Amber Midthunder

Warning: Interview contains spoilers to Novocaine film

Amber Midthunder has a full schedule ahead of her before the release of her action comedy, Novocaine. Her past two weeks have been packed with interviews, photoshoots, and promos. For Timid’s cover, she was given 40 minutes to do a full photo spread, which proved to be easy for the photogenic 27-year-old actress.

Between takes, she takes a whiff from her Thai herbal inhaler “ya dom,” an aromatherapy product used in Thailand to relieve stress and fatigue. Made from natural herbs like eucalyptus and peppermint oil, Midthunder says it’s helped her throughout filming and this press tour.

“I use it all the time,” she says, showing off the bright green tube, made popular by Blackpink’s Lisa, who is also of Thai descent. “I love Lisa. She uses this, too.”

Midthunder even got a cute container to hold it in from her recent trip to Thailand. It’s one of the many items she holds dear from her recent visit while shooting the second season of AppleTV+’s Monarch. She extended her trip to spend time with family in Bangkok, connecting with the locals and finding time to volunteer to help with the city’s street dogs.

“It was such an amazing experience,” she tells me between takes. “My mom is in the process of adopting one.”

While many know Midthunder for her Native American Indigenous representation, few are aware of her Thai-Chinese heritage. It’s not something she’s kept hidden from the public, as she’s mentioned her Asian background in interviews and on social media. Like most mixed-race actors, the industry and media focus heavily on one aspect of Midthunder’s background but ignore the other part that she wishes to highlight as well.

“You don’t look at me and think I’m part Asian,” says Midthunder. “When it comes to Native representation, there’s so many people who claim to be when they’re not. I know that’s not my situation, but I’m very sensitive to not wanting to take up space where other people may have a deeper background to be speaking. I’m very proud [to be Asian] and I’m learning how to navigate and connect to it publicly.”

Midthunder’s mother, Angelique, was born and raised in Thailand but later adopted to America. However, she always felt a connection with the culture and made sure her daughter knew about her Thai roots. Midthunder says she feels closer to her mom since their visits to Thailand.

“When I started going back to Thailand with my family, there was an immediate sense of home,” Midthunder explains. “It felt like that missing piece feeling. Culture is something that is truly irreplaceable. So whether you grew up with your culture or you were removed from it and came back to it later in life, you can always go further with it. Words can’t describe what that has been like.”

Within the last year, Midthunder changed her Instragram profile to include her racial background, listing her Native tribes of Nakoda/Lakota/Dakota alongside “Thai.” Though she didn’t think much about it, she realized how important it was to let everyone know how proud she is of her heritage.

“A lot of Native people put their tribes in their bio,” she shares. “I can’t talk about myself and my race without talking about my Asian side, so I put that in there. Sometimes I forget about public perception and it’s normal in my position to feel a bit insecure about that identity. It was a little bit scary but since I’ve put that there, people have talked to me about it and have been so excited about it. I love that and it’s so sweet. [It just feels] normal and natural [to have it] and I do want to talk about it more. As I get older, I am more comfortable and connected to that part of my identity.”

Midthunder has begun feeling embraced by the Asian community, particularly by fellow Thai people. She becomes a bit emotional when she recalls a moment at the Buddhist temple in Thailand when she was brought into the “Thai only” section to pray and give their offerings. She remembers crying and feeling validated for “being seen as one of them.”

“When people from your communities are proud of you or champion for you, it means something,” Midthunder says. “It’s just a bit deeper and more emotional. It’s being seen in a way that doesn’t have to do with any career accomplishments or anything. It’s just you with your own people. That means more to me than anything and I’m so thankful when it’s your own people.”

Asian entertainment organizations have welcomed Midthunder into the spotlight as an Asian American artist. Gold House listed Midthunder in their 2023 A100 list, and she’s this year’s Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment Radiance Rising Star Award recipient. Though Midthunder says she feels slightly intimidated, she feels honored at the recognition, “This means more to me than anything. Obviously, any support is welcome and amazing, and I'm so thankful.”

Midthunder is a child of Hollywood industry folks: her father is an actor and her mother is a casting director. Yet, Midthunder wasn’t aware of their careers growing up because they wanted her to have a normal childhood and never pressured her into show business. She remembers going to her mom’s office after school to do her homework in a Disney princess tent they had bought for her. When she finally did catch “the acting bug,” her parents were supportive and provided “a wealth of knowledge.”

Though Native American representation has improved since Midthunder joined the industry, she acknowledges that “we still have a long way to go” in Hollywood for both Indigenous people and Asians and Pacific Islanders.

“It’s important that we continue to apply pressure and that we continue to demand more of ourselves,” she explains. “The more we show up, the more people understand what we have to offer. We all have such rich artistry and perspectives that have not been seen that much.”

