Amber Midthunder is mostly well known for her roles in the visually stunning series Legion and The CW show Roswell, New Mexico. Although, for an actress only in her mid-twenties, she has had a lot of experience, dating right back to 2001; her first speaking role was at an impressive nine years old. It is no surprise that this is the career path she has taken though, as she comes from a family in the industry, as her father, David Midthunder is also an actor, while her mother, Angelique, runs a casting firm in Santa Fe.
Midthunder might have started acting at a young age, but the biggest moment in her career is soon to come. She is set to star as lead role in Prey, the upcoming installment of the Predator franchise and is also soon to star in the new Avatar: The Last Airbender series. There is no doubt that these huge roles will be life changing for Midthunder, who has already earned universal praise, and could easily give her the huge big break she deserves.
Amber Midthunder Is No Stranger To The Screen
One of Midthunder's first well-recognized roles has to be in the FX Marvel series, Legion, which is set in an alternative timeline to the X-Men film series. Midthunder played mutant Kerry Loudermilk, who lives inside a scientist's body; the two of them can swap identities, and she is the fierce warrior the scientific genius can unleash. It's a fascinating performance with some interesting notions about gender identity and the trans experience, and was definitely the beginning of an amazing career for Midthunder, as all three seasons received critical acclaim for their unique take on the superhero genre and was rated 90% on Rotten Tomatoes.
She is also recognized for starring as Tantoo opposite the brilliant Liam Neeson in the 2021 Netflix action thriller The Ice Road. This role gave Midthunder a chance to step in the direction of the action genre and a more mainstream trajectory, and Neeson even praised Midthunder, saying that she is a "fantastic talent."
Midthunder also portrayed Rosa in the science fiction drama series Roswell New Mexico, which has just aired its fourth and final season. Midthunder's character in Roswell New Mexico is complicated and vulnerable, and she does a fantastic job at portraying that. Also, more recently and her most up-to-date role is the main character in indie drama, The Wheel, which she also impressively produced. It follows couple Albee and Walker, who are contemplating divorce. While Albee wants out, Walker wants to work things out and will do whatever it takes. They decide that a weekend in the mountains might work as they use brutal honesty to attempt to save their relationship.
Midthunder's Career Is About To Take Off With Prey
While the Legion star's career up to date has been nothing less than extraordinary, starring in upcoming movie, and prequel to Predator, Prey might just throw her straight into the stratosphere of stardom. The Predator movie franchise, beginning in 1987 has been so successful that it led to various comics and novels, and even video games like Predator: Concrete Jungle (2005) and Predator: Hunting Grounds (2020). So, it's fair to say that landing herself this role means she is about to get huge. But, as talented as Midthunder is, why her? Director Dan Trachtenberg spoke of why he thought Midthunder was the perfect fit:
The second that I met her, I knew it was most assuredly going to be her. And she is just uniquely talented at saying so much with so little. This movie does not have a lot of dialog in it. It’s primarily told through action. And in one of the auditions that we had, there was like a physical obstacle course component to it. And she really wasn’t just like crawling and hopping over some mats and whatever. She was telling a story while she was doing those physical feats and that’s – this movie needed that. A lot of story is told inside set pieces and just through physical action. … I think setting eyes on her for the first time, seeing her behavior and hearing her speak, you just sort of immediately connect with what she’s experiencing. And that can’t be done by everyone.
With the release date just around the corner, movie critics are already sharing their opinions on the casting choice for Prey, agreeing that Midthunder particularly shines in this film. They have even taken to Twitter to say that Prey is the best Predator entry yet and that Midthunder owns the screen, delivering everything that is expected of a Predator movie.
It has also been said that Midthunder's talent is needed on the screens more often and she should be given more lead roles. Her role as Naru is said to be even more meaningful to Midhthunder herself, the producer and the majority of the cast are actually also Indigenous American; they even said that they wanted to bring an authentic image in this movie. Let's just say that Midthunder might have had an amazing start to her acting career, but her big break is about to begin. Midthunder is hitting our screens in Prey on August 5th.