Duane Howard

When millions of people see actor Duane Howard play 'Elk Dog', the lead native warrior in 20th Century Fox's mammoth film The Revenant, chances are that they will marvel at how such a riveting actor came out of nowhere. But Duane did not come out of nowhere; he came from the streets. Duane Howard is a First Nation born in the Nuu-chah-nulth (meaning "along the mountains and sea") territory located on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. The Howard family left the territory when Duane was only 3 to live in the nearby town Port Alberni. By the time he moved to Vancouver with his older sister at the age of 14 following his parents' separation, Duane had already been using drugs and alcohol for four years. Duane lived on the streets from the age of 14 to 18 years old and had many close calls. Many times during this unimaginable period Duane considered not going on. After 13 years at the age of 23 Duane realized that he did not want his son to follow in his foo