Amber Midthunder (born April 26, 1997) is a Native American (

Fort Peck Fort Peck is a town in Valley County, Montana, United States. The population was 239 at the 2020 census. History The name Fort Peck is associated with Col. Campbell K. Peck, the partner of Elias H. Durfee in the Leavenworth, Kansas trading firm ...

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 ...

) actress. She is known for her regular roles in the FX series ''

Legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army * Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...

'' and

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

series ''

Roswell, New Mexico Roswell () is a city in, and the County seat, seat of, Chaves County, New Mexico, Chaves County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Chaves County forms the entirety of the List of micropolitan areas in New Mexico, Roswell micropolitan area. As of ...

'', as well as appearances on '' Longmire'', ''

Banshee A banshee ( ; Modern Irish , from sga, ben síde , "woman of the 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 keening. Her name is c ...

'', and ''

Reservation Dogs ''Reservation Dogs'' is an Indigenous American teen comedy drama television series created by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi for FX Productions. It is the first series to feature all Indigenous writers and directors, along with an almost ent ...

''. She starred as Naru in ''

Prey Predation is a biological interaction where 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 kill the ...

'', the fifth installment of the ''

Predator Predation is a biological interaction where 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 kill th ...

'' 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), Thais of Chinese origin ( th, ชาวไทยเชื้อสายจีน; ''exonym and also domestically''), endonym Thai people ( th, ชาวไทย), are Chinese descenda ...

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

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

Nation in

Shiprock, New Mexico Shiprock ( nv, ) is a 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. For statistical purposes, the Un ...

, and eventually returned there after spending much of her childhood in Santa Fe, where she attended the

Academy for Technology and the Classics The Academy for Technology and the Classics (ATC) is a charter school in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States, with a Santa Fe postal address. Education program and philosophy The academy was founded in 2000 to provide a classical and t ...

and her mother worked in a casting firm.

Career

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

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

, having trained and taught

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

. Her first credit was in 2008's '' Sunshine Cleaning''. Midthunder proceeded to work in various productions filmed in New Mexico, before moving to Los Angeles at the age of 17 to pursue more acting opportunities.

Awards

In 2022, Midthunder received the

Breakthrough Performance Award The Saturn Award for Best Breakthrough Performance is presented by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, in conjunction with their annual award-ceremony. Recipients Below is a list of recipients and the year their award was pr ...

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 be ...

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 Living people 21st-century American actresses 21st-century Native Americans American child actresses American film actresses American television actresses Native American actresses Native American actors 1997 births 21st-century Native American women Assiniboine people American people of Chinese descent American people of Thai descent