Reservation Dogs’ Lane Factor Reveals How His Character’s Stint in a Group Home Affected the Youngest Rez Dog

Awards Daily chats via email with Lane Factor, who plays Cheese on Reservation Dogs, about his character’s strength and why he uses pronouns to introduce himself.

At the beginning of Season 2 of Reservation Dogs, the Rez Dogs have separated. But this separation gives the characters the chance to find themselves in new ways, including the youngest and most affable Rez Dog, Cheese, played by Lane Factor. But while Cheese may be the youngest of the friends, as I learned in my email chat with Factor, he might have the oldest soul.

Awards Daily: In Season 2, we pick up with the Rez Dogs all doing their own thing. Did not being all together change the chemistry or vibe on set?

Lane Factor: Absolutely not! It was different for sure, but it didn’t change the chemistry we all have with each other. We love being around each other and teasing—it’s so much fun being around everyone.

AD: Cheese is always the one Elora (Devery Jacobs) asks to pray or to say something, whether it’s Mabel’s death or Daniel. What is it about Cheese that makes him perfect for this role?

LF: I think everyone sees Cheese as beyond his years. Even though Cheese sometimes doesn’t appear to be as mature as the others, there’s more to him than meets the eye. Cheese is very deep, naturally affectionate, and caring—it’s a very unspoken truth.

AD: Your big Season 2 episode, “Stay Gold Cheesy Boy,” really showcases Cheese’s strength. He keeps his calm when he’s in a scary situation and doesn’t even sneak out when he has the opportunity to escape. Why does Cheese refuse to leave in that moment?

LF: Cheese doesn’t leave in that moment because he follows his gut instinct. He has the opportunity to jump from the window to be with his friends, but he chooses to stay. He feels an obligation and commitment to stay with his new group of friends he has met in the group home. Cheese feels that fate brought him there. Against the odds, even though Cheese doesn’t have parents or a stable home and his uncle is in jail, he has empathy for these guys and wants to help and encourage them and not abandon them. He’s well-aware of being abandoned yet somehow seems to rise above it—like Tom Petty says. Cheese manages to bridge some gaps among the boys and bring them together and therefore, leaving the boys’ home a better place.

AD: How does that experience in the group home change Cheese?

LF: I think this experience changes Cheese because he sees he’s not the only young boy with a dysfunctional home life and sees that his words can help change lives for the better. For instance, through his conversations, he learns Tito has kids and gives him advice. Julio has been there over a year and never knew Tito had kids, so he ends up agreeing to help him get a job. Cheese grows stronger through the experience in also feeling the love of his Rez Dog family—like with Big, his grandma, and how they all came together to bring him home—a place he has never had before.

AD: Cheese often introduces himself with his pronouns, which is very progressive. Do you think Cheese does a lot of reading? Where does this kind of education come from?

LF: Cheese seems to have an older soul. He’s the youngest of the group, but tends to think the deepest. He inherently thinks of others and how others feel, and with that, he wants to be respectful of their feelings. Cheese gets teased for using pronouns, but his thinking is why do people have to be treated certain ways because of how they may identify? Why not just treat everyone equal? Cheese cares about being respectful to those around him no matter who they are or how they identify. It’s not about his education on the matter—this simply comes from his kind-hearted outlook on life.

AD: Do you think he might be LGBT himself?

LF: Although one might expect Cheese is LGBT, just because he uses pronouns doesn’t mean he is. He uses his pronouns as an active ally to the trans, queer, and gender non-conforming folks. This goes back to Cheese wanting to be respectful to those around him no matter who they are or how they may identify. He wishes the world would be less judgmental and would recognize that everyone has their own uniqueness.

AD: What was it like filming the Season 2 finale and closing this chapter with Daniel?

LF: It was definitely a bittersweet episode. The group stays together and maneuvers their way in a new place and meets several challenges they manage to overcome. Then once they make it to the ocean, it hits them they are actually there and wish Daniel was there to see it with them. Then Daniel’s spirit joins them, which made it a very heartfelt moment as we see the full crew come together hugging and supporting each other. This moment makes them feel that things are okay, and Daniel wants them to move forward in life and be happy.

AD: Where do you see Reservation Dogs going in Season 3?

LF: In Season 3, you see the Rez Dogs growing into their personalities and young adulthood. They start making more individual decisions while still sticking together. You’ll have to watch Season 3 to find out!

Reservation Dogs is streaming on Hulu.