Michael Horse (Michael James Heinrich, born 1949[1]) is an American film and television actor. He is also a painter and jeweler.[3] He is best known for playing Deputy Tommy 'Hawk' Hill on Twin Peaks.[4]
Background and education
Michael James Heinrich was born in Los Angeles County, California in 1949.[1] Biographies have also given his birthplace as Tucson, Arizona,[3] or a town named "Near Tucson" in Arizona.[4] His parents were Nancie Bellen Posten and George Heinrich, who married in 1953. Angela Aleiss wrote, "Heinrich listed his parents as Austrian."[5] Biographies have also described his mother as being Swedish and George Heinrich being his adopted father.[3]
Horse "describes himself as half-Indian and part Zuni, Mescalero, Yaqui and Hispanic with a touch of Swedish…."[4] In 2017, American art writer Daniel Grant wrote, "Horse has refused to apply to any one tribe for enrollment" in an article in which Horse stated that he belonged to "three nations... I'm one-eighth this and one-eighth that. I'm tired of explaining myself in fractions. I know who I am."[6]
Career
Horse's film debut came in the role of Tonto in the 1981 film The Legend of the Lone Ranger, which was a commercial failure. Before taking the role, Horse had been concerned that the character might be perceived as a stereotype.[7]
After appearing in David Lynch's short film The Cowboy and the Frenchman (1988), Horse portrayed Deputy Hawk, a police officer, in Lynch's TV series Twin Peaks (1990–91).[8] He also acted in Passenger 57 (1992),[9]House of Cards (1993), the 1990s version of the television series The Untouchables (1993),[10] and North of 60 (1995–97). He also appeared in the Thanks episode "Thanksgiving" in 1999, portraying Squanto. He appeared as Deputy Owen Blackwood in four episodes of the first season of Roswell (1999). Horse also appeared as Sheriff Tskany in The X-Files episode "Shapes" in 1994. In 1999, Horse guest starred on Walker, Texas Ranger in the episode "Team Cherokee" as John Red Cloud, the owner of a Native American NASCAR racing team and a friend of the titular character, Texas Ranger Cordell Walker (Chuck Norris).
^ abcdefghi"Michael Horse (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved September 30, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
