From the bat suit to the big stage, PA’s Jesse Miller takes new step in acting journey

“Movies and television were kind of made in Hollywood land. You didn’t really expect them to be made in Canada,” he said. “Just like a lot of kids grew up wearing a bat suit for Halloween, I was able to have a bat suit created for me in Batwoman. I was doing all the stunts for this character called BatWing. It was cool to technically be the first, live-action Black Batman on television.”

Jesse Miller (left) as a stunt double on the set of Batwoman (Submitted Photo/Jesse Miller)

Jesse Miller getting into the Batwing suit on the set of Batwoman. (Submitted Photo/Jesse Miller)

“If I take a step back and smell the roses, it’s kind of surreal to think I’m in this position right now.”

Now, Miller is moving from the camera to the stage as part of a major theatre production in Vancouver called Instantaneous Blue.

The show is a semi-autographical play written by actor and playwright Aaron Craven, based on his personal experiences of caring for his parents who suffered from Alzheimer’s and Dementia.

Miller plays three characters in the play, representing the health system: Police officer, Paramedic, and Care Aid.

“They might be seen as, sometimes, the enemy or maybe insensitive to certain situations but they’re human beings as well as they have a job to do. And they have parents and they have loved ones and they have to be the ones who are strong in those situations,” he said.

When he was offered the part, Miller said he couldn’t turn it down as the script was so powerful and relatable.

“He (Craven) just threw it all on the page. Pulling from his life experience of through that with his parents and their steady decline,” he said. “He offered me the part and I read the script and there was no way I couldn’t do it because the writing was so rich and it’s really super powerful. I believe it’s one of those plays that will be global because it’s so relatable to everybody.”

The production started on Jan. 6 at the Waterfront Theatre and will run until the 22^nd

He said the play has been very well received by some major theatre critics in Vancouver and regular audience members.

“Everyone I talk to, biased or unbiased, they say ‘wow, what a show. What a script, what a play,” said Miller. “Nobody is going to come out of this play (thinking) this was not a solid piece of work, a solid piece of art and the reviews have reflected that in a big way.”

While the glamour of working in Vancouver is highly appealing and working for Miller, he admits, it’s not his ultimate goal. Having spent most of his life in Prince Albert and Saskatchewan, he would love to bring a taste of Hollywood to his hometown.

“As a child, I always wanted Prince Albert and Saskatchewan to be represented in the Film and Television industry,” he said. “I would love to start getting funding and get the arts and the Film and Television Industry to Prince Albert and Saskatchewan as a whole because there is so much rich diversity here, landscape. There’s lots of stuff to be filmed here and there’s lots of people who are willing to get in.”

Finally, Miller confesses he would not be the actor and person he is today without the support of his dad, Jim Miller.

“He deserves all the credit when it came to me wanting to be an action actor,” he said. “By bringing home action films every weekend for movie nights.”

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derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @PA_Craddock

by Derek Craddock

From the bat suit to the big stage, PA’s Jesse Miller takes new step in acting journey

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