Sterlin Harjo
SCREENWRITER AND DIRECTOR
WHAT IS YOUR CALLING CARD?
I wear hats and sunglasses a lot. People think it’s to be cool—which it is—but it’s more about putting a layer up between me and you. It brings me comfort.
WHAT’S ONE BOOK, WORK OF ART, ALBUM, OR FILM THAT GOT YOU THROUGH AN IMPORTANT MOMENT IN YOUR LIFE?
It’s clichéd, but I read On the Road when I left my rural Oklahoma hometown to start college, and it changed my life. Put simply, it presented alternate versions of what a man could be. Where I was from, there weren’t many options. You were either tough or weak. On the Road gave my 18-year-old self more to contemplate.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
A decently good human being.
“"I wear hats and sunglasses a lot. People think it’s to be cool—which it is—but it’s more about putting a layer up between me and you."”
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SURPRISED YOURSELF IN YOUR WORK?
Working on Reservation Dogs the last few years was pretty surprising. I was about to hang up my cameras and get a real job right before I landed that show.
WHAT’S COMING UP FOR YOU IN 2024?
I have a new show called The Sensitive Kind starring Ethan Hawke and Keith David.
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS YOUR BIGGEST CONTRIBUTION TO CULTURE?
I have some pretty cool children.
in your life?
