OTTAWA – Following the death of iconic Canadian First Nations actor Graham Greene, grieving viewers report finding themselves utterly overwhelmed by choice when attempting to pick a single film or TV show to watch in tribute.
Film buff and Greene fan Andrew Cairns, 43, relates his own experience of processing the acclaimed actor’s passing. “When I read the news, I knew of course I’d have to put on something of Greene’s to commemorate his life. At first I was like, ‘Dances With Wolves put him on the map’, but then I remembered that he’s got that great part in The Green Mile. Not to mention playing a sarcastic cop in Die Hard With A Vengeance, which is an underrated banger.”
“Before I knew it I’d been scrolling the Netflix menu for 3 hours, and was still sad but hadn’t started watching anything.”
Amber Springer of Brantford, ON (close to the Six Nations Reserve where Greene was born) reports being overwhelmed both by affection for Greene and his staggering body of work. “For a while I considered watching Maverick, because Graham Greene is good enough to make me look past Mel Gibson,” Springer recounts. “And then I remembered he played the love interest in Transamerica. That’s when the room started spinning.”
Springer reports that she then made the mistake of opening Greene’s IMDb page only to discover the versatile character actor’s monumental 180 credits, with 8 yet to see release, causing her to pass out on the sofa.
Cherie Blackstock, of the Ashcroft Indian Band outside Kamloops, BC, faced a similar uphill battle while choosing a Graham Greene tribute to watch. “I had nearly narrowed it down to a single movie, but then I remembered all the TV shows he appeared on. I only wish I had time to watch all the Northern Exposure episodes where Greene played sardonic shaman Leonard Quinhagak, or even some of his recent critically acclaimed work like Reservation Dogs or that one episode of HBO’s The Last Of Us.”
Blackstock then stared resolutely at her television after recalling Greene’s supporting role in Marvel Studios’ Echo, meaning that she might have to begin a full MCU rewatch to honour his memory.
At press time Prime Minister Mark Carney has declared this coming month “Greenetember”, in which Canadians can binge shows and films featuring the irreplaceable legend of stage and screen.
