Rod Rondeaux

Rod Rondeaux is a Native American actor and stuntman. As an actor his work includes the 2005 miniseries, Into the West, Comanche Moon in 2008, The Cayuse in the 2010 film, Meek's Cutoff and the lead role in the 2015 film, Mekko. His stunt work includes Reel Injun and Comanche Moon.

Rod Rondeaux
Born1958 (age 64–65)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Actor, stuntman

Background

Rondeaux is a citizen of the Crow Tribe and is also of Cheyenne descent.[1] He grew up on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana.[2][3] For years, Rondeaux was on the rodeo circuit as a horse rider, bull rider, steer wrestler and team roper. His entry into film stunt work was accidental. The film he was asked to be the double in was Crazy Horse. It was for actor Michael Greyeyes.

In 2001, he received the outstanding achievement in stunts award from the First Americans in the Arts.[4]

Rondeaux won two awards for his role in the 2015 film, Mekko. He won the best actor award at the 40th Annual American Indian Film Festival and at the 2015 Red Nation Film Festival.[5]

Career

Rondeaux's earliest role was as Tall Bull in the 1996 film Crazy Horse, which was directed by John Irvin.[6][7] For his role in Meek's Cutoff, as a mysterious and suddenly appearing Native American who joins a lost wagon train on the Oregon Trail, the language he spoke was his own native tongue.[8][9]

Rondeaux had his first lead role in the 2015 film, ''Mekko. He played a man who served 19 years incarcerated for murder. Upon his release he discovers his family doesn’t want to have anything to do with him. He has to come to terms with his current situation.[10] In addition, he also has to deal with a violent man (played by Zahn McClarnon).[11] Director Sterlin Harjo actually cast Rondeaux the night before the shooting began. Having talked to the actor a couple of times, Harjo had a good feeling about him. With Rondeaux's background as a rodeo bull rider and Hollywood stuntman, he felt he had the right life experience for the role.[12] Film critic Dennis Harvey of Variety complimented Rod Rondeaux's "soulful performance", and made comparisons the film to two classic films set on skid row, On the Bowery (1956) and The Exiles (1961).[13]

Rondeaux played Raymond in Babak Jalali's 2018 film, Land.[14] Also in 2018, he was in Susanna White's Woman Walks Ahead.[15]

Filmography (actor)
Television shows
Title Episode # Role Director Year Notes #
Into the West "Hell on Wheels" Roman Nose Michael W. Watkins 2005
Comanche Moon Episode #1.1 Slow Tree Simon Wincer 2008
Comanche Moon Episode #1.2 Slow Tree Simon Wincer 2008
Tyrant "The Other Brother" Uthal Kari Skogland 2015
The English "Path of the Dead" Trooper Charlie White Hugo Blick 2022


Film
Title Role Director Year Notes #
Crazy Horse Tall Bull John Irvin 1996 made for television
The Missing Hudlao / 'The One Who Laughs' Ron Howard 2003
Meek's Cutoff The Indian Kelly Reichardt 2010
Mekko Mekko Sterlin Harjo 2015
Hostiles Derby Scott Cooper 2017
Woman Walks Ahead Indian Robber Susanna White 2017
Land Raymond Yellow Eagle Babak Jalali 2018
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs Sioux Chief Ethan Coen
Joel Coen		 2018 segment "The Gal Who Got Rattled"

References
  1. "Critically Acclaimed Film "Mekko" Screens at National Museum of the American Indian in New York and Washington, D.C." Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
  2. "Janae Collins". All American Speakers Bureau. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
  3. "Museum of Ventura County and San Buenaventura Mission join with California Mission Riders to educate". Ventura County Star. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
  4. Indian Country Today, Nov 28, 2003 - Rod Rondeaux: From cowboy to stunt man By Roscoe Pond
  5. The Santa Fe New Mexican, Aug 12, 2016 - Native Cinema Showcase, Street cred: "Mekko" Casey Sanchez
  6. Turner Classic Movies - Crazy Horse(1996)
  7. Indian Country Today, Nov 28, 2003 - Rod Rondeaux: From cowboy to stunt man By Roscoe Pond
  8. blog.oregonlive.com, April 19, 2011 - 'Meek's Cutoff' and the secret language of the mysterious Native American By Shawn Levy, The Oregonian
  9. Slate.com, Sept 20, 2011 - Meek’s Cutoff’s Mysterious Indian, Translated By Nina Shen Rastogi
  10. The Hollywood Reporter, 9/28/2015 - MOVIES, 'Mekko': Film Review by Sheri Linden
  11. The Reel Bits, June 16, 2016 - SFF 2016 Review: Mekko - Richard Gray
  12. The Santa Fe New Mexican, Aug 12, 2016 - Native Cinema Showcase, Street cred: "Mekko" Casey Sanchez
  13. Variety, September 11, 2015 - Toronto Film Review: ‘Mekko’
    An ex-con lands in Tulsa's Native American community of homeless 'street chiefs' in Sterlin Harjo's third feature. By Dennis Harvey
  14. Screendaily.com, 19 February 2018 - REVIEWS, 'Land': Berlin Review By Allan Hunter
  15. Turner Classic Movies - Woman Walks Ahead (2018
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