D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai’s Historic Emmy Nomination Inspires Him to Work Harder

“I’m definitely going through withdrawal symptoms,” D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai admits. “I miss everyone.” As Reservation Dogs still running, the actor explains, the show would now either be filming or airing new episodes. Instead, the FX comedy finally wrapped last fall and subsequently earned his first Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy presentation.

Sterling Harjo’s Rez dogs combines humor and hard-hitting drama as it tells the story of four Native American teenagers in Oklahoma—Bear (Woon-A-Tai), Elora (Devery Jacobs), Willie Jack (Paulina Alexis), and Cheese (Lane Factor)—who dream of escaping their Oklahoma reservation and making it to California. Despite critical accolades, the show was ignored at the Primetime Emmys until its final season, with Woon-A-Tai the only cast member to receive a nod, making history as the first native star to win the Best Actor category.

The young Rez dogs The actor is grateful for the recognition, but he is especially proud to be part of a TV show that portrays authentic Indigenous characters. The AV club spoke to Woon-A-Tai about his role as Bear Smallhill, working with the show’s creative team and the significance of his nomination.

The AV club: You were 18 when you landed Reservation DogsWhat has playing someone like Bear taught you at this early stage in your career?

D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai: It made me look back at my choices when I was about 16, the same age as Bear, and realize how I handled situations compared to how he handles things or doesn’t handle things. I’m a lot like Bear, so it felt like I was in my own shoes a little bit. The experiences that he’s had are similar to mine — not all of them, of course, but a lot of them. I even had some of them when I was 19 and 20, so I think playing him taught me how to understand life.

AVC: Was it difficult to keep your real life from seeping into your character?

DW: It’s interesting because, yeah, like I said, we have similar experiences. It was definitely hard, especially when Bear was going through some of the things that I was going through. I think it’s also because I felt like I was representing a lot of people, not just Bear but the Muscogee Nation[in Oklahoma, where the show is filmed and set]. There are a lot of kids who can relate to him, so I thought about how telling his story would hopefully help young men and women.

AVC: Did you know from the beginning where Bear’s journey was going? And did you talk to Sterlin about what you wanted his story to look like?

DW: I had no idea what Bear’s storyline was going to be, even in season one. I really thought this was going to be a limited series, so I’m glad we were able to do three seasons. But I had high hopes for Bear’s journey because I knew he was in good hands. The writers cared deeply about him and all the characters. So I knew he would have his moment where he would find what he was looking for, which was becoming a man and seeing if he was a good person. I knew it would happen for him, even though I didn’t know how it would end. So I was often surprised when I went through the scripts.



AVC: Do you remember a scene that surprised you the most?

DW: Oh yeah, the kidnapping scene in the second episode of season three with Maximus (Graham Greene). When he gets shot in the neck with the arrow and falls, I was like, “What? What happens now? Where is this going?” He wakes up in the back of a car. It was crazy, but Bear needed that experience at that moment. He had to bring back a community member who was lost, but also see where his path would lead if he left Oklahoma like he wanted to.

AVC: You get two big solo episodes in season three, “Maximus” and “Deer Lady.” What was it like taking on those storylines?

DW: It was a lot of pressure, honestly. I never had the chance to work with them properly. Kaniehtiio Hornwho plays Deer Lady, or with Graham Greene, who plays Maximus. Graham was new in Reservation Dogs in general, but I’ve known his work forever, so I was excited to get the chance to meet him and act with him. I felt the pressure, but it was necessary. Every main character has had their own moment, and I think Bear deserved it with these episodes in season three. From the beginning, Bear has shown that he feels bad about things like when he steals and he often questions whether he’s a good person or not. So I think meeting Deer Lady really tests him. And she took really good care of him and showed him that his mother raised him well.

AVC: What was it like developing the comedic and dramatic chemistry between Bear, Elora, Cheese and Willie Jack?

DW: Paulina Alexis, who plays Willie Jack, and I had worked together on a project called Beans for Reservation dogs. It’s a great film based on the Oka crisis in Canada in 1990. People should look into it. Anyway, we were already working on this project together as brother and sister, so we knew each other. It was cool to see her again and spend time with her, and then we decided that we would spread that feeling on set. And that was not hard. Sterlin and his community, and the Muscogee community as a whole, opened their arms to us. From the auditions, some of the people who auditioned for Bear, Elora, Willie Jack, or Cheese, ended up playing the Indian Mafia on the show. The person who was my “competition” for Bear, Dalton Cramer, ended up playing Daniel. So right from the start, we became fast friends in the audition room and hung out every day. Dalton stayed at my house and lived with me during the filming of season one. Jude Barnett, who played Bone Thug Dog, also stayed with me. We all made it our home, so I think that translates to the chemistry that you see on screen.

