1923 Star Michael Spears Shares A Sneak Peek At Upcoming Episode

As soon as I got on the phone Friday with Lakota actor Michael Spears, we spoke about the great news reported by the Deadline showbiz website a few days earlier: 1923, the Paramount+  drama in which he plays Runs His Horse, father of fugitive Teonna Rainwater (Aminah Nieves), has recorded a massive uptick in ratings for its second season.

Specifically: “With just under a month until the finale, Season 2 is currently outpacing the first-season audience by 56 percent, according to Paramount Global,” Katie Campione of Deadline wrote.

So far, Campione added, “the Season 2 premiere has delivered 17 million global viewers, which is up 41 percent over the Season 1 premiere in the same time frame. The episode already posted an impressive debut audience of 5.4 million, which marks 146 percent growth from the Season 1 premiere, and has since expanded its viewership by more than 200 percent.”

And of course, all of this growth can be attributed to Michael Spears’ getting more screen time this season. Right?

Once he stopped laughing, Spears replied: “Well, I can’t take credit for everybody else’s amazing work. We were working with Helen Mirren, Harrison Ford, Aminah and a lot of the other actors, like Sebastian Roché. They're some amazing, amazing actors. So no, it’s not just because of me.

“This is a team effort. And I do appreciate them carrying our characters and our storyline as strongly as they are. And we definitely came off of that first season with a lot of power, a lot of energy.”

Throughout Season 2 so far, the Taylor Sheridan-produced Yellowstone prequel has deftly juggled quite a few compelling plotlines. But Spears has loomed especially large in the narrative thread focused on Runs His Horse, Teonna and Pete Plenty Clouds (Jeremy Gauna) as they flee from the posse pursuing Teonna after her escape from an abusive Indian Boarding School.

In this exclusive C&I preview of a key scene from the upcoming Episode 5, Runs His Horse and Teonna have an intense conversation while Pete rides ahead to find water.

Cowboys & Indians: Was that a difficult scene for the two of you?

Michael Spears: Well, initially I wanted to include a lot more of the actual traditional Apsáalooke language. In my mind, I wasn’t speaking English and we were communicating all in Apsáalooke or Crow. But we worked with [director Ben Richardson] and we added it in there. I thought it came across very well, where we’re transitioning into speaking English. I think it came off amazingly.

C&I: Since the premiere of 1923, there has been a noticeable increase in documentaries about abusive Indian boarding school policies. To be sure, such documentaries were also sporadically released long before the series started. But I would be willing to wager that many if not most of your viewers were not aware of these horrors before watching your show.

Spears: For sure. And it goes a lot deeper than what they show even on television. It’s the story of the separation of our people. They systematically knew what they were doing. In our culture, we hold the women as the bringer of our ceremonies, the life giver. So once they separated the woman and the child, they knew that they could have more power over our people, because they’re basically separating the family.

And of course, there’s famous adage: “Kill the Indians, save the man.” There was way more of that than what people know about. Over 526 government-funded or church-run Indian boarding schools across the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries. And primarily, the students were forcibly abducted by government agents — and sometimes even family members. My own mother and grandmother both went through boarding schools and things like that.

C&I: And I must admit, I learned nothing about this back during my high school and college days.

Spears: The public needs to better understand America’s history with tribal nations — the treaty relationships and the guarantees that tribal nations have with the United States — so we can all share in the dream of a better future on Turtle Island and on planet Earth. My hope is that, with media representation of Native stories and histories, like what we see in 1923, viewers will become more inquisitive about what’s going on in Indian Country, what Native people’s lived experiences are today, and this increased awareness will bring about positive changes.

C&I: Let’s go back a bit in your personal history. You made your screen debut at age 10 as Otter in Kevin Costner’s epic Dances with Wolves. After that, did you think, hey, this acting stuff is pretty cool?

Spears: I really did get bit by the acting bug, the movie bug. But it actually took my dad a few weeks to convince me to even go try out for the role of Otter. They had an open casting call down at the Stanley County Fairgrounds. The line was completely around the other side of the bleachers and sale barn. And I went down there. But I said, “Well, dad, every movie that I’ve seen Natives in so far, they're not very cool. They all die. And they go, ‘Whoo! Whoo! Who! Whoo! Whoo!’ And they’re wearing these goofy headbands.”

And he said, “Well, Cinksi...” That means “son” in Lakota. He said, "Well Cinksi, you're going to be better. You can go show him what a real Lakota looks and acts like, so make us proud.” So I did. I went and rode an old nag around a barrel — couldn’t even get her to run. My feet were almost touching the ground. [Laughs] No, not that bad. But I went around a barrel with an old nag. And lo and behold, I went and rode by the casting director. Elisabeth Leustig was her name, and she has since made her journey to the spirit world. But she came and pulled me out of the line and took my picture. And two and a half weeks later, we were shooting Dances.

C&I: Were you at all intimated by Kevin Costner?

Spears: Not at all. I had asked my dad who he was. He named off a couple of the shows that Kevin had done previously — and being 10 years old at the time, I didn’t recognize them, or even have any idea of who I was going to be acting with.

C&I: Well, you’ve certainly acted with many other major talents since then. Like when you played Zahn McClarnon’s brother in the 2005 miniseries Into the West.

Spears: Yes. Well, I call him sister or auntie now.

C&I: To his face or behind his back?

Spears: [Laughs] Oh, all the time. We talk and we joke all the time. We stay in contact a lot, and we’ve been in a lot of little shows together, and just started making this journey since Into the West, when we became relatives.

C&I: Speaking of McClarnon, you both recently appeared in the acclaimed TV series Reservation Dogs. He played Officer Big, and you played Danny,  who helps D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai’s character learn a trade. And now you’re playing another dad in 1923. I’m reminded of something Michael Caine told me years ago about receiving a script from his agent, and complaining how little he would be doing in the role he assumed would be his. And his agent said, “No, Michael, not that character. They want you to play the father, who has the most screen time.” And he said, “Oh, well, I’ve reached that part of my career. Okay.” Were you a little shaken the first time you were offered a daddy role?

Spears: To be honest, yeah. I said to myself, “Well, Michael, you are getting up there in age. But I think you can still pull it off to where you come off as a warrior, and you can still play an honorable person.” Oh, man. Yeah, I always try my best to project as much youthful energy into my character as I can.

C&I: Looks like you’re succeeding. Look, I know you can’t reveal too much about what’s in store for Runs His Horse during the rest of Season 2. But let me put it this way: I’m looking forward to seeing more of you until the season finale, and I hope my hopes are not dashed.

Spears: Thanks.

C&I: But that’s all you can say now, right?

Spears: [Laughs] Thanks.