Kiowa Gordon

Gordon was born in Berlin, Germany, where his father, Thomas Gordon, was working.^[1][2] He is the seventh of eight children (Mac, Sean, Aaron, Josh, Cheyenne, Sariah, Lakota). His mother, Camille Nighthorse Gordon, is also an actress.^[3] Gordon is a member of the Hualapai Tribe of Northern Arizona through his mother's side. He is of European ancestry from his father.^[4][5]

His family moved back to the U.S. when he was two years old, and he grew up in Arizona, where he attended Cactus Shadows High School in Cave Creek, Arizona.^[3] He attended the LDS church for a while in the same ward as Twilight author Stephenie Meyer.^[6]

Kiowa used to be a member of a progressive metal band called Touché, leaving it to focus on acting.^[7][8]

In 2009, Gordon played shapeshifter Embry Call in New Moon, based on Stephenie Meyer's novel of the same name. He has said that he was approached one day at church by Stephenie Meyer as she thought he would be perfect for the wolf pack.^{[citation needed]} He then attended an open casting where he landed the role of Jacob Black's best friend. Gordon replaced Krys Hyatt (who played Embry in Twilight) in New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn.^{[citation needed]}

Gordon was set to play Brad in the proposed American film Into The Darkness, but the film never came to fruition. He portrayed Jake Kingston in the 2015 thriller Wind Walkers, which tells a Native American urban legend.^[9][10] Gordon starred in An Act of War, released on Netflix in 2015. The film was directed by Ryan M. Kennedy and produced by Atit Shah.^{[citation needed]}

In 2021, it was announced that Gordon would star as Jim Chee in Dark Winds, a psychological thriller television series on AMC. It's Executive producers include Robert Redford, George R. R. Martin & Zahn McClarnon (who also stars as Joe Leaphorn). It premiered on 12 June 2022 and has received very positive reviews. In February 2026, ahead of the fourth-season premiere, the series was renewed for an eight-episode fifth season.^[11]