Reservation Dogs and the cast of The Harder They Fall also will be recognized at the Nov. 29 awards ceremony.
Our congratulations go out to Canadian Plains Cree actor and C&I reader favorite Michael Grayeyes, who was honored twice Thursday when The Gotham Film & Media Institute announced nominations for the 31st Annual Gotham Awards. In the Outstanding Lead Performance category, he was nominated for his riveting portrayal of a Native American businessman desperate to hide all traces of his violent past in the indie drama Wild Indian. He received his second nomination in the Outstanding Lead Performance in a New Series category for his deft balance of disarming charm and brutal bluntness as a casino owner and community activist in the Peacock sitcom Rutherford Falls.
In our August/September issue cover story profile, Greyeyes noted how Michael — a.k.a. Makwa — the character he plays in Wild Indian could be viewed as a blood brother to Terry Thomas, his role in Rutherford Falls.
“Obviously Makwa in Wild Indian has to prevent his full violence,” Greyeyes said. “We see actually how terrifying and violent he really is. He has to restrain himself, because that’s how he’ll get caught. But with Terry, he’s withholding it because that’s what he was taught. That’s how his generation operated. That’s how his parents’ generation operated. That’s how he was taught to behave, to hold his tongue, even when he could have rightly exploded. In both senses, the men were caught in the same bind: “What can I show as an Indigenous man?” But they chose not to show their complete selves for different reasons…
“Both characters are true manipulators. They understand human psychology, they understand things, but it comes from a place of power. And I think that’s the reason why I was attracted to these two characters, so vastly different from each other. But they were the same in that one regard — they were powerful men. And I think the kind of work that’s really appealing to me right now in my career is playing characters who are empowered. I’ve played a lot of tragic characters. Characters under the gun or under pressure or simply broken. But what appealed to me and what continues to appeal to me in the characters that I’m playing currently are that these are not victims. These are men in complete control of themselves and their environment.”
Among the other Gotham-nominated TV series of special interest to C&I readers:
Reservation Dogs — Breakthrough Series – Short Format (under 40 minutes), Outstanding Performance in a New Series (Devery Jacobs).
The Good Lord Bird — Breakthrough Series – Long Format (over 40 minutes), Outstanding Performance in a New Series (Ethan Hawke).
The Underground Railroad — Breakthrough Series – Long Format (over 40 minutes).
And if all of that isn’t enough to pique your interest, consider: The cast of The Harder They Fall — Jonathan Majors, Zazie Beetz, Delroy Lindo, LaKeith Stanfield, Danielle Deadwyler, Edi Gathegi, R.J. Cyler, Damon Wayans Jr., Deon Cole, Regina King and Idris Elba — will receive the Ensemble Tribute during the 2021 Gotham Awards presentation.
Jeffrey Sharp, Executive Director of The Gotham Film & Media Institute, said in his announcement of the honor: “Director Jeymes Samuel’s debut film is fully realized with this extraordinary company of actors who perfectly marry the key hallmarks of the ensemble film – collaboration, community, and interconnectivity – resulting in one of the most entertaining movies of the year. We are so proud to recognize The Harder They Fall with this year’s Gotham Ensemble Tribute.”
But wait, there’s more.
Jane Campion, director of the acclaimed western drama The Power of the Dog, will be receive a Director’s Tribute, honoring a singular filmmaking career highlighted by such credits as The Piano (for which she earned an Academy Award as Best Director), An Angel at My Table and The Portrait of a Lady.
“Jane Campion is a trailblazer, telling beautiful, bold stories with astounding emotional depth,” said Sharp. “With her remarkable return to feature films with The Power of the Dog, she further cements her stature as one the greatest directors working today. It’s such an honor to recognize this extraordinary filmmaker.”
The Gotham Awards ceremony will take place live and in person on Nov. 29, 2021 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.
