorporated town on the Reservation. The population was 1,018 at the 2020 census.
The town was named in 188 ...
, where his father worked at
Glacier National Park for the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
.
He would often visit the
Blackfeet Indian Reservation
The Blackfeet Nation ( bla, Aamsskáápipikani, script=Latn, ), officially named the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana, is a federally recognized tribe of Siksikaitsitapi people with an Indian reservation in Mon ...
, where his mother grew up, and often stayed with his maternal grandparents on weekends and for longer visits. His mother lived on the
Rosebud Indian Reservation
The Rosebud Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in South Dakota, United States. It is the home of the federally recognized Rosebud Sioux Tribe, who are Sicangu, a band of Lakota people. The Lakota name ''Sicangu Oyate'' translates as ...
in
South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...
. When his father was relocated to
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
, for work, the family lived in the
Joslyn Castle
The George and Sarah Joslyn Home (officially named "Lynhurst," and known locally as Joslyn Castle), is a mansion located at 3902 Davenport Street in the Gold Coast Historic District of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Built in the Scottish Baron ...
and
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
neighborhoods.
McClarnon has a fraternal twin brother.
McClarnon grew up in Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Ohio and Montana, and has stated that his childhood was "rough."
In 1986, McClarnon graduated from
Omaha Central High School
Omaha Central High School, originally known as Omaha High School, is a fully accredited public high school located in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It is one of many public high schools located in Omaha. As of the 2015-16 academic year ...
. He credits his drama teacher, Peggy Stommes, as a big influence.
Career
McClarnon got his start in a local production of ''
Jesus Christ Superstar
''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...
'' at the Chanticleer Theater in
Council Bluffs
Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area. It is lo ...
,
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
. He connected with John Jackson, a local Omaha casting director who later became known for his work with director
Alexander Payne. McClarnon gained some local work and in the early 1990s, he moved to Los Angeles for his career.
In the ''
Into the West'' (2005) miniseries for
TNT
Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
, McClarnon played Running Fox. He starred in the 2009 film ''
Not Forgotten'' and comedy film ''
Repo Chick
''Repo Chick'' is a 2009 American comedy film written and directed by Alex Cox. Like Cox's first feature, '' Repo Man'', it centers on the repossession trade and a mysterious vehicle with a large reward. It is the second of Cox's "microfeatures", p ...
''. In 2013, he was in the horror movie ''
Resolution
Resolution(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Resolution (debate), the statement which is debated in policy debate
* Resolution (law), a written motion adopted by a deliberative body
* New Year's resolution, a commitment that an individual mak ...
''. He had a recurring role as Bodaway Macawi in ''
Ringer''. He also played Mike Parker in the first four episodes of the
SundanceTV
Sundance TV (formerly known as Sundance Channel) is an American pay television channel owned by AMC Networks that launched on February 1, 1996. The channel is named after Robert Redford's character in ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' and, w ...
series ''
The Red Road
The red road is a modern English-language concept of the right path of life, as inspired by some of the beliefs found in a variety of Native American spiritual teachings. The term is used primarily in the Pan-Indian and New Age communities,McGaa ...
''.
From 2012 to 2017, McClarnon portrayed Mathias, the Chief of Indian Tribal Police of the Cheyenne reservation, in ''
Longmire'', originally an
A&E and later a
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
television series.
McClarnon portrayed Hanzee Dent in the second season of the TV series ''
Fargo'', where his performance received critical acclaim.
He appeared in the TV series ''
Timeless'' as Native American U.S. Marshal Grant Johnson in the episode "The Murder of Jesse James". McClarnon appeared as Toshaway in
AMC Network's ''
The Son'',
for which he learned the
Comanche language.
McClarnon appeared as Akecheta, the leader of the Ghost Nation, in
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
's ''
Westworld
''Westworld'' is an American science fiction-thriller media franchise that began with the 1973 film ''Westworld'', written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film depicts a technologically advanced Wild-West-themed amusement park populate ...
''. Although usually credited as a recurring character, McClarnon was credited as a main cast member in "
Kiksuya", the eighth episode of the
second season, which focuses almost exclusively on his character's backstory. His performance in the episode received critical acclaim, with the critic's consensus on the review aggregate website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
stating that McClarnon delivered a "heart-wrenching, formidable performance" that elevates the episode to "one of the best of the entire series".
Personal life
McClarnon's first name is in honor of his maternal great-great-uncle, Frank "Frances" B. Zahn, who was an artist and Lakota elder of
Standing Rock Indian Reservation.
McClarnon's middle name, ''Tokiya-ku'', loosely translates to mean: "first one to come." He was given that name by his mother because he was the first delivered in a set of twins.
In late 2017, McClarnon fell at his home and suffered a brain injury, requiring hospitalization. The accident caused a brief shutdown of production for ''Westworld''.
Filmography
Film
Television
Video games
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McClarnon, Zahn
1966 births
American male television actors
Hunkpapa people
Living people
Native American actors
21st-century American male actors
American male film actors
American people of Irish descent
Native American male actors
20th-century American male actors
People from Browning, Montana
Omaha Central High School alumni
Male actors from Denver
Male actors from Montana
Native American people from Colorado