Rudy Youngblood


Rudy Youngblood, is a Native American actor, musician, dancer, and artist. He was born in Belton, Texas. Youngblood is of Comanche, Cree, and Yaqui ancestry.

Early life and education

Born in a small town in Texas, Rudy Youngblood grew up with two younger sisters; they were supported by their mother as their father was not around. At the age of ten, he started working at construction jobs and learned skills and stories from the men. He has learned carpentry, brick laying, and other skills. He went to local schools and was competitive in boxing and track athletics in high school. He frequently went to movies and became a fan of film. Upon graduation, he was offered Fulbright scholarships to major colleges in both art and track and field, but he chose Native dance instead. He has performed with the American Indian Dance Theatre.
Following success in his role in Apocalypto, the Los Angeles Times reported that his Native American ancestry has been questioned, but Rudy has dismissed these claims.

Acting career

Going to a general casting call, Youngblood was selected by the director Mel Gibson to play the leading role of Jaguar Paw in the epic film Apocalypto, in which he also performed his own stunts. He learned the Yucatec Maya language in order to appear as a tribesman in the film, in which all dialogue was in Maya. For his work in the film, he won the Best Actor award at the 15th annual First Americans in the Arts awards.

Personal life and activism

Youngblood has participated in HIV activism, engaging in AIDS walks and visiting HIV-positive children in hospitals — in particular to draw attention to the rate of HIV infection in the Native community. Having seen a family-member die of AIDS-related complications, he felt it important to "give back and make a difference" and has spoken out about the importance of education in combating ignorance around HIV/AIDS, alcoholism, drug abuse and child abuse. Having grown up looking after his sisters as a result of his mother's struggles with alcoholism, he regained a close relationship with her subsequently.

Filmography