Interview With Actor And Stuntman Dale Miller

I first became familiar with Dale Miller after watching Tory Jones’ indie slasher film, The Wicked One (read my review here). Since appearing in that film, Dale has kept busy working on projects such as Mom and Dad, Tragedy Girls,  Angel and Halloween 2018. I recently had the chance to talk to Dale about how he got his start in film, his career thus far and what the future holds.

PopHorror:  How did you get into acting and stunt work?

Dale Miller: I have been in martial arts for over 30 years. My Karate teacher, Grandmaster John W. Mason, had a son that was into acting, and he brought us in to do the fights for a film called The Detail. After that, I was hooked.

PopHorror: One of your first horror projects was Hell House which starred Al Snow. How did you come to be involved with the project?

Dale Miller: I met Jason Crowe and TJ Moreschi on another movie set. They were behind this movie. It was my first speaking part, I was so nervous (laughs). My character was to die early on in the film, but from take one, I had them and the cast laughing so hard, they extended my part to the end.

PopHorror: That’s pretty awesome! You starred in Kill Granny Kill. What can you tell me about your role?

Dale Miller: Working with Jacob Ennis and the cast was a lot of fun. I played a Deputy whose girlfriend goes missing, and he desperately tries to find her. Lots of bad stuff happens in the process.

PopHorror:  You were one of the main cast members for The Wicked One. as well as the stunt coordinator for the film. Was it rough pulling double duty?

Dale Miller: It wasn’t hard at all. I love doing both. As an actor, you get to create a character and bring it to life. As a stunt performer, you get to make the actor look like a badass. Both are a big part of the wheel. I won’t lie, actors get all the glory, but the stunt department are the unsung heroes of the film community. #stuntOscar

PopHorror: The Wicked One has a pretty solid fan base. Were you surprised by the response to the film?

Dale Miller: I was not surprised at all by this. Tory Jones and Cheyenne Gordon came up with a great group of characters and the rest of the cast and I brought them to life. Jack Norman, Katie Stewart and myself did horror conventions and pumped this movie for 4 years before it came out. We had lots of the Halloween movie people love it and took pictures with us and gave us support.

PopHorror: You have a brief but memorable role as the gym teacher in the Nicolas Cage film, Mom and Dad. How did you get involved in this project?

Dale Miller: Shout out to Vin Morreale for getting so many of us on this project! I wanted to meet the stunt coordinator on this and got the chance to work with him and meet up with some old stunt friends, and that lead to me working on Tragedy Girls.

PopHorror: You did some stunt work for Tragedy Girls, which one one of my favorite films of last year. In what capacity were you involved in that one?

Dale Miller: On the movie Mom and Dad, I ran into my good buddy Bob Fisher, and he brought me on board on that movie to help set up and spot some stunt. I will be forever grateful to him for that experience.

PopHorror: You did some stunts on the new Halloween film, which is huge. What was it like working on such a big film? Did you have any run ins with Michael Myers?

Dale Miller: Working on and becoming part of a movie franchise like as this one still blows my mind. Rawn Hutchinson, the stunt coordinator, was just awesome, and I learned so much from this experience. Can’t give nothing away, but yes, I had a few run ins with the man, Michael Myers.

PopHorror: I can’t wait to see you two battle it out! One of your latest films is Tory Jones’ Angel, a movie I’m very much looking forward to. What can you tell me about the film and your character?

Dale Miller: I play one of the most dynamic characters of my career in Angel. This guy goes from loving to sad to hopeless to grieving to mad to angry to insane and then back again. I’m very thankful to Tory for the opportunity to play a character like this and show some range.

PopHorror:  Angel premieres in roughly 3 weeks. Which are you looking forward to the most: Seeing the final product for yourself or seeing fan reaction?

Dale Miller: I’m looking forward to both! I have not see the final cut yet, and I can’t wait to see it come together. I love seeing the audience reactions. It lets you know if you were right or wrong about a choice you made.

PopHorror: What are some of your favorite horror films?

Dale Miller: IT, all of the Alien franchise, Halloween of course, The Thing, Predator, the Insidious movies… wow too many to keep going (laughs).

PopHorror: Any upcoming horror projects?

Dale Miller: Just finished a movie with Will Patton, who was also with me on the new Halloween film. It’s a creature feature called Shookum Hills. Then, a movie called Spike Smiley Halloween Night is set to film in Atlanta this September.