'Reservation Dogs'' Amber Midthunder on 'Groundbreaking' Show and 'Prey'

Amber Midthunder was so "obsessed" with Reservation Dogs that when she was given the opportunity to land a guest role in the FX show she jumped at the chance, the actor told Newsweek.

Midthunder plays influencer Miss M8triarch in episode 6, titled "Decolonativization," which sees Elora (Devery Jacobs), Bear (D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), Willie Jack (Paulina Alexis) and Cheese (Lane Factor) take part in the NARDS Youth Summit, an event that the actor has been to in the past.

Calling the show "groundbreaking" for its representation of Indigenous people both on and off screen, Midthunder shared her delight over having a part, no matter how small, in a show of this magnitude.

'Reservation Dogs' Star Amber Midthunder Talks 'Groundbreaking' Show

"I can't tell you how excited I am, like I'm just obsessed with this show," Midthunder said of the FX hit. "I've known Sterlin [Harjo, the show's co-creator] for a while and so just seeing this and having it come out, obviously it is just monumental to our people.

"I'm a huge fan of the show, so then to be able to come in and be a part of it, no matter how small it was, I would have done anything if they asked me to, you know?"

She then joked: "If they were [to say] 'can you come deliver us coffee?' I'd be like, 'Yeah, sure.'"

Reservation Dogs sees Indigenous people work both in front of and behind the camera, with the majority of the cast, writers, directors, and crew coming from the same background.

The Prey star shared her joy at being part of a show with such positive representation, saying: "There aren't enough words to say just how groundbreaking this is, to be in that space with a young Indigenous cast but then also to have Indigenous filmmakers, like entirely Indigenous filmmakers, was so cool.

"And even just being on site and having that view, and everybody is connected, it really is just like a family feeling [and] environment. So, to me, that was just different and [an] amazing experience."

In particular, Midthunder had high praise for the show's lead quartet Jacobs, Woon-A-Tai, Alexis and Factor, as she said: "The show just felt so, to me, inspirational and I felt so proud as a Native person to be watching them go out there and represent, and like conquer.

"So just to be in that space felt really encouraging, because I've never experienced a job like that, where I'm around a bunch of other Native people, period."

On Her 'Hilarious' Character Miss M8triarch

Miss M8triarch and fellow influencer Augusto Firekeeper (Elisha Pratt) arrive in town to help the younger generation come together through games like trust falls and a potato dance, which involves two people holding a potato up using only their forehead and dancing in time together.

"It's just super hilarious, like really funny, and the whole concept of the episode and the character is just, which I think is the whole show in part, it's like an observation of what is real and also kind of poking fun at how ridiculous that is," Midthunder said of her character.

Reflecting on what it was like on set, the actor added that she didn't feel the need to improvise, something she found to be a "scary" prospect in any case.

"I've never really done a comedy before, so I've never been on a set like that and for so many reasons it was just different, and in all the best ways," Midthunder said. "Doing those kinds of scenes where everybody is there and prepared to do the work and do it well."

The actor went on: "I feel like it was so funny that you don't need to, it's a very open and welcoming space so I think that there was a lot of room [to improvise].

"I, for a long time, was so scared of improv, so being on a show like this, it was my dream come true and also really scary.

"But it was just so comfortable even in those moments, when they're like 'just riff, just riff' [...] and then obviously for the most part their writing is so good and they're just masters of comedy that you don't have to [...] You can just do exactly what's there and that's what is brilliant."

On 'Prey' Success and Recognition

Midthunder has had quite the year thanks to her new film Prey, a prequel to Predator that has been hailed by fans and critics alike and even garnered praise from the original film's cast.

The actor portrays Naru, a Comanche woman who goes up against a Predator that arrives in the Great Plains in 1719.

Looking back at how the film has been received, Midthunder said: "It's been wild in all the best ways, it's definitely changed my world a little bit. But I'm really excited and proud, and more than anything I am just happy for the reaction that I've seen coming from other Native people, like that is what is so moving to me and those are the responses that really touched my heart to see, like how kids come up to me or how people talk about like that they watched it.

"I had a woman recently come up to me and [said] 'my daughter loved your movie, she's 8 it's so inspiring to her to like see a Native woman be in this position.' We just looked at each other [and] just started crying.

"So that kind of thing is really what makes me just feel [proud], I could have never imagined or hoped for that kind of thing."

Jesse Ventura and Bill Duke, who played Blain Cooper and Sergeant Mac Eliot respectively in the 1987 Predator, have both praised Prey, with Duke calling Midthunder's performance "phenomenal."

"That was so exciting," Midthunder said of the Predator cast's response. "None of this I expected."

"I didn't think that was what was gonna happen after the movie comes out, I was just trying to get through making the movie and then, you know, being on Instagram seeing 'oh, that's Jesse Ventura.' It's just every day I was waking up to something crazy."

Reservation Dogs airs Wednesdays on Hulu.