Adam Beach: Native American Actor Extraordinaire

Adam Beach is a well-known Native American actor, writer, producer, and philanthropist,

He was born in Manitoba, grew up on the Dog Creek First Nation Reserve, and is Anishinaabe. 

One meaning of Anishinaabe is “the good humans,” and Adam Beach is one of them, representing his fellow Natives and his community well.

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Adam Beach's Acting Career

Image Credit / Heroic Hollywood

Like many actors, Beach found his love for theater and performing in front of a crowd in a high school drama class. This was a cathartic time in his life. After performing for a bit with a local theater after hours, he decided to drop out of high school to join the Manitoba Theater for Young People. This is when his acting career took off. 

At the age of 18, while Beach continued acting with his local theater, he took a role in the television miniseries called “Lost in the Barrens.” From there, he starred as a minor character in the shows “Walker Texas Ranger” and “Touched By an Angel.” He continued to take part in TV shows to build up his presence on screen. 

He starred alongside Irene Bedard in Disney’s “Squanto: A Warrior’s Tale” in 1994 and played other Native roles in various shows and movies.

One of the biggest was “Smoke Signals,” a critically acclaimed buddy film that was widely recognized as one of the best films of 1998. The movie was also a distinguished winner at the Sundance Film Festival.

Some of his most popular and well-known appearances include “Joe Dirt,” “The Dead Zone,” “Third Watch,” “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee,” “Law and Order,” “Big Love,” “Hawaii Five-0,” “Suicide Squad,” “Supernatural,” and “The Good Doctor.” 

Over the years, Beach has been nominated for and won multiple awards. At the American Indian Film Festival between 1995 and 2020, he has earned the title of Best Actor three times. More recently, he took home Best Supporting Actor in a Feature Film from the New York International Film Festival for the role he played in “The Unhealer.”

To add to his resume, Beach is also a producer. 

Since 2008, he has been the executive producer on “Older Than America,” “Path of Souls,” “The Northlander,” and “Juliana & the Medicine Fish. “He is currently working on a project to produce “American/Indian,” which is slated to debut in 2022. 

Beach currently has one new project which is completed, three in pre-production, and one that recently has been announced. So don’t worry–you’ll see him again soon! 

Adam Beach's Personal Life

Image Credit / Disney/ Squanto: A Warrior’s Tale

Adam Beach knows a thing or two about grief. He understands what it is like to lose everything at a young age when he needed it the most. But the pain and turbulence he experienced as a child did not hold him back in his life.

When Beach was just 8 years old, his mother and unborn sister were killed in a car accident involving a drunk driver. Several weeks later, he lost his father, who was found drowned not too far from home. 

These horrible tragedies left a small boy and his siblings without parents in almost an instant. 

Beach moved to stay with relatives in Winnipeg, and at about age 12, he started going down the wrong path, as many young people with trauma do. He ended up joining a gang called The Web in Winnipeg, where he was the gang’s only Native member.

He recalls in an interview: “I lashed out, didn’t want to be a part of anything. I’d steal clothes.”

It was a dark time for Beach—that is, until he discovered his love for acting. 

Beach continued to live with relatives until he moved away to pursue his acting career after landing his first few parts. His first acting role on screen was at 16 years old, for “Lost in the Barrens.” That began setting him apart from his peers and fellow actors. 

Despite the loss and upheaval in his life, Beach continued to set goals and was determined to rise above what was set before him. 

He is one of many successful celebrities who have persevered through hardship and come out on top. 

Charitable Work

Image Credit / Adam Beach Film Institute

Just when you thought you knew this actor—there are many more surprises to come.

Not only is Adam Beach a fantastic actor, producer, and family man with a wife and three children, he also gives back to many and takes the lead in helping Indigenous communities. 

He created The Adam Beach Film Institute, a nonprofit organization based at the Ellice Cafe and Theatre Building in Winnipeg's West End, which will train at-risk Native youth in various roles within the film industry.

“My career and my passion started in Winnipeg, and what I'm doing is taking all of my knowledge and experience and bringing it back. So I started the Adam Beach Film Institute to teach and train and create more jobs in Manitoba,” he told CBC News in an interview. 

He also is responsible for helping to create a “pop-up movie theatre” initiative that has brought first-run Hollywood films, as well as indigenous and international movies, to remote First Nations.

That’s not all.

In 2017, Beach took the role of ambassador for the Canada 150 Indigenous Games.

He felt strongly about his motivation.

“I am a reminder that we will not forget the atrocities that have happened to the Aboriginal people of this country,” Beach said in an interview in Winnipeg following a speech at Vision Quest, an annual conference aimed at promoting Indigenous economic development. “But I am also a reminder of the successes that can happen when one finds their ambition to succeed in the struggles of identity that a lot of our younger generation have in this country because of the horrific past.”

Adam Beach is one celebrity who will never forget where he came from. The challenges he faced as a child and teen have driven him to not only succeed but to find unique ways of giving back to his fellow Native people. 

Want to learn more about what Beach is doing lately?

Check out the Adam Beach Film Institute website.

Or follow him on Instagram or Twitter.

Featured Image Credit: Toronto Star

 

Last Updated on October 19, 2022 by Paul G