ahn McClarnon is ready for his close up. After establishing himself as an exceptionally versatile actor and an attention-grabbing screen presence in supporting roles, and amassing a résumé highlighted by such major TV credits as , , , and , the 55-year-old actor is front and center as the star of , the acclaimed AMC drama based on the popular Leaphorn & Chee mystery novels by Tony Hillerman. McClarnon propels the neo-noirish limited-run series with a performance fueled by equal measures of focused intensity, dry wit, slow-burning anger, and repressed anguish as Sheriff Joe Leaphorn, a dedicated lawman at a remote Navajo Nation outpost in 1971. While trying to solve a local double murder — and, maybe, connect it to a big-city bank robbery — Leaphorn relies on the assistance of a trusted associate, Navajo police Sgt. Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten), and a possibly untrustworthy deputy, Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon). He’s something of a workaholic, but we’re left to assume that solving crimes also is a way for Leaphorn to distract
