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 character in the 2010 Kelly Reichardt film Meek's Cutoff (in which he co-starred with Bruce Greenwood, Shirley Henderson, Will Patton, Paul Dano, and Michelle Williams), and the lead role in the 2015 film, Mekko. His stunt work includes Reel Injun and Comanche Moon.
Background Rondeaux is a citizen of the Crow Tribe and is also of Cheyenne descent. He grew up on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana. 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. He was asked to be the double for actor Michael Greyeyes in the film Crazy Horse.
In 2001, he received the outstanding achievement in stunts award from the First Americans in the Arts.Indian Country Today, Nov 28, 2003 - Rod Rondeaux: From cowboy to stunt man By Roscoe Pond
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.The Santa Fe New Mexican, Aug 12, 2016 - Native Cinema Showcase, Street cred: "Mekko" Casey Sanchez
Career Rondeaux's earliest role was as Tall Bull in the 1996 film Crazy Horse, which was directed by John Irvin.Turner Classic Movies - Crazy Horse(1996)Indian Country Today, Nov 28, 2003 - Rod Rondeaux: From cowboy to stunt man By Roscoe Pond 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.blog.oregonlive.com, April 19, 2011 - 'Meek's Cutoff' and the secret language of the mysterious Native American By Shawn Levy, The OregonianSlate.com, Sept 20, 2011 - Meek’s Cutoff’s Mysterious Indian, Translated By Nina Shen Rastogi
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.The Hollywood Reporter, 9/28/2015 - MOVIES, 'Mekko': Film Review by Sheri Linden In addition, he also has to deal with a violent man (played by Zahn McClarnon).The Reel Bits, June 16, 2016 - SFF 2016 Review: Mekko - Richard Gray 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.The Santa Fe New Mexican, Aug 12, 2016 - Native Cinema Showcase, Street cred: "Mekko" Casey Sanchez 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).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
Rondeaux played Raymond in Babak Jalali's 2018 film, Land.Screendaily.com, 19 February 2018 - REVIEWS, 'Land': Berlin Review By Allan Hunter Also in 2018, he was in Susanna White's Woman Walks Ahead.Turner Classic Movies - Woman Walks Ahead (2018
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 CoenJoel Coen 2018 segment "The Gal Who Got Rattled"
References
External links Imdb: Rod Rondeaux Teddy O'Toole's: Stuntman from Montana: The Rod Rondeaux Story