Zahn McClarnon

Zahn McClarnon
McClarnon in 2016
Born	Zahn Tokiya-ku McClarnon (1966-10-24) 24 October 1966 (age 58) Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Education	Omaha Central High School
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1992–present

Zahn Tokiya-ku McClarnon is a Native American actor known for his performances in the Western crime drama series Longmire, the second season of Fargo, and the second season of Westworld. Since 2022, he has played the lead role of Joe Leaphorn in the AMC series Dark Winds.^[1] He features in the FX on Hulu series Reservation Dogs, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe series Hawkeye (2021) and Echo (2024).

Zahn Tokiya-ku McClarnon^[2] was born in Denver, Colorado, the son of a Hunkpapa Lakota mother and a father of Irish ancestry.^[3] He grew up near Browning, Montana, where his father worked at Glacier National Park for the National Park Service.^[4] He would often visit the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, 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 in South Dakota. When his father was relocated to Omaha, Nebraska, for work, the family lived in the Joslyn Castle and Dundee neighborhoods.^[4] McClarnon has a fraternal twin brother.

McClarnon grew up in Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Ohio, and Montana, and has stated that his childhood was "rough."^[5][6]

In 1985, McClarnon graduated from Omaha Central High School. He credits his drama teacher, Peggy Stommes, as a big influence.^[4][7]

McClarnon got his start in a local production of Jesus Christ Superstar at the Chanticleer Theater in Council Bluffs, Iowa. 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.^[4][8]

In the Into the West (2005) miniseries for TNT, McClarnon played Running Fox. He starred in the 2009 film Not Forgotten and comedy film Repo Chick. In 2013, he was in the horror movie Resolution. He had a recurring role as Bodaway Macawi in Ringer. He played Mike Parker in the first four episodes of the SundanceTV series The Red Road.^[9]

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 television series.^[10]

McClarnon portrayed Hanzee Dent in the second season of the TV series Fargo, where his performance received critical acclaim.^{[5][11][12][13]} 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,^[4][14] for which he learned the Comanche language.^[15]

McClarnon appeared as Akecheta, the leader of the Ghost Nation, in HBO's Westworld. 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 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 stating that McClarnon delivered a "heart-wrenching, formidable performance" that elevates the episode to "one of the best of the entire series".^[16]

In 2019, McClarnon appeared as Crow Daddy, a central antagonist, in the film Doctor Sleep.^[17] Since 2021, McClarnon has portrayed Officer Big in the comedy-drama Reservation Dogs.^[18]

In 2021, it was announced that McClarnon would star as Joe Leaphorn in Dark Winds, a psychological thriller television series on AMC. It premiered on 12 June 2022 and was renewed for a second season.^[19][1]

McClarnon's first name is in honor of his maternal great-great-uncle,^{[citation needed]} Frank "Francis" B. Zahn, who was an artist and Lakota elder of Standing Rock Indian Reservation.^[20] 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.^[2]

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.^[21] He has since recovered.

McClarnon has discussed his struggles with substance abuse in interviews.

• Zahn McClarnon on Twitter
• Zahn McClarnon at IMDb