PopHorror Let's Get Scared
I’ve been a big fan of Michael Steger’s since I first saw him as Navid in 2008’s 90210 so I was super excited to see that he’s in a new mystery/thriller, The Ruse. Written and directed by Stevan Mena, and starring Michael and Veronia Cartwright, The Ruse is about a former conductor living with dementia whose in-home nurse disappears mysteriously.
An in-home caregiver fears for her life after being assigned to a mysterious elderly patient in a remote seaside home.
To celebrate the release of the film, I chatted with Michael via Zoom about the film, horror movies, how he got into acting, and more!
PopHorror: The Ruse was a lot of fun so I’m excited to talk to you about it today.
Michael Steger: Oh, you did see it? You saw the final product?
PopHorror: Yes!
Michael Steger: Oh, nice! None of us have seen it.
PopHorror: Oh no! Well, I’m sure you will soon!
Michael Steger: Yes!
PopHorror: So, what intrigued you about the script and made you want to be a part of the project?
Michael Steger: I think what intrigued me most about wanting to be a part of this project is for one, getting the opportunity to get to work with the legend Veronica Cartwright. I’m a huge sci-fi/horror fan. I literally play Alien in the background when I’m just doing random things. I’m just such a fan of hers, so that was my biggest thing. Secondly, the role, which I can’t give a lot away because the story is so layered and it’s a story of whodunit, like who’s the guilty one. The sense of mystery and the writing and the story and of course, the opportunity to work with Steve was just… Everything was laid out pretty great on this project and I just wanted to be a part of it.
PopHorror: I love hearing that you are a huge horror fan. That was actually one of my questions because I know you as Navid from 90210.
Michael Steger: Yes!
PopHorror: I don’t see a lot of horror or thrillers in your credits, so I wanted to know if you would say that you’re a horror fan.
Michael Steger: Oh, most definitely.
PopHorror: Was there anything that you were adamant about bringing to your character?
Michael Steger: I think with every character, just real authenticity, really bring myself into the circumstances of this thriller. So much is going on that I feel I need to bring my most grounded self because I think horror works when the audience believes in the circumstances, when they believe that they’re just a fly on the wall witnessing what’s going on. Yeah, I just wanted to bring my most authentic self.
PopHorror: With horror fans, and you being a fan yourself, why do you feel that some people embrace it more than others?
Michael Steger: I feel like some people embrace it more than others in today’s time because the violence has just gotten so extreme that I feel like people can’t handle the visuals, and so some people just don’t have the makeup for it. They’ll see someone like that scene in The Walking Dead where the guy was hit on the head. Some people stopped watching The Walking Dead because of that scene. They couldn’t handle the violence and then there’s other people that can stomach that. I think it’s just who’s able to digest what they’re watching. I don’t know if there’s something wrong with me because I’m a huge, huge fan of that genre. Maybe I was desensitized at a young age.
PopHorror: You’re preaching to the choir, Michael. I’m a big fan of extreme horror. I like my violence, I like my gore, and I can see why other people don’t. And some people just don’t like being scared. I like the way that it stays with me afterwards and it creates great conversations.
Michael Steger: Oh, yeah! And you learn survival skills as well.
PopHorror: Yes!
Michael Steger: The worst-case situation, you’re like, “Now I know how to avoid this in my real life.”
PopHorror: Hopefully I don’t ever have to use any of those.
Michael Steger: Oh, gosh, I know.
PopHorror: You’ve had a very great career. You had a really long time on 90210 and you’ve made movies pretty steadily since then. What motivates you to keep creating art?
Michael Steger: I think since I was young, since I started acting when I was 13, I just absolutely love it. I love the challenge, I love playing different characters, I love exploring different parts of my subconscious. It’s in my dreams, it’s all I think about, it’s something I obsess over. I used to obsess over doing live theater, but I can’t do it as much because I’m a parent, but being on a film set is the greatest experience. It’s become a very big addiction that I can’t give up, and thankfully, I’ve made a career out of it so I feel very blessed to still be in the game.
PopHorror: What was it that got you started in acting when you were 13?
Michael Steger: I had this one friend in the seventh grade who came up to me after school and was like, “Hey man, will you audition with me for this musical? It’s A Christmas Carol,” and I said, “Absolutely not. I’m not going to audition for this play.” He was like, “Man, I’m going to audition but I need someone to audition with me.” And so, thanks to this friend who really begged me to audition for A Christmas Carol, I ended up playing Janitor #2. I was on stage and my buddy, and I had this scene where we were playing janitors in A Christmas Carol and it was the greatest experience because I heard the laughter in the audience and just being a part of such a cool ensemble was like… That’s where I caught the bug.
PopHorror: Oh, that’s awesome! I have just one last question for you today. What is your favorite scary movie?
Michael Steger: That’s a really good question. I would say my favorite scary movie is probably The Shining with Jack Nicholson because it’s a film that I always go back to. I’m a really big Jack Nicholson fan and just everything about the Kubrick style film was unbelievable to me. It was terrifying. Probably the scariest I’ve ever seen.
Thank you so much to Michael for taking the time to speak with us. The Ruse is currently in theaters!
