Will Sampson Biography

Fast Facts

• Served in the U․S․ Navy, where he learned to fly a plane even though he was never an official Navy pilot
• Helped to establish the American Indian Film Institute in 1979 and founded the American Indian Registry for the Performing Arts in 1983
• Was nominated for a Genie Award for Best Performance by a Foreign Actor for "Fish Hawk" in 1980
• Started out as an artist and a rodeo circuit worker before pursuing an acting career
• Best known for his role as Chief Bromden in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and as Ten Bears in "The Outlaw Josey Wales․"
• Got his role in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" after he was noticed at an art show for his imposing height
• His painting of the Muscogee Ribbon Dance is on display in the Creek Council House Museum in Okmulgee, Oklahoma