Eddie Spears

Eddie Spears
Born Edward Spears
(1982-11-29) 29 November 1982
Chamberlain, South Dakota, United States
Other names Eddie Spears
Occupation Actor
Years active 1991 - present

Edward "Eddie" Spears (born November 29, 1982) is an American actor. He is a member of the Kul Wicasa Oyate Lakota (often called "Sioux") Lower Brulé Sioux Tribe of South Dakota.

Early life

Spears was born in Chamberlain, South Dakota on the Lower Brulé Indian Reservation.[1] He has 5 brothers and 1 sister; his older brother Michael is also an actor.[2] Spears grew up on the Lower Brulé Indian Reservation until the first grade when his family moved to Pierre, South Dakota.[3] After that, his family moved to Aberdeen, South Dakota where he grew up and attended Simmons Middle School and Aberdeen Central High School.[4]

Career

Movie and Television career

Spears has been in the spotlight since age 10 starting with his first role in TNT's production of Geronimo, which was shot in Arizona.

Most recently, Spears played Gordon Red Hawk in the Second Season of the SyFy original hit show, Z Nation in Episode 10: "We Were Nowhere Near the Grand Canyon."[5] He also guest starred as Big Ash in Episode 6 of Sleepy Hollow: "And the Abyss Gazes Back."[6] Spears played the popular [7] Joseph Black Moon from Season 1 to Season 2 of AMC's television series, Hell On Wheels.[8]

Spears has said his most rewarding role to date was Shane Chasing Horse in the film Dreamkeeper. When cast for the lead in the 2004 film Black Cloud (directed by Rick Schroder), he trained for three months with boxing trainer Jimmy Gambia to perfect his boxing skills before filming started. The film is about a Navajo boxer training for the Golden Gloves with the promise of a spot at the Olympics while struggling with the secrets of his family's past. One of the scenes was filmed in Las Vegas during the 2003 Golden Gloves National Championship.

Other work

In 2005, Spears and his brother Michael modeled for Cochiti Pueblo fashion designer Virgil Ortiz for his "Indigene" clothing line, and were featured on the cover of the August 2005 issue of New Mexico Magazine.[9]

In 2016, Spears told his life's story at the California Native American Day at the Table Mountain Casino in Friant, CA.

Awards

Personal life

Spears co-hosted the 39th Annual American Indian Film Institute Awards this November along with actress Tonantzin Carmelo.[13] Spears attended and was a mentor at the 2nd annual HatcH Audiovisual Festival in Bozeman, Montana in October 2005. HatcH is a film and arts festival whose mission is to provide mentorship, education, inspiration, and recognition to the next generation of creative innovators.

Spears and his brother Michael have also been active with Native Wind[14] and the COUP (Intertribal Council on Utility Policy) Native Energy, of which their father Pat Spears was formerly president. COUP was formed in 1994 to provide a forum for utility issues discussion from regulatory and economic perspectives.[15]

Spears speaks Lakota but has admitted he is not fluent. He is an avid outdoorsman with hunting, fishing, archery and rodeo experience, and is a Traditional and Grass dancer. He also travels nationally as a keynote speaker. He currently resides in Montana.[16]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1993 Geronimo Ishkiye TV
1993 Ancient Warriors (Documentary) Lead TV
1998 The Witness Wampishe Film
2002 The Slaughter Rule Tracy Two Dogs Film
2003 Dreamkeeper Shane Chasing Horse TV
2003 Edge of America Franklin TV
2004 Black Cloud Black Cloud Film
2005 Into the West Red Lance TV mini-series
2007 Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee Chasing Crane TV
2008 Comanche Moon Quannah Parker TV mini-series
2011 Guns, Girls and Gambling Dark Eyes Film
2011 The Legend of Hell's Gate: An American Conspiracy Wakaree Film
2011 Yellow Rock Angry Wolf Film
2011-2012 Hell On Wheels Joseph Black Moon TV series
2013 We The People Movie (Documentary) Film
2014 Sleepy Hollow Big Ash TV series; Guest Star
2015 Z Nation Gordon Red Hawk TV series; Guest Star
2015 Bone Tomahawk Local Native American Film
2016 Second Sunrise Lee Nez Pre-Production
2016 The Red Man's View Mukua Pre-Production

References

  1. ↑ Eddie Spears Homepage Biography http://www.eddiespears.com/bio.htm Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  2. ↑ Eddie Spears Biography Page Spears Brothers Fans http://spearsbrothersfans.webs.com/eddie.htm Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  3. ↑ Morreale, Marie "DreamKeeper: Meet Eddie Spears" http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/dreamkeeper/latest_news/index.asp?article=interview Scholastic News February 25, 2004.
  4. ↑ Aberdeen News "Aberdeen: Former resident on TV series" http://articles.aberdeennews.com/2012-01-14/news/30628880_1_aberdeen-central-high-school-midcontinent-communications-series January 14, 2012.
  5. ↑ Schilling, Vincent "Native Zombie Killer Tinsel Korey Talks About Her Role on #ZNation" http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/11/12/native-zombie-killer-tinsel-korey-talks-about-her-role-znation-162420 Indian Country Media Today Netowrk November 12, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Sleepy Hollow: 2.6 'And The Abyss Gazes Back' Review" http://www.therainbowhub.com/sleepy-hollow-2-6-abyss-gazes-back-review/ The Rainbow Hub.com, October 29, 2014.
  7. ↑ Talking Hell on Wheels Podcast "Hell on Wheels Eddie Spears" http://www.spreaker.com/user/indyradio/20_eddie_spears_aka_joseph_blackmoon October 22, 2013.
  8. ↑ Hill, Pat "Native Stars The Spears Brothers Native Stars Call Bozeman Home" http://www.mtpioneer.com/2012-February-Native-Stars.html The Montana Pioneer, February 2012.
  9. ↑ Haaland, Debra "An Eye for Fashion: Cochiti Pueblo's renowned potter Virgil Ortiz has expanded his artistic talents to the world of fashion, now rubbing elbows with famed international designer Donna Karan" http://www.nmmagazine.com/FEATURES/current.html New Mexico Magazine, August 2005, Volume 83, Number 8.
  10. ↑ 11th Red Nation Film Festival & Awards Show http://www.rednationff.com/the-show/ Retrieved November 02, 2014.
  11. ↑ Eddie Spears Biography Page Spears Brothers Fans http://spearsbrothersfans.webs.com/eddie.htm Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  12. ↑ Eddie Spears Biography Page Spears Brothers Fans http://spearsbrothersfans.webs.com/eddie.htm Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  13. ↑ American Indian Film Festival http://aifisf.com/festival/2014/program/american-indian-motion-picture-awards-show/ Retrieved November 02, 2014.
  14. ↑ http://www.nativeenergy.com/
  15. ↑ Renaud, Roseanna "KILI celebrates 25 years and wind turbine dedication" http://www.lakotacountrytimes.com/news/2008-08-07/local_news/009.html Lakota Country Times, August 07, 2008.
  16. ↑ Eddie Spears Biography Page Spears Brothers Fans http://spearsbrothersfans.webs.com/eddie.htm Retrieved March 19, 2013.

External links

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