It’s why she felt connected with her role in 2022’s action film Prey, a prequel in the Predator franchise. It was exciting for an original story that honors Native American culture that connected to a popular intellectual property that many people are familiar with. The film was hailed highly by critics and was Hulu’s most viewed premiere of a streamer ever. It was also the only Predator film to win an Emmy.

“There were people who were not super warm to that original idea [of a Native American story],” says Midthunder. “[Then it came out and] people really liked it, which is only proof that minority people have so much to offer. We have important stories to tell about our culture.”

Midthunder enjoys roles that are culturally specific to her Indigenous background, but she also loves being on shows and movies that don’t necessarily rely on it, like her new film Novocaine.

In the romantic action-comedy, Midthunder plays Sherry, the love interest to the unexpected action hero, Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid). Nathan is unable to feel pain due to a rare disorder, but risks his life to rescue Sherry after she is taken hostage by a group of bank robbers. Throughout the film, there’s no reference to Sherry’s ethnicity, which Midthunder finds refreshing because people of color are allowed to just exist in everyday stories.

“Movies like Nocovaine are important for diversity because you should be used to seeing a face like mine in the position of the female lead/love interest,” says Midthunder. “There’s nothing that justifies me being there other than I’m me. There’s no specific reason that she’s Native or Asian. I just am the person who is playing her. That’s the goal. We should be able to do whatever we want—whether telling a cultural specific story or just existing in front or behind the camera in the industry.”

In the film, Sherry is not a damsel-in-distress but is actually in cahoots with the robbers—one of them being her foster brother (Ray Nicholson). She begins to have second thoughts about the plan as she genuinely has feelings for Nathan.

“Sherry is interesting to me because she is [someone] I’ve never played,” says Midthunder, who used Meg from the Disney animated film Hercules as inspiration. “[The movie is so big and fun, but I’ve never played somebody who was just vulnerable and not have a genre or time period to hide behind. She’s a modern girl and [is vulnerable]. It’s easy to look at the position she’s in and call it a damsel-in-distress, but she’s somebody who is not in need of saving.”

Despite Nathan being the action hero who stops at nothing to save Sherry, Midthunder says they save each other. Before Sherry entered into his life, he was alone and never experienced enjoying real food and the idea of love. With Sherry, she was in an abusive relationship with her family and “built a lifetime of walls to protect herself.”

“Nate caught her off guard,” she says. “That’s what is so special about their relationship because he sees her the way no one ever has before. That’s disarming and almost scary to her. She tries to shake it off but can’t.”

Quaid recalls initially feeling intimidated by Midthunder, calling her a “force of nature” from seeing her work in Prey. His nerves immediately calmed down as they instantly bonded at their first meeting, like they’d “been best friends for years.”

“I’m so happy and proud to know her,” Quaid said in an email. “Not only is she a powerhouse performer, but she’s just the greatest human being. She lights up every room she’s in. You can feel a discernible positive shift in the people around you after Amber walks in. She’s simply the best, and if I had my way, I’d keep working with her until I’m dead.”

Midthunder does kick some butt in the film, like many of her past roles. She’s studied martial arts growing up and continues to train, especially as she begins her next project, Painter, which requires her to train in Muay Thai and other fighting skills. She takes these action roles seriously as she loves portraying strong, badass female characters.

“I’ve always been very intentional about [my roles] when I first started acting,” she explains. “I knew I didn’t want to get stuck [in a stereotype]. I [am] conscious of [the types of roles I audition for].”

Midthunder would love to be a lead in a romance or romantic comedy. Films like Past Lives and Blue Valentine have always been her favorite, and she says the first three weeks of filming Novocaine felt like she was making a romcom with Quaid as there were no action sequences during that time.

“The [love] scene that we did inside of Nate’s apartment was our first day of shooting,” Midthunder recalls. “We really got thrown into the deep end very quickly and it was the best experience. We both were having so much fun and it definitely made me go, ‘I would love to just do this and have it be the whole movie.’ Whether it be a very dramatic love story or romcom or both, I would love to [do it].”

Her other dream role would be in a live-action Studio Ghibli film as Princess Mononoke, one that honors both her Indigenous and Asian backgrounds. Midthunder says, “I love live-action adaptations. I’m a big Studio Ghibli fan, and if they ever do any live-action adaptations, I’ll be the first in line.”

Until then, Midthunder is keeping busy with several projects and events lined up, including the CAPE Radiance Gala next week. She’s excited to be among her fellow Asian and Pacific Islander colleagues and friends and to be honored by her community. As we talked about her accomplishments, she told me about the legacy she wants to leave behind within both the Native and Asian communities.

“When I think about legacy, I actually think about children,” Midthunder reflects. “I think less about myself and more about the people who come after me. I just hope whatever I do in some small way or another, I’m helping the people who will come after me. Whether it’s my direct future children and grandchildren or younger Native girls or Thai girls or mixed race girls who come behind me in the industry, I want it to be easier for them. I just hope whatever I do, it sets up the people who are coming behind me.”