Amber Midthunder (born April 26, 1997) is an American actress. She had regular roles in the FX series ''

Legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Aviazione Legionaria, Italian air force during the Spanish Civil War * A legion is the regional unit of the Italian carabinieri * Spanish Legion, ...

'' and

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

series ''

Roswell, New Mexico Roswell () is a city in and the county seat of Chaves County, New Mexico, Chaves County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 48,422 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fi ...

'', and also appeared on '' Longmire'', ''

Banshee A banshee ( ; Irish language, Modern Irish , from , "woman of the Tumulus#Ireland, fairy mound" or "fairy woman") is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member, usually by screaming, wailing, shrieking, or kee ...

'', and ''

Reservation Dogs ''Reservation Dogs'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi for FX Productions. It follows the lives of Indigenous teenagers in rural Oklahoma, as they try to reconcile their heritage with the ...

''. In 2022, she starred as Naru in ''

Prey Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not ki ...

'', the fifth installment and first prequel of the ''

Predator Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...

'' franchise.

Early life

Midthunder's mother Angelique, who is originally from Thailand and of

Thai-Chinese Thai Chinese (also known as Chinese Thais, Sino-Thais) are persons of Chinese descent in Thailand. Thai Chinese are the largest mixed group in the country and the largest overseas Chinese community in the world with a population of approx ...

ancestry, is a casting director and

stunt performer A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

, and her father David is an actor of

Hunkpapa The Hunkpapa (Lakota: ) are a Native American group, one of the seven council fires of the Lakota tribe. The name ' is a Lakota word, meaning "Head of the Circle" (at one time, the tribe's name was represented in European-American records as ...

Lakota Lakota may refer to: *Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language Lakota ( ), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan languages, Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of ...

, Sisseton

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota ...

, and Sahiyaiyeskabi

Assiniboine The Assiniboine or Assiniboin people ( when singular, Assiniboines / Assiniboins when plural; Ojibwe: ''Asiniibwaan'', "stone Sioux"; also in plural Assiniboine or Assiniboin), also known as the Hohe and known by the endonym Nakota (or Nakoda ...

descent; Angelique and David met while working on the 1995 Japanese film '' East Meets West''. Midthunder is a citizen of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribe. She was born on the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation (), also known as Navajoland, is an Indian reservation of Navajo people in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. The seat of government is located in ...

Shiprock, New Mexico Shiprock () is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community on the Navajo Nation, Navajo reservation in San Juan County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 7,718 people in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

, and eventually returned there after spending much of her childhood in Santa Fe where she attended the Academy for Technology and the Classics and where her mother worked in a casting firm.

Career

Midthunder developed an interest in acting as a child. She would memorize and recite lines from her favorite shows. But she disliked her first experience in the job, leading her to take some time before another performance.'Prey' breakout Amber Midthunder talks axe throwing, outwitting the Predator and representation
USA Today She even considered a career in make-up, where she worked as an intern, or

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

, having trained and taught Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Her first acting credit was a small role in 2008's ''

Sunshine Cleaning ''Sunshine Cleaning'' is a 2008 American comedy-drama film written by Megan Holley and directed by Christine Jeffs. It stars Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, and Alan Arkin. The story revolves around two sisters who start a crime scene cleanup business ...

''. Midthunder worked in various productions filmed in New Mexico, then moved to Los Angeles at the age of 17 to pursue more acting opportunities. She played a hotshot trucker in the 2021

Liam Neeson William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Liam Neeson, several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, BAFT ...

thriller ''

The Ice Road ''The Ice Road'' is a 2021 American action thriller film written and directed by Jonathan Hensleigh. The film stars Liam Neeson as Mike McCann, and Laurence Fishburne as Jim Goldenrod with Benjamin Walker, Amber Midthunder, Marcus Thomas, Hol ...

''. In 2022, Midthunder starred in ''

'', the fifth installment of the ''

'' franchise. She played Naru, a young

Comanche The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...

healer who wants to prove herself as a hunter, and was widely praised for her performance. ''Prey'' was the first feature film to have a full

Comanche language Comanche (, endonym ) is a Uto-Aztecan languages, Uto-Aztecan language spoken by the Comanche, who split from the Shoshone soon after the Comanche had acquired horses around 1705. The Comanche language and the Shoshoni language are quite similar, ...

dub, and the first to have an all-Native American cast. In 2025, Midthunder co-starred in the action-comedy ''

Novocaine Procaine is a local anesthetic drug of the amino esters, amino ester group. It is most commonly used in dentistry, dental procedures to numb the area around a tooth and is also used to reduce the pain of intramuscular injection of penicillin. O ...

'' and the thriller ''

Opus Opus (: opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera ...

''.

Awards and nominations

In 2022, Midthunder received the Breakthrough Performance Award as part of the

Saturn Awards The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films bel ...

, and a

Critics' Choice Awards The Critics' Choice Awards (formerly known as the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award) is an awards show presented annually by the American Critics Choice Association (CCA) to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. Written ballots are ...

nomination for Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television, both for her performance in ''

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* *
Amber Midthunder On Her 'Reservation Dogs' Cameo And The Future Of Indigenous Representation On Screen
- Sep 2022 Interview {{DEFAULTSORT:Midthunder, Amber 1997 births Living people 21st-century American actresses 21st-century Native American women 21st-century Native American people Actors of Thai descent American actresses of Chinese descent American child actresses American film actresses American people of Thai descent American television actresses Assiniboine people American female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes people Hunkpapa people Lakota actresses Native American actresses Native American people from New Mexico Santee Dakota people