Biography
Who is Zahn McClarnon?
Early life and education
Zahn McClarnon Tokiya-ku McClarnon was born in Denver, Colorado, on October 24, 1966. His mother was of Hunkpapa Lakota heritage, while his father had Irish ancestry. He grew up across several states, including Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Ohio, and Montana. His father worked for the National Park Service near Glacier National Park, and Zahn often spent time visiting the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and the Rosebud Indian Reservation.
In 1985, Zahn graduated from Omaha Central High School in Nebraska. He has credited his high school drama teacher, Peggy Stommes, as a significant influence on his path toward acting. Following his graduation, he moved to Phoenix and eventually relocated to Los Angeles to pursue professional acting opportunities.
Career highlights
Zahn began his professional acting path in a local theatrical production of Jesus Christ Superstar in Council Bluffs, Iowa. After moving to Los Angeles in the early 1990s, he secured various film and television roles. He played Running Fox in the 2005 television miniseries Into the West and appeared in the 2009 films Not Forgotten and Repo Chick. In 2013, he appeared in the horror film Resolution and had a recurring role in the television series Ringer.
He gained wider recognition for portraying tribal police chief Mathias on the television series Longmire from 2012 to 2017. Following that success, he played Hanzee Dent in the second season of Fargo, Toshaway in The Son, and Akecheta in Westworld. His performance in the Westworld episode Kiksuya earned widespread critical acclaim. He also appeared as Crow Daddy in the 2019 Stephen King film adaptation Doctor Sleep.
Recent projects and awards
Since 2021, Zahn has played Officer Big in the comedy-drama television series Reservation Dogs. He also joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing as William Lopez in the series Hawkeye in 2021 and returning to the role in Echo in 2024. Also, he provided the voice for the character Olrox in the animated series Castlevania: Nocturne starting in 2023.
In 2021, it was announced that he would star as Joe Leaphorn in the AMC psychological thriller series Dark Winds. The series premiered in June 2022 and expanded to multiple seasons, with Zahn also serving as an executive producer. In 2026, he received the Visionary Award at the Santa Fe International Film Festival.
Personal life
Zahn's first name honors his maternal great-great-uncle, Frank B. Zahn, who was an artist and Lakota elder from the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. His middle name, Tokiya-ku, translates to mean first one to come, given to him by his mother because he was the first born in a set of twins. He has spoken in interviews about his past struggles with substance abuse.
In late 2017, Zahn suffered a severe brain injury after falling at his home, which required hospitalization and briefly paused production on Westworld. He successfully recovered from the accident and returned to his acting career.
Birthday and age
Zahn McClarnon was born on October 24, 1966, which makes Zahn 60 years old today. That birthday falls under the Scorpio sign. Zahn shares the date with 63 other famous people.
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