ESCAPING ARTIST – American actor Logan