Studi on Comanche Moon

Native American actor, Studi, back with host of colorful characters for 'Lonesome Dove' prequelBuffalo Hump and his son Blue Duck, played by Adam Beach, provide a dramatic twist to the story as a disagreeing father and son who eventually butt heads.

"That was extremely intense," recalled Studi of the scene in which Blue Duck and Buffalo Hump square off. "(Buffalo Hump) knows that his own son is definitely off his rocker more or less to put it as nicely as possible. Blue Duck was pretty nuts."

Adding an element of realism to the miniseries was the inclusion of subtitles and the Comanche language, something that, according to Studi, everyone took very seriously when it came to learning their lines.

"It's a matter of knowing key words and understanding more or less what you're actually saying," he continued. "It's really not that difficult except for long passages (and) the flow isn't always as you would expect it to be in English."A revival of Westerns?Studi hopes "Comanche Moon" will ignite a similar spark as "Dances With Wolves" and fire up the stagnant Western genre.

"Other filmmakers follow in the footsteps of any success that happens and I think 'Dances With Wolves' was a success," said Studi, who played the role of the Pawnee leader in the Oscar-winning film. "A number of other Western-themed films and miniseries' were put together after that. With the success of this one, I think that will happen again and get a lot of Indians more work."The reality of Buffalo Hump:While there was a great Comanche named Buffalo Hump, the character in McMurtry's story is fictionalized. Studi prefers to think of it as a semi-historical portrayal of the real warrior.

"A lot of (Comanches) say at one point, the guy had kind of a hump on his back which caused that, but others tell you that his name really was in reference to his sexual prowess," Studi said with a laugh. "You know what my pick would be."