Why Wind River director Taylor Sheridan – writer of Sicario and Hell or High Water – penned Native American murder mystery
Sheridan invited tribal leaders to the set, cast as many Native Americans as he could and even got most of the film’s financing from the Tunica-Biloxi tribe to tell the story of a 18-year-old girl murdered on a reservation
Taylor Sheridan is recalling his lowest professional ebb, back when he was a jobbing actor. “I’m 28 years old, I’m an actor in LA and very disillusioned with what I’m doing,” he says. “I realise I’m basically selling ad-space. Guest-starring on TV shows, it’s the least artistic thing you can do.”
Appearing on schedule-filling staples such as Party of Five and NYPD Blue, he felt frustrated and let down by “Los Angeles, America and everything”.
It took almost two decades, but Sheridan finally found his calling: at the keyboard. His first script was for Denis Villeneuve’s critically acclaimed 2015 drugs drama Sicario . His second, the small-town sibling robbers tale Hell or High Water , directed by David Mackenzie, became the sleeper hit of last summer, gaining four Oscar nominations, including best original screenplay for Sheridan.
Now comes the taut Wind River, a script Sheridan decided to direct himself.
If there’s a reason for the 47-year-old writer-director’s successes, it’s the authenticity and relatable qualities of his stories. Raised in Texas, his family is full of lawmen, including former deputy US marshal Parnell McNamara – the inspiration for Jeff Bridges’ sheriff in Hell or High Water. “I write about things I can taste, that I know,” he says.
