Beach has a long list of diverse portrayals. He saw acting as a catharsis and turned to theatre as a venue to express his feelings and tell his own personal stories. At age 18, Beach won a small role in the miniseries
Lost in the Barrens, based on the
Farley Mowat novel. In the following years, he continued to work in local theatre and guest-starred on television shows such as
Walker, Texas Ranger and
Touched by an Angel. Shortly afterwards, Beach was cast as a regular on the television shows
North of 60 and
The Rez. After his performance in
Dance Me Outside, he starred in
Smoke Signals, which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the
Sundance Film Festival. In 2002,
Windtalkers, starring Beach, was released in theatres; it was about Navajo
codetalkers working with the US Marines during World War II. To prepare for this role, Beach spent six months learning the
Navajo language. He used this language in his next project,
Skinwalkers, based on a novel by
Tony Hillerman and directed by
Chris Eyre, who had given him his break-out role in
Smoke Signals. Between large-scale projects, Beach made small television appearances on such shows as
JAG and
Third Watch. Also, in 2003, he returned to the character that he first portrayed in
Skinwalkers in the movie
Coyote Waits, also based on a Hillerman novel. He also made a guest appearance in the hit show
The Dead Zone as a Native
shaman (in the episode "Shaman"). In 2006, Beach portrayed
Ira Hayes in
Clint Eastwood's feature film
Flags of Our Fathers. During the filming of this movie, both Beach's grandmother and his best friend died. Beach commented, "And if you add those up, there's a lot of emotion. When you're doing a movie, when you let go emotionally, there's nothing to grab onto," he said about the deaths. About playing the part, Beach said, "For me, playing Ira was a meaningful relationship. I would call it – trying to find out how he was, or how he thought and felt". In 2007, Beach starred in
HBO Films' adaptation of
Dee Brown's history,
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. In the film, Beach portrays
Charles Eastman (
Dakota name Ohiyesa), a doctor,
Sioux advocate and author. He explores and expresses the changing understanding of Aboriginal-US relations during the period leading up to the
Wounded Knee Massacre. In addition to starring in the Canadian television series
Moose TV, Beach is executive-producing and starring in the movie
Older Than America. The independent feature is filmed in
Cloquet, Minnesota, mostly on the
Fond du Lac Ojibwe reservation. He joined the cast of
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as
Detective Chester Lake for the show's ninth season after guest-starring in season eight. In April 2008,
TV Guide announced that he would not return for the show's tenth season. He later stated he grew disillusioned with the strictly procedural nature of the show and opted to leave after the finish of the ninth season. Starting in 2009, Beach played a supporting role on the HBO series
Big Love as a manager in an Indian casino with Bill Henrickson (
Bill Paxton). On February 10, 2010, it was announced that Beach will portray
Tommy Prince, the Canadian war hero, in an upcoming movie about his life. According to Bay Film Studios, the movie will be a "true account of Canada's most highly decorated First Nations soldier." Beach said he is honoured to portray Prince, calling him a positive role model for all First Nations. In 2011, he starred in
Cowboys & Aliens, an American science fiction Western film directed by
Jon Favreau and starring
Daniel Craig,
Harrison Ford and
Olivia Wilde. The film is based on the 2006 graphic novel of the same name created by
Scott Mitchell Rosenberg. Also in 2011, Beach returned to Canada to star in the TV series
Arctic Air, which premiered on January 12, 2012. In 2015, Beach appeared on several episodes of
Backstrom as Sheriff Jesse Rocha. In 2017, he played Black Hawk in
Hostiles, starring Christian Bale,
Rosamund Pike and
Wes Studi. In 2022 Beach was selected as host of the Canadian chainsaw carving competition show
A Cut Above. ==Personal life==