Skateboarding Fleetwood Mac TikTok Star Nathan Apodaca Makes Acting Debut In 'Reservation Dogs'

Nathan Apodaca skateboarded his way into the spotlight in a viral TikTok video of him riding his board, drinking Ocean Spray cranberry juice and singing along to Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams." Now, he's taking his fame to the next level – in FX's Native-centered series "Reservation Dogs." 

Apodaca's 2020 video was viewed nearly 87 million times, and spurred video responses from Mick Fleetwood himself, as well as Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong. Apodaca was even given a new Nissan Titan PRO-4X with a bed filled with cranberry juice from Ocean Spray, who said Apodaca had brought "joy" in a challenging year.

Now, he's embarking on a new endeavor with "Reservation Dogs." The comedy series, co-created by Taika Waititi, is about four Native American teenagers who live on a Tribal reservation in Oklahoma. Apodaca, also known by his fans as "Doggface," is credited in three episodes for playing Uncle Charley, according to IMDB.

In a promo video of the third episode posted to Apodaca's Instagram page, his character is seen working alongside one of the main characters, Bear Smallhill, played by D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, at a home construction site. 

"Check me out in my acting debut," Apodaca said in the post. "Thanks to the team an cast for making this an experience like no other." 

In a 2020 interview with Native-led and focused news site Indian Country Today, Apodaca said that his mother is Northern Arapaho and grew up on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. Apodaca grew up in Idaho but said he would visit the reservation, which is also home to the Eastern Shoshone tribal nation. 

He carries his Native ancestry with him, proudly displaying it with a tattoo of two feathers on the back of his head. Part of the tattoo is designed with the Northern Arapaho flag. He told Indian Country Today he wants to add to get an additional tattoo on the other side of head to represent his father's Mexican ancestry. 

"To the Indigenous people, get out there and make videos, go do what you want because I've been seeing a lot of Natives on TikTok just blowing up," he told the outlet. "Follow your fellow Natives, follow each other. Be one with each other. One nation, we rise." 

First published on August 19, 2022 / 7:22 AM

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