Oscar-nominated actress Lily Gladstone on 'kicking the door in' for Native performers

Lily Gladstone says her historic Oscar nomination as Mollie Burkhart in the film “Killers of the Flower Moon” was built upon the relationships and stories from women who would have been Mollie’s contemporaries in the 1920s.  

In an interview with APM Reports, Gladstone gives credit to director Martin Scorsese and screenwriter Eric Roth for his adaptation of David Grann’s bestselling non-fiction book. The film and book describe how white men conspired to murder citizens of the Osage Nation to gain the rights to the oil and land.

Gladstone said her relationships with Osage citizens were instrumental in developing her role.

They helped her play the role of an Osage woman being courted and eventually marrying Ernest Burkhart, a key figure in the murders. Award-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio played Burkhart’s role in the movie.  

“There’s so much in the story that also just belongs to Osage,” Gladstone said.  

Gladstone, who already won a Golden Globe for her performance, has Blackfeet and Nez Perce heritage. Since she isn’t Osage, she said she relied on conversations with Osage citizens to gain their perspective.  

One person she credits is Margie Burkhart, Mollie’s granddaughter. Gladstone said she relied on Margie’s personality to help tell her grandmother’s story in the film.

“A lot of my pacing, a lot of my gestural work, you know, the dry sort of humor and, like, the awareness of him and what’s going on — all of that came from my first interactions with Margie and kind of the way that she is,” Gladstone remembered.

‘Be prayerful and still’ 

Another key scene that relied on the memories of Osage citizens featured Gladstone and DiCaprio playing the roles of Mollie and Ernest at dinner. A thunderstorm that electrifies the Oklahoma prairie rolled through and Mollie hushed Ernest to be quiet.

The scene relied on the memories of Wilson Pipestem’s grandmother, Rose Pipestem, who’s from the Grayhorse District, the area where Mollie is from.

Gladstone and Scorsese met with Pipestem after he invited Scorsese to dinner to share concerns over the way Osages would be portrayed in the movie.

Pipestem told them about the stories his grandmother told him when he was a child.

Pipestem said his grandmother would tell him to sit still during a thunderstorm just like Mollie did to Ernest out of respect for Wah Kon Tah, the creator.

“If we just act like these elements when there’s like a heavy storm, if we act like there’s no power in them and we just keep doing what we would do any day, something might happen to us,” Pipestem remembered his grandma telling him. “So, we need to just sit quiet and show respect and pray. Be prayerful and still.” 

Originally, that scene ended with Mollie and Ernest Burkhart drinking each other under the table, Gladstone said. But Gladstone said she and others worked with Scorsese to change it because they didn’t believe the scene accurately portrayed Mollie.   

Instead, the scene included what Pipestem told them. 

“It shows that contrast in the worldviews that are like confronting each other at this point in time,” Gladstone said.

Pipestem is rooting for Gladstone and Osage singer Scott George to win Oscars for their work on the film. George was nominated for “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People).” But even if they don’t win, Pipestem said he’s happy the two brought  visibility to the Osage people.

“I mean, they’ve already broken a major barrier,” Pipestem said of their nominations.

While Pipestem and other Osage citizens were influential in helping craft the movie’s narrative, many others joined Gladstone in front of the camera. 

Dana Daylight had a small part in the film playing Anna Sanford, an Osage woman who dies at the beginning of the film.

Daylight said she was impressed by the scene where Gladstone screams and cries out after learning her sister Rita died in a horrific house explosion.

She said Gladstone deserves credit for the way she held up Osage culture and portrayed how Osage women were targeted for their wealth.

“She’s showing the world we’re still here, we’re alive,” Daylight said. “We’re not living in a teepee by a stream. So, I mean, it’s … she’s so exciting in what she’s doing. It’s an inspiration.” 

‘I can’t just look at this as being all mine because it’s not’ 

For Gladstone, being a historic first is exciting, but it’s something she said comes with some responsibility.  

She said she and Sterlin Harjo, creator of FX’s “Reservation Dogs,” recently talked about how “right now we’re kicking the door in,” but that they can’t continue to run through it. Instead, she feels a responsibility “to stand here and hold it open” for others.  

As for the Oscar nomination, Gladstone says she’s working to honor those who paved the way to tell Burkhart’s story.  

“I can’t just look at this as being all mine because it’s not,” Gladstone said. “It’s circumstantial that I’m at this point in history because of this story, this filmmaker.”

Gladstone says she’s also pleased that Scorsese and others told a story that focused more on the Osage and less on the FBI’s investigation of the murders. She said allowing her to tell Mollie’s story was an “opportunity to tell a very complicated human story that’s very difficult.”

Gladstone says her nomination has allowed her to be thoughtful and to consider what’s next. In the meantime, she’s trying to share the spotlight with others even as the Osage Nation continues to celebrate her.  

Gladstone was recently recognized by the tribal nation for her role as Mollie Burkhart. They put forth a congressional resolution endorsing Gladstone’s performance and singer Scott George for his Oscar nomination for best song.  

She said it’s great to share that she and George are celebrating their success with the Osage community.

“It just feels so good to share that,” Gladstone said.