Adam Beach

ADAM BEACH

Date of Birth: November 11, 1972

A Saulteaux of the Ojibwa nation, Adam Beach was born on the Dog Creek reserve in Manitoba. Adam was an orphan by the age of eight when his parents were both killed in separate accidents within months of each other. Their deaths resulted in Adam and his two brothers being bounced between various family members and finally settling in Winnipeg.

Leaving school after grade 11, Adam pursued a career in acting, learned his skills on the job. His first role was as an extra in the TV-movie Lost in the Barrens with Graham Greene. A tape of his work was circulated and before he knew it, he was cast in another telefilm, Spirit Rider. Adam then landed the lead role in Disney's Squanto: A Warrior's Tale, and a very significant and memorable role as Frank Fencepost in Dance Me Outside (both 1994). For his performance in the latter he won the Best Actor award at the American Indian Film Festival.

Smoke Signals (1998), which he landed after only two readings. He related to his character, Victor Joseph, who must leave his reservation in Idaho and head to Phoenix to collect the ashes of his late father, who had abandoned him and his mother when he was just 10. The film made history when it won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival because it was the first feature written, produced and directed by, and starring, Native Americans.

Mystery, Alaska (1999), a comedy about a small town's hockey team who takes on a challenge from the New York Rangers, and finds themselves at the centre of a televised event. Starring Burt Reynolds, Russell Crowe and Hank Azaria, Adam's small role merely required him to show up and play hockey for three months. After appearing in a string of Canadian films, Beach landed a role in Joe Dirt (2001), a comedy starring David Spade and Christopher Walken.

Windtalkers (2001), Adam played a Navajo code talker in WWII who befriends his captor (Nicolas Cage). Since then, has worked almost nonstop. In 2008, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for his work in the TV movie Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. He's also appeared in the critically acclaimed motion picture Flags of Our Fathers (2006), Cowboys & Aliens (2011) with Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig and will appear in the upcoming Suicide Squad (2016) alongside Will Smith and Jared Leto.

Adam played the lead in the CBC adventure drama series Arctic Air for two seasons from 2012 to 2014.

When not acting, Adam visits schools to speak to native children and tell them that their dreams can come true. He lives in Los Angeles. He divorced his second wife, Tara, in 2007 after four years of marriage. He has two sons who live in Ottawa with his first wife, Meredith, whom he was married to from 1999 to 2003.