Rising Stars: Meet Molly Miller

 

Today we’d like to introduce you to Molly Miller. 

Hi Molly, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?

Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today, I’m excited to share my story with you and your readers. Hello everyone! My name is Molly Miller. I’m a professional stunt performer and actress!

My journey to Hollywood started in 2009, back in my home state. I grew up in a small town on the west side of Cleveland, Ohio and started taking acting classes at Houde School of Acting. Whenever films came into town, I began working as a stand-in or extra which is when they need people to be in the background. I loved the feeling of being on set and being part of the movie-making magic. You can say I got bit by the “acting bug!”

I then met Richard Fike, a local stunt coordinator from a film I worked on who noticed my small size and said I had the potential to be a stunt double for children. He even offered to train me! I didn’t even know that was a thing! I’m a proportionate little person and I’m 4ʺ 4ʺ in height. I’m the average size of an eight-year-old kid. I booked my first few jobs locally and eventually moved to Los Angeles to pursue a full-time career in the film industry! I’ve made some great connections and met many amazing people along the way!

Moving to Los Angeles, California in 2017 was one of my best decisions. With the help of my contacts, I began booking stunt work immediately.

My first few gigs were “doubling” kids on Grey’s Anatomy, Bunk’d, Avatar: The Way of Water, and many more were to come. My career took off almost as soon as I moved to Los Angeles! I’m very grateful to everyone who took a chance with me and helped me along the way.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

I don’t think anyone’s road in the film industry is smooth. It’s a constant roller coaster ride! I’ve certainly faced my fair share of rejection and many noes before I got my yeses.

I’ve had a few jobs fall through for various reasons and sometimes you don’t always get to know why. I lost a job in the beginning of my career due to not being a local in California; a kid I was supposed to double went through a growth spurt before production started, etc. I’ve been disappointed at times, but I’ve learned to roll with the punches and let things go. It’s made me stronger! You have to build a thick skin in this business.

It took me four years of training in stunt work before I even booked my very first job and by my seventh year of doing stunts, that’s when I began to gain momentum in my career and my name started to get around. Once you work on a job and do well, people know they can trust you and you get referred for other jobs.

One of my biggest challenges personally was moving out to California. Most of my family and friends were back in Ohio. It took a huge leap of faith for me to move out here not knowing anyone. Even though I was scared, I trusted in God and where he was leading me. I knew that if I didn’t give it a shot, I would regret it for the rest of my life and always wonder if I could have made it! That regret would have been more painful to live with and was also a motivating factor in my decision to move. I wasn’t going to let fear stop me!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

I have performed stunts on over 35 productions. I’ve jumped off the Santa Monica pier, jumped through fire, crashed into things and I’ve done twenty-foot falls. ( I fall a lot for a living!)

I believe I might be one of the smallest stunt women to double kids… I have yet to meet someone my exact size and build that also doubles children… not to say they’re not out there!

I think my unique size helps set me apart and allows me to work often. I’m very grateful and realize how lucky I am to have this niche. I’ve made some lifelong friendships with talented stunt performers, stunt coordinators and other industry folks. There’s more than enough work to go around. I’m always happy for my friends when they book a job even if we’re competing for the same one!

What makes the stunt community unique is that it’s more of a tight-knit group and when your lives are in each other’s hands, you really have to set everything aside and look out for each other. We are all bonded by the realization of how short life can be and we look out for each other!

With high-risk stunts, one small mistake can change everything in the blink of an eye. It really makes you focus on the important things in life! It’s thrilling to be part of the action, do cool stunts and I enjoy hearing everyone’s stunt stories.

Veteran stunt coordinators always have the best jobs and they did even crazier things back in the day: like sixty-foot falls off cliffs into the ocean with jagged rocks below and barely missing them!

Along with this line of work come injuries; they happen even when we do everything as safely as possible. I’ve had some minor ones (knock on wood), nothing too serious but it can be challenging. We are expected to work through our injuries and “get the shot” which I’ve done. The answer is “I’m okay, let’s go again!” and then you patch yourself up later. (That’s why they pay us the big bucks!)

One of the projects I’m most proud to have worked on is Avatar: The Way of Water. I was one of the stunt doubles for “Tuk.” I did the “dry” stunts she did on land and another stunt person did her water stunts.

I also loved working on Obi-Wan Kenobi. I stunt-doubled for both young Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker as well as played Handmaiden, Agira in Episode 1.

These jobs were my favorite to work on! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to pinch myself on set just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. Some moments felt so surreal!

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?

I believe my willingness to step outside my comfort zone, try new things and take chances all helped me get to where I am today.

Growing up diverse as a little person wasn’t always easy. I was treated differently and I had to overcome uncomfortable social situations.

There was one day I was outside with my sister and neighbors’ kids waiting for the school bus. My backpack was very heavy for me. I had at least four big textbooks in it and my binder with lots of homework from the night before.

It had to have weighed as much as I did because one moment I was standing there and the next I was flat on my back staring up at the sky! It was funny and a little embarrassing.

It turns out I was just practicing those stunt falls from an early age. Hah!

My family and I had to make modifications in my everyday life from using step stools, getting a rolling backpack, extra time to walk to classes to modifying my vehicle.

The rejection and experiences I faced in my childhood made me a stronger person and it prepared me for a career in the film industry. I realize what a gift I have been given and I wouldn’t change a thing!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5276165/?ref_=nmmi_mi_nm
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mollymillerstunts/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60rHKnPTqos

Image Credits
Photo by TimSabatino.com