{{Short description|Canadian actor (born 1963)}} {{about||the American dirt modified driver|Duane Howard (racing driver)}} {{Use Canadian English|date=January 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2026}} {{Infobox person |name=Duane Howard |image= |birth_date={{birth year and age|1963}} |birth_place=Esperanza Inlet, British Columbia, Canada |citizenship=Canadian |occupation=Actor }}
'''Duane Howard''' (born 1963) is an Aboriginal Canadian actor who is best known for his role as the Arikara chief Elk Dog in the 2015 film ''The Revenant''.<ref name=LAT>{{cite web|work=Los Angeles Times|title=Native American actor Duane Howard overcomes all 'challenges' in his 'Revenant' role|url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-duane-howard-revenant-20151231-story.html|date=December 24, 2015|author=Fischer, Russ}}</ref> He has also appeared in ''Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee'' (2007), ''Pathfinder'' (2007), the television series ''Godless'' (2017), ''The Sun at Midnight'' (2016) and other films.
==Early years== Howard was born in the Esperanza Inlet, located on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. He is Nuu-chah-nulth.<ref>{{cite web|title=Big Picture: Island-born actor dug deep for Revenant role|author=Reid, Michael D.|work=Times Colonist|date=January 15, 2016|url=http://www.timescolonist.com/big-picture-island-born-actor-dug-deep-for-revenant-role-1.2151593}}</ref> He spent his early childhood in Port Alberni and moved to Vancouver at the age of 14. At age 23, Howard conquered a drug and alcohol addiction and began working as a substance abuse counselor with at-risk youth in Vancouver.<ref>[https://www.straight.com/movies/604156/downtown-eastside-survivor-duane-howard-plays-lead-indigenous-role-revenant Charlie Smith, "Downtown East Side Survivor Duane Howard Plays Lead Indigenous Role in the Revenant", The Georgia Straight, December 22, 2015]</ref>
==Acting career== A chance meeting with a local talent agent in Vancouver in the early 1990s <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hashilthsa.com/news/2016-01-06/mowachahtmuchalaht%E2%80%99s-duane-howard-joins-leonardo-dicaprio-major-movie-opening-friday |title=Denise Tithian, "Mowachaht/Muchalaht's Duane Howard Joins Leonardo DiCaprio in Major Movie Opening Friday", Ha-Silth-Sha, Canada's Oldest First Nations Newspaper, January 6, 2016 |access-date=2016-01-17 |archive-date=2016-01-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112135623/http://hashilthsa.com/news/2016-01-06/mowachahtmuchalaht%E2%80%99s-duane-howard-joins-leonardo-dicaprio-major-movie-opening-friday |url-status=dead }}</ref> resulted in walk-on roles in the ''X-Files,'' ''Smallville'' and ''Supernatural'', then to feature roles. Howard has also worked as a stuntman and performed his own stunts for his role in ''The Revenant.'' In media interviews, Howard has said his own experience with loss and hardship informed his portrayal of Elk Dog, a father whose daughter is kidnapped by fur trappers. When Leonardo DiCaprio dedicated his Golden Globe Award for ''The Revenant'' to indigenous communities around the world, Howard said he was moved by the speech, and hopes to see more accurate portrayals of Indigenous culture come out of Hollywood.<ref>"[https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/bc-first-nations-the-revenant-actor-choked-up-at-dicaprio-speech/ First Nations Actor of The Revenant Says He Choked Up at DiCaprio Speech", CTV Vancouver News, January 11, 2016]</ref>
==Speaking activities== Following his role as Elk Dog, Howard began traveling and speaking about his own experiences to raise awareness about substance abuse, suicide and other issues in indigenous communities. After a state of emergency was declared in Attawapiskat First Nation in April 2016 because of its high rate of suicide, Howard told an interviewer, "People are saying we've got to help our young people, but it takes a community to come together as one. And there's a saying: one heart, one mind, one prayer, we can all move forward."<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/duane-howard-attawapiskat-suicide-crisis-1.3619940 Duane Howard, Revenant actor, shines light on suicide crisis in Attawapiskat, CBC News, Jun 07, 2016 ]</ref>
==Awards and nominations== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year !! Award !! Category !! Work !! Result !! Ref |- | 2017 || Leo Awards || Best Lead Performance by a Male in a Motion Picture || ''The Sun at Midnight'' || {{nom}} || <ref>{{cite web|title=Leo Awards, Nominees by Name 2017|url=http://www.leoawards.com/2017/nominees/by_name.php|website=Leoawards.com|accessdate=14 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170527200921/http://www.leoawards.com/2017/nominees/by_name.php|archive-date=27 May 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> |}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|0397258|Duane Howard}} *{{youtube|aaAgiGITczA|Stunt/Actor Duane Howard}} *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUN6Cqv9e6k Aboriginal Speaker Series: Duane Howard]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Duane}} Category:Living people Category:1963 births Category:First Nations male actors Category:People from Port Alberni Category:Canadian male film actors Category:Canadian male television actors Category:Actors who have performed their own stunts