AVC: Rez dogs also features some groundbreaking Native actors like Zahn McClarnon, Dallas Goldtooth and Lily Gladstone. What was it like having them on set?

DW: It was amazing. Honestly, I’m so glad you asked because it was incredibly fun. These are people that I’ve always wanted to work with. Now if you ask me who you want to work with next, the answer is, “I did.” Like you said, these are people that have been in the industry for a long time, when representation wasn’t at its best. They went through it because they loved the business, they wanted to keep working, and they still had to put food on their plate. They had to endure stereotypes that were affecting our community as a whole. It was either them (who got cast) or it was going to be, you know, a non-Indigenous person playing an Indigenous role. I deeply acknowledge that. I’m grateful for all the older generation actors that we’ve worked with on Reservation Dogs and even those who weren’t on the show. They paved the way for us, by putting up with so much crap so we could do Reservation Dogs and thus break those stereotypes. They pushed their foot in the door so we could go all the way. In the Native community, it’s important that we pass on knowledge to the generations in all aspects of life. Acting is no different. I felt like I was mentored by every veteran on and off screen, including Zahn McClarnon. The biggest one for me, as I said, was Graham Greene. He took me under his wing and taught me a lot.



AVC: What kind of reaction did you all expect from Reservation Dogs while it was airing?

DW: I knew from reading the script, or even the analysis of the show before I got the script, that this was going to be important to the Native community across North America. It’s a unique show with Native writers, cast, and directors. I knew it was special before I saw how big it got. I’ll always be proud of the fact that we can claim this. I knew it was going to be different, and I didn’t know how the general public would take it. So we all thought it was going to be a limited series, but then it caught on. A lot of people could relate to it because I feel like we told a human story in the end.

AVC: The show ended up getting a nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series at the Emmys, and you got a Leading Actor nomination. What do you think of that?

DW: It has inspired me to work harder and harder to see what the next level is that I can reach. It hasn’t changed much for me beyond that. It’s cool to be recognized by some pretty important people, enough to get a nomination, but mostly it inspires me to work harder and more.

AVC: Do you feel like Reservation Dogs Will the Emmys’ attention lead to more people seeing the film?

DW: Yes and no, you know? People see the show and they’re like, “Oh, it’s nominated for an Emmy,” and that’s going to generate more interest if it hasn’t already, which is great. But I also think that our fan base is what it is because people know that they want to watch it or learn more about indigenous communities. Not everyone wants to learn more about them. It’s great that we’re nominated for an Emmy because that can change things in a way, but we’ve also won awards from a lot of great academies since season one. So I think where we are now, Emmy or not for the show or me, I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished for our people because that’s really what we’re here for.

AVC: It’s great that Reservation Dogs is a TV show that people can point to for authentic Native representation. Do you remember any projects growing up that made you feel that way or that you were inspired by?

DW: I didn’t see that many Native projects that I watched growing up in the early 2000s through the late 2010s. They were never particularly funny anyway. A lot of times it was non-Native people representing us or telling stories that they thought people wanted to hear, so the depressing stuff. Comedy-wise, I can’t think of anything off the top of my head. There are things Reservation Dogs I got my inspiration from the 80s and 90s, but that wasn’t my time.

I watched Chris Eyre’s Smoke signals. Another film that I remember having a lot of indigenous content when I was growing up was Dance me outsidebased in Ontario, where I’m from. It was cool to see such a good project with representation, even though it wasn’t a very popular film. My grandfather showed it to my father, who showed it to me. In Canada, we have something called APTN, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, which is a channel that focuses on Native content, from news to weather to sports and everything in between. But there was nothing on a major platform like FX or Disney+.

AVC: What kind of movies and TV shows are you looking forward to?

DW: In terms of genres, I love psychological thrillers. I want to do something that challenges me and my craft so I can try something new. I want to tell more Indigenous stories with Indigenous creators. That’s important to me. There’s a lot of hype right now when it comes to representation, and I don’t think it’s just a “moment in the industry.” Authentic representation is here to stay, so I think it’s time to start creating and building things within the community and putting our foot down. I also think it shows the youth that it’s totally possible to get into the industry, whether it’s through acting, directing, writing, or being on the crew side, for people in cities, rural areas, or on reservations.