Why Ansel From Reservation Dogs Looks So Familiar

In a huge step for diversity, the new FX show, "Reservation Dogs" centers on a group of Indigenous teen characters. Created by Sterlin Harjo and Oscar winner Taika Waititi, the show also features an all-Indigenous writers' room (via Paste Magazine).

"Reservation Dogs" follows Bear (D'Pharoah Woon-A-Tai), Elora (Devery Jacobs), Willie Jack (Paulina Alexis), and Cheese (Lane Factor), four friends growing up on a reservation in Oklahoma, who are reeling from the death of another friend in the previous year. They have also taken to committing crimes, such as robbery, in the hopes to earn enough money to move to California and get out of their suffocating small town.

While the main, all-Indigenous cast are at the forefront of the narrative, there are plenty of minor supporting characters who have caught viewers' attention as well. One of these is the character Ansel, played by actor Matty Cardarople. If Ansel struck you as familiar-looking while watching "Reservation Dogs," then read ahead for the rundown of Cardarople's most notable projects.

If you've been watching "A Series of Unfortunate Events," the Netflix adaptation of the Lemony Snicket children's book series of the same name, then you may be recognizing Cardarople from his role as the Henchperson of Indeterminate Gender, a nonbinary character, which he played for the show's full run from 2017 to 2019.

The Henchperson proves to be friendly and wise throughout the series (despite being evil in the books). They can also be seen disguising themselves throughout the series for various (good-natured) schemes and, fittingly, they eventually join a theatre troupe.

In an interview with PopCulture.com, Cardarople described his first day on set of "A Series of Unfortunate Events" and, specifically, getting to work with actors he looks up to such as Neil Patrick Harris, who plays Count Olaf. "It's like going to your first day of school," he said. "You're excited. You're nervous. It really is surreal because you watch these actors as a kid, and it's like, 'How did I get here?' Anything is possible when your dreams can come true."

Another notable appearance of Cardarople's is on Netflix's ultra popular '80s era sci-fi show, "Stranger Things," beginning in 2017 for three episodes. First showing up in Season 2 Episode 1 "Chapter 1: MADMAX," Cardarople plays Keith, who Mike, Dustin, Lucas and Will encounter at the arcade where Keith works. Keith tries to get Mike to get him a date with Nancy in exchange for information regarding the highest scoring player on an arcade game. By the end of Season 3, Keith has left his job at the arcade and is working at the video store, where Robin and Steve apply to work.

In an interview with Popternative, the interviewer brought up how his character has a bit of a "cult following" and asked Cardarople about his experience working on "Stranger Things." He said, "I love it, it's the best ever. It's been incredible — the fans are just the best."

In addition to popular shows like "Stranger Things," Cardarople has also shown up in some notable films of recent years. In 2015, he played the "Gyrosphere Operator" in "Jurassic World," the followup to the classic "Jurassic Park" films of the 1990s about a wildlife park of brought-back-from-extinction dinosaurs. In 2017, he showed up as a fast food cashier in the rom-com, "The Big Sick" and as a police officer in "Logan Lucky." Additionally, in 2017, he played a Cinnabon worker who quizzes the protagonist on her "Star Trek" trivia in the indie comedy, "Please Stand By."

In an interview with Inverse, Cardarople discusses playing a very similar character — deadpan, geeky — in each of his film and television roles. He elaborated, "I explain it to people like this. My character in 'Jurassic World' had to shut down the park and he didn't have anywhere to go so he joined Count Olaf's troupe in 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' and then he didn't like that job, so he went and worked in the mall in 'Please Stand By' — and when he was in the mall he met up with Bill and Ted and got into a phone booth and went back in time and worked at an arcade in 'Stranger Things.'"

Cardarople also clarified that he has no problem having been typecast — and even enjoys it. He said, "It's perfect for me. That character is essentially who I am and it totally works. I love playing roles like that. It's natural. It's who I am."

Along with "Reservation Dogs," Cardarople will show up in the upcoming film "Free Guy" with star Ryan Reynolds and the Marcella Cytrynowicz-directed drama "American Cherry."