EMMY-NOMINATED CASTING director Angelique Midthunder may have been born in Bangkok, but for the last two decades she’s been an integral force in New Mexico’s booming film industry. “It’s been incredible to watch it grow,” she says. The owner of Midthunder Casting began her career in Los Angeles in the mid-1990s before relocating to Santa Fe in 2005 with her actor husband, David Midthunder (Hostiles, Longmire). Her casting projects include FX’s Reservation Dogs (2021–2023) and the New Mexico–based Showtime series The Curse (2023). Her latest film, Netflix’s Rez Ball, follows the Chuska Warriors, an underdog high school basketball team from the Navajo Nation. The cast includes her daughter, rising star Amber Midthunder (Prey, Legion, Roswell, New Mexico), Jessica Matten (Dark Winds), and several upstart actors whom she found in the Land of Enchantment.

Angelique Midthunder with the cast of ”Rez Ball.” Photograph courtesy of Midthunder Casting.

NEW MEXICO’S FILM INCENTIVE PROGRAM was just getting on its feet when we moved to Santa Fe. We took a leap of faith that we could continue our careers here. Luckily, that program was structured for longevity, and we’ve been able to build a film community that, almost 20 years later, is thriving. I’ve seen people build their entire lives and careers here, and now there’s a new generation getting into the industry.

When I’m casting non-actors, I look for strong personalities who feel comfortable in their skin and in front of the camera. For Rez Ball, we needed kids who could really play. The director, Sydney Freeland, is Navajo, and we wanted to be true to her vision for [authenticity]. So I partnered with another great local casting director, Jennifer Schwalenberg, to reach out to the Navajo basketball community and do casting calls on social media. We saw 5,000 people from all over America and Canada for 10 roles. Several of [the principals] and hundreds of background actors are from New Mexico and Navajo Nation. Everyone on the team is a very unique individual.

Because my family is Native [Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux], I’ve kind of organically been part of that community for 30 years. That’s how I ended up focusing on Indigenous content. It’s important when you go into communities that you really talk with them, so they trust what we were doing, and let them know that, you know, we’re not Hollywood.

We’ve come so far from old Native stereotypes. Because of shows like Reservation Dogs, audiences have seen these characters and communities fully fleshed out. They’re not going to accept less now.

You could feel that excitement when we filmed the basketball games. We were in these local gymnasiums for 10 hours, but the background actors were still cheering on their feet, giving it everything at three or four in the morning. I think they really loved that their stories are finally being told. It’s exciting and an honor to be a part of it.

I love this industry, and I love that it’s in New Mexico—it’s the best of both worlds. —As told to Candolin Cook

Read more: Longtime actor Gary Farmer has helped to carve out a place for Native stories.