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Path to the Emmy Awards: Amber Midthunder


April 26, 2023

Dan Trachtenberg’s Predator prequel Prey — whose debut on Hulu last year was the most-watched premiere in the streamer’s history — is a strong contender for the Outstanding Television Movie category for this year’s Emmy Awards. And the actor who led the film, Amber Midthunder in her first starring role, is currently in the running for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series/TV Movie. The nod from the Television Academy would be Midthunder’s first, and you can keep reading for a window into the path that led to the rising actor being in such a position on her career journey.

We’ll start by saying that Midthunder has the entertainment industry in her genes. Her father David Midthunder is an actor and stunt performer, and her mother Angelique Midthunder is a casting director. When the latter spoke with Casting Networks, she shared the meet cute that brought them together, which took place under the catering tent of a film production. “I just went over [to David] and asked, ‘Is this seat taken?’” Angelique recalled. “It was so forward of me, but I just saw him and was interested. I was 24 years old at the time, and I’ve been with him ever since.”

The Prey star was born in 1997, and she didn’t initially plan to follow in her parents’ footsteps with a career in the entertainment industry. Midthunder explained to Empire that while she did do some small acting roles as a child, she “really searched every kind of other [career] thing.” The actor trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu growing up and at one point planned to be a professional MMA fighter. She also interned as a makeup artist for a period of time and considered going that professional route. “And then when I was 17, I decided, ‘Oh, no, I’m gonna move to LA and act,’” Midthunder shared during the same interview.

Roles on prominent TV shows followed, such as her performance as Kerry Loudermilk on FX’s Marvel series Legion and as Rosa Ortecho on The CW’s reboot series Roswell: New Mexico. She also appeared opposite Liam Neeson in Jonathan Hensleigh’s 2021 thriller feature The Ice Road. Then came Prey. The fifth film in the Predator franchise takes place in 1719 on the Great Plains and centers on Midthunder’s Naru. The character takes on a lethal alien warrior in order to prove her mettle as a hunter and protect her Comanche tribe. Trachtenberg and the film’s producer Jhane Myers — who is Comanche and Blackfeet — took care to ensure accuracy in the film’s portrayals of its Native characters, which Midthunder celebrated during one Hollywood Reporter interview. “Every time you’re representing a culture or people, you bear a responsibility to do it well,” the actor noted. “That effort was definitely there [with Prey].” As an enrolled tribal member of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux tribes — with a heritage that includes Sahiya Nakoda, Hunkpapa Lakota and Sisseton Dakota — Midthunder shared during another interview that the film’s successful Indigenous representation is the thing about it of which she’s most proud.

Coming off all the critical success surrounding her first starring role, you won’t catch Midthunder slowing down. She’s taking on the role of Princess Yue in Netflix’s live-action adaptation of the animated TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender, and she can also be seen in the upcoming sports drama from Sydney Freeland and Sterlin Harjo entitled Rez Ball. But let’s not move too far past Prey just yet — the buzz surrounding her performance isn’t over. As a contender for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series/TV Movie category, you can find out on July 12 when this year’s Emmy nominees are announced if the rising actor will receive a critical milestone marker in her career with her first-ever nomination.

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