I just wanted to be a working character actor.

Michael Horse

Categorized in : Just Working Actor Character

I don't really care to be a movie star.

really star movie-star care

The people in Indiana are so kind and so genuine.

genuine indiana kind people

My opinion is that the movie business should show an accurate picture, but I think the responsibility lies in the educational system. Most of the educational material I've seen on the Native American does not portray an actual picture.

picture think business responsibility

The old image of Tonto and the Lone Ranger was one that we, as Indian people, didn't care much for; it was kind of a second-class citizen.

image old care people

I'm an activist.

activist

Wherever you repress people, they get hold of a crayon and a bit of scrap paper, and they chronicle their lives and their existence and their history.

you existence history people

Ledger art represents a spirit which has lasted through the hardships and turmoil. It is my goal and ambition that this style of pictograph art continues to pay tribute to the perseverance of my ancestors who adapted and created works of art during a period of life changing turmoil and injustice.

perseverance style life art

Man, 'Twin Peaks' ruined me for television. I mean, how can you top a show like that.

me you man television

The main problem with films is that everybody always thinks of us as a violent people. We are not. We are spiritual. And when you show someone without a sense of humor or families, which is the way you usually see Indians in movies, then they are without a spiritual base and become subhuman.

you humor spiritual people

I'd like to win an Oscar and then refuse it so I can protest the way they've treated Marlon Brando.

win like i-can way

I like being outdoors. I like action films.

outdoors being like action

An actor gets to take a nap, but the director is working hard from dawn till midnight. I'm kind of lazy.

hard lazy midnight dawn

For years, I kept the two separate: Michael Horse the artist and Michael Horse the actor. I like the acting, but I'm an artist; that's my identity.

like horse artist identity

When people say, 'Who are you?' I'm a sculptor and a painter. That's how I define myself. The acting is fun, and I hope to leave behind a couple things in my life of dramatic integrity and art.

myself hope life art

Growing up in a traditional environment, I was taught the importance of art, how it's connected to the soul, how it makes a human being. This made me understand and cherish American art forms.

understand me soul art

I was taught that you can't be a healthy individual without art, music, or nature in your life. All my art is tied into inner cultural experience. It has to do with music or ceremonies or nature, even the funny ones.

music nature life funny

If I wait for the great definitive story of my people to come around, I'm never going to work.

wait great work people

Without 'Twin Peaks,' there would have been no 'Northern Exposure,' 'Picket Fences,' 'X-Files' or 'Alias.' It started the movement of 'off-center' television.

started without movement television

Cartoons are probably my favorite thing to do.

cartoons favorite thing

You never come home depressed from a cartoon job.

never job you home