Reservation Dogs and Dark Winds actor Zahn McClarnon recalls sneaking into the Blossom Music Center as a kid

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Longtime actor Zahn McClarnon is pretty busy these days playing law enforcement officers.

Not only did he wear the badge on AMC’s recent cop series Dark Winds, but McClarnon is also back as funny cop Big in FXs Reservation Dogs, which returns for its second season on August 3.

The award-winning Reserve Dogs are a critical hit with a 98% Certified Freshness Rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It was co-created by Sterlin Harjo (Love and Fury, Barking Water, Four Sheets to the Wind) and Academy Award-winning inner Taika Waititi (Thor: Love and Thunder, Jojo Rabbit, What We Do in the Shadows).

After the exploits of Native American teenagers in rural Oklahoma, the half-hour comedy marks a breakthrough in Native American representation on television. Every writer, director, and series regular on the show is Indigenous.

We recently caught up with McClarnon to discuss his busy schedule, his memories of the Blossom Music Center, and the zeitgeist of Indigenous representation on television.

Hello, Zahn, congratulations on all the success. Before I talk about Reservation Dogs, have you ever been to northeast Ohio?

Yes, I lived there for two years. My dad worked for the National Park Service, so when Virginia Kendall/Cuyahoga Valley State Park opened in 1977 and 1978, we moved to Northampton Township, which is now Cuyahoga Falls. I literally lived across from the Blossom Music Center. In fact, I went back last summer to see old friends. I stayed on the peninsula.

Wow. Did you see any good shows back then?

Many. I was quite young – 11 and 12 – but saw Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, Andy Gibb. These are the great shows that I remember. It was great. We used to sneak through the woods and jump the fence. I got macerated several times.

This storyline sounds like something out of Reservation Dogs, which debuted last year as a groundbreaking show about Native American life.

Were at a very unique time right now for Indigenous representation in television and film. I’ve been doing this for a few years and it’s really wonderful to be a part of it with what’s going on. Finally, we learned to tell our own stories. People are enjoying the show and the other two shows right now that are directed, directed, and written by natives – (Peacocks) Rutherford Falls and (AMC) Dark Winds. We hope to continue to break down these walls.

You can also add Primes Under Banner of Heaven, which had a Native American character.

Yeah, exactly, Gil Birmingham, a good friend of mine is on that show.

Regarding Reservation Dogs, did you feel at the beginning of the series that it was different?

I knew sterlin for probably 10 years now. He’s a talented guy and so is Taika, of course. Sterlin had a small native comic troupe that made YouTube videos called the 1491s. When I first saw those videos I knew he was going to do something and he did. He made it into a TV show and used all of his friends in those videos. I just think it’s great that people are finally seeing us represented on television, it was human beings and three-dimensional characters. People see different aspects of culture that they’ve never seen before because for decades we’ve been kind of pigeonholed by these little cliches and stereotypes. It’s a wonderful time for us.

The main storyline of Reservation Dogs involves teenagers who seek to escape the reservation and move to California for a better future. Considering that’s exactly what you did at their age, this narrative has to resonate.

These communities are quite isolated and many of these young children do not leave the reserve. They spend their whole life in the reserve. I can relate to two kids on a show when they want to go to California to hang out. That’s what I did when I was quite young. I was 18 and living in Nebraska, going back and forth on the ground floor. I grew up on and off the reserve. I’ve always looked west and California from the Midwest to pursue my dreams and get out of those small towns, so I can definitely relate to those characters.

Congratulations also on the renewal of Dark Winds for a second season.

I was very excited to hear this news. It was a chance to be #1 on a TV show. I jumped at the chance to work with (executive producers) Robert Redford and George R. Martin. I think it’s a good show and I was looking forward to doing the second season. I am also very grateful to be part of Reservation Dogs. I work with my friends and all the kids and explore a completely different opposite character, even though they’re both reserve cops.

You also appear in the fourth season of HBOs Westworld, as well as recently entered the MCU with Disney+’s Hawkeye and spin-off Echo.

I never thought that I would be part of the Marvel universe even if it’s not a real big character. But as actors, we’ve been doing it for decades. I finally got busy, and I’m jumping at those opportunities.

Considering how your IMDB page seems to be exploding, this seems to be Zahn’s heyday.

Yes, things are going well. I am very lucky.