Rondeaux is a citizen of the Crow Tribe and is also of Cheyenne descent.[1] He grew up on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana.[2][3] For years, Rondeaux was on the rodeo circuit as a horse rider, bull rider, steer wrestler and team roper. His entry into film stunt work was accidental. He was asked to be the double for actor Michael Greyeyes in the film Crazy Horse.
In 2001, he received the outstanding achievement in stunts award from the First Americans in the Arts.[4]
Rondeaux's earliest role was as Tall Bull in the 1996 film Crazy Horse, which was directed by John Irvin.[6][7]
For his role in Meek's Cutoff, as a mysterious and suddenly appearing Native American who joins a lost wagon train on the Oregon Trail, the language he spoke was his own native tongue.[8][9]
Rondeaux had his first lead role in the 2015 film, ''Mekko. He played a man who served 19 years incarcerated for murder. Upon his release he discovers his family doesn’t want to have anything to do with him. He has to come to terms with his current situation.[10] In addition, he also has to deal with a violent man (played by Zahn McClarnon).[11] Director Sterlin Harjo actually cast Rondeaux the night before the shooting began. Having talked to the actor a couple of times, Harjo had a good feeling about him. With Rondeaux's background as a rodeo bull rider and Hollywood stuntman, he felt he had the right life experience for the role.[12] Film critic Dennis Harvey of Variety complimented Rod Rondeaux's "soulful performance", and made comparisons the film to two classic films set on skid row, On the Bowery (1956) and The Exiles (1961).[13]
