Why Rita Desjardin From Carrie Looks So Familiar

With Amazon Prime's new "Carrie" TV series, every generation seems to be getting their own version of the Stephen King novel. Horror auteur Mike Flanagan is the showrunner behind the new adaptation of Stephen King's "Carrie," bringing in a few familiar faces. And every "Carrie" needs a Rita Desjardin, the young gym teacher who tries, and fails, to shield Carrie from bullying and support the troubled young girl.

Amber Midthunder plays Miss Desjardin in the new adaptation, and at 29, she's one of the youngest actors to portray the character in movie adaptations. Midthunder has been working up to the big leagues for over a decade, so you may have spotted her in one of her previous roles. Her first main role was in the X-Men-inspired FX series "Legion," where she played a body-sharing mutant called Kerry Loudermilk.

This set Midthunder on the road to starring in multiple sci-fi TV series. In 2019, the same year "Legion" ended, Midthunder had a recurring role on the CW's reboot UFO drama "Roswell, New Mexico," and she was promoted to a main cast member after Season 1. In 2024, Midthunder played Princess Yue in Netflix's "Avatar: The Last Airbender" live-action remake. In that role, she wore a white wig, which may have made some fans miss Midthunder. In 2026, Midthunder appeared in the Season 2 cast of "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters," a "Godzilla" spin-off series.

If you missed Amber Midthunder in her sci-fi TV shows, you might have spotted her in a couple of smaller films in the 2020s. She starred alongside Liam Neeson in "The Ice Road" and Ayo Edebiri in "Opus," and she had a lead role in the LeBron James-produced basketball movie "Rez Ball." But the project that put Midthunder on the map was the 2022 "Predator" prequel movie, "Prey."

The Emmy-winning horror-action film is set in 18th-century North America, with Midthunder playing a young Comanche woman who is trying to prove herself as a hunter while facing the ultimate weapon with far superior technology. The lead role earned Midthunder her first Critics Choice Award nomination, and she also won a breakthrough performance award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films.

In 2023, The Hollywood Reporter listed Midthunder as part of the next generation of action movie stars. But since "Prey," Midthunder hasn't had the opportunity to lead an action movie, except for "Novocaine," where she played the leading lady rather than the action star. However, in 2027, Midthunder is set to star in the action movie "Painter," which is sure to restore the "Carrie" actor's status as a great action star.