Coyote Waits

The great tragedy of this series is that Wes Studi was miscast as Joe Leaphorn. I've read Hillerman's whole series and in my mind's eye, Graham Greene should have played Leaphorn. The thing about Leaphorn was, when he wanted information, he would just start a conversation and let someone talk himself out. He wouldn't often pose direct questions like an interrogation. He would let a guy talk for hours if he felt like it and just soak up everything the person had to say and mentally file it away. My point is that if you watch "Dances With Wolves", there were many scenes where Greene wouldn't talk because of the language barrier with Costner, but his expression would show that the wheels were turning inside his brain. That's Joe Leaphorn. When Wes Studi listens to someone, his expression conveys that he's wondering how your scalp would look hanging on his lodgepole. Also, a large part of the series dealt with Leaphorn becoming a recent widower, and eventually meeting new companionship (though not necessarily romance). Not that Leaphorn went around all depressed all the time, but there were times he felt the loss of his wife, and I felt Greene would have conveyed all that much better, in a subtle kind of way.

Sorry Wes, you just look too mean to play Leaphorn.