Eddie Spears

Edward Spears is an Indigenous American actor renowned for bringing authentic Native voices to screen and stage. Born on November 29, 1982 in Chamberlain, South Dakota, he grew up on the Lower Brulé Indian Reservation before moving with his family to Pierre and later Aberdeen, where he attended Aberdeen Central High School. Coming from a large family with five brothers and a sister, his older brother Michael also pursued acting, creating a supportive environment that nurtured his early interest in performance. At ten years old, Eddie landed his first role in TNT’s Geronimo, filmed in Arizona, marking the start of a career that would span more than three decades. His breakthrough came with the role of Shane Chasing Horse in the 2003 Hallmark miniseries Dreamkeeper, a performance that earned him the FAITA Best Actor Award in 2004. The following year he head‑lined Black Cloud, a film about a Navajo boxer training for the Golden Gloves, for which he underwent three months of intensive boxing training with Jimmy Gambia and later received the Phoenix Film Festival Best Actor Award. Spears continued to build a diverse résumé, portraying Joseph Black Moon on AMC’s acclaimed series Hell on Wheels (2011‑2012) and providing the voice of Grey Beaver in the 2018 animated feature White Fang. More recent appearances include a supporting role in season 2 of Yellowstone (2019) and a cameo in Rutherford Falls (2022). In addition to acting, Eddie has modeled for designer Virgil Ortiz, been featured on the cover of New Mexico Magazine, and earned a Bronze Wrangler Award for his lead in Yellow Rock (2012). An avid outdoorsman, powwow singer, and traditional dancer, he speaks some Lakota, mentors emerging Indigenous talent, and currently resides in Montana, where he frequently serves as a keynote speaker on Native representation in media.