In 2021, Osage actor Chance Brave found himself as a background actor on the set of “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
Since his role as a background actor, he has moved to multiple roles in the film industry. Recently, he starred in the short film “Ring of Sorrow: The Leon Graves Story,” (2024) playing the main character Leon Graves. According to a YouTube post of the trailer, the nine-minute film directed and written by Costas Goldstone is scheduled to be released on July 21.
With the Oklahoma film industry booming, Brave has had the opportunity to star in independent films shot in Oklahoma such as “The Grit” (2023), “Seven Cemeteries” (2024) starring Danny Trejo, and most recently, “Ring of Sorrow.”
In “Ring of Sorrow,” Leon Graves is battling depression following the death of his mother.
However, Brave wasn’t looking for the lead role.
“Me and him kind of have a similar background,” he said. “So I could get into the character and filled the character well. It was a good role for me.”
Brave started MMA fighting and professional boxing six months before the film, and when he got the role he was able to execute his own stunts. He and his boxing coach, Tommy Sea, met on the set of “Seven Cemeteries,” and executed their own stunts.
“I had been training every day with him for a few months before he found out about ‘Ring of Sorrow,’” Sea said. “At that time both of us were extras and we hadn’t thought about leading a film. But when we found out it was about boxing, I was like ‘Well this is what we’ve already been training for.’ We realized if it’s going to be a boxing movie, instead of faking it and choreographing the fight scenes, let’s do it for real.”
In the trailer of the short film, there is a scene where Brave is fighting Sea, and yes, it is a real fight. The training they had spent so much time doing on a whim for six months prior to the film paid off.
“It was amazing to see him over the last year or so, grow from just a performer to a legitimately skilled fighter who could get into the ring and go for it,” Sea said. “We’re both really into stunts and we realized the best way to get good at that is to do that stuff.”
Brave has only been in the film industry for a couple of years, but he already has an IMDb page with multiple film credits listed. He was unsure about the film industry at first, but stepped outside his comfort zone and applied for KOTFM.
“It wasn’t until ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ came through and my cousin asked me if I wanted to be a part of that and she sent me an application to be a driver in the film,” Brave said.
He ended up getting a call back to come to set. He was cast as a driver for the Model A and Model T cars. He spent eight months on set, and at the beginning of KOTFM, he wasn’t sure where his future in the film industry would take him.
“At that time I didn’t know I was going to fall in love and have a passion for filming,” he said. “And enjoy being around people that also love filming and being in that environment.”
Seeing other people show up for call times and being motivated to take part in the movie made him have a change of heart for the film industry.
“For a lot of these background actors, I watched these people drive five hours to get to set and start driving at midnight,” he said. “I thought that was really interesting. These guys really love this and they really like doing this stuff. That’s cool, and that’s dedication. At the end of filming, I could see myself doing this.”
The last day of filming for KOTFM, he saw a call sheet for another movie and sent his application in for “Seven Cemeteries.” He got the role of a mercenary.
“I just think through filming, you start networking and meeting people,” he said.
Bill Fenton goes to church with Brave and hopes that one day he will see him on the big screen in the future.
“To be able to go from being an extra in a movie to being a lead role in a movie, I think that you would have to navigate the film industry fairly well,” Fenton said. “I hope that he finds a ton of success and happiness, and stays true to his course and finds joy.”
Brave recommends others to take that leap into something outside of their comfort zone because others may find joy in doing so.
“There’s a first time for everybody,” he said. “[Matthew] McConaughey had his first day on set somewhere. I think everybody could have that day, just go out there and do it. Go fill out an application even if you don’t get it. If it’s out of the norm for you, just try it.”
Brave wants more Native American actors to get involved in the film industry and hopes he can inspire Natives to do so.
“Let’s inspire some Natives,” he said. “Let’s get behind them, let’s get them out there. The time is now.”
He also remains humble and his faith helps him keep grounded as he progresses through his film career.
“I have to praise God and thank Him because He redeemed my life,” he said. “He gave me another chance at this. He showed me that ‘you have a passion for this and you love this, be disciplined in this, go inspire some people.’ And that’s what I want to do.”
Eventually he would like to do work behind the camera including producing and directing a film.
Outside of filming, Brave likes to create music and art. He loves hiking and trying new things that are outside of his comfort zone.
