Graham Greene’s Final Wish Was To Thank Kevin Costner For His Respectful Portrayal of Indigenous People

Before his pass­ing, acclaimed actor Gra­ham Greene had one heart­felt wish: to see his long­time friend and Dances With Wolves costar, Kevin Cost­ner, one more time. Greene want­ed to per­son­al­ly thank Cost­ner for the respect and dig­ni­ty he showed in por­tray­ing Indige­nous peo­ple through­out his career

Sad­ly, Greene nev­er got the chance. The Acad­e­my Award–nominated actor, best known for his unfor­get­table role as Kick­ing Bird, passed away at the age of 73 after a lengthy ill­ness, with his wife Hilary by his side. His rep­re­sen­ta­tive, Michael Greene, shared that the actor want­ed peo­ple to remem­ber he had “a great life” and remained end­less­ly curious—even about the mys­ter­ies of the after­life.

After learn­ing of his pass­ing, Kevin Cost­ner paid a mov­ing trib­ute on social media. He post­ed a mem­o­rable scene from Dances With Wolves, describ­ing Greene as “a mas­ter at work and a won­der­ful human being.” Cost­ner reflect­ed on how Greene could express pro­found emo­tion with very few words, cre­at­ing a bond on screen that res­onat­ed with audi­ences around the world.

Their col­lab­o­ra­tion in the 1990 epic was not only a turn­ing point in both their careers but also a mile­stone in Hollywood’s approach to Indige­nous rep­re­sen­ta­tion. Greene’s nuanced, pow­er­ful per­for­mance and Costner’s vision togeth­er helped shift how Native cul­ture was por­trayed in film, offer­ing audi­ences a more authen­tic and respect­ful per­spec­tive

Though Greene’s final wish to thank Cost­ner in per­son went unful­filled, his lega­cy lives on—in his per­for­mances, in the respect he fought for, and in the last­ing friend­ship that defined one of cinema’s most icon­ic films.

Gra­ham Greene’s Final Wish Was To Thank Kevin Cost­ner For Hon­or­ing Indige­nous Rep­re­sen­ta­tion

Before his pass­ing, acclaimed actor Gra­ham Greene shared one final wish: to recon­nect with his long­time friend and Dances With Wolves costar, Kevin Cost­ner. Greene hoped to per­son­al­ly thank Cost­ner for the respect and dig­ni­ty he brought to the por­tray­al of Native peo­ple in film through­out his career. Sad­ly, that moment nev­er came

Greene, who earned an Acad­e­my Award nom­i­na­tion for his unfor­get­table role as Kick­ing Bird in the 1990 epic, passed away at the age of 73 after a lengthy ill­ness, with his wife Hilary by his side. His rep­re­sen­ta­tive shared that Greene want­ed to be remem­bered as some­one who had “a great life,” filled with dis­cov­ery, joy, and end­less curiosity—even about what comes after.

Fol­low­ing his death, Cost­ner paid a mov­ing trib­ute on social media, call­ing Greene “a mas­ter at work and a won­der­ful human being.” Shar­ing a scene from Dances With Wolves, he reflect­ed on his costar’s rare abil­i­ty to com­mu­ni­cate deep emo­tion with very few words, cre­at­ing a time­less bond on screen that res­onat­ed with audi­ences every­where.

While many fans remem­ber Gra­ham Greene for his role in Dances With Wolves, his career extend­ed far beyond that break­through per­for­mance. He appeared in count­less projects across film and tele­vi­sion, con­sis­tent­ly bring­ing dig­ni­ty and depth to his char­ac­ters. His work high­light­ed the rich­ness of Indige­nous sto­ries, mak­ing him a beloved fig­ure among audi­ences who val­ued authen­tic­i­ty in rep­re­sen­ta­tion.

Though Greene’s wish to speak with Cost­ner went unful­filled, the trib­ute from his old friend served as a fit­ting farewell. His lega­cy endures—not only in his unfor­get­table per­for­mances but also in the respect he inspired and the cul­tur­al truth he brought to Hol­ly­wood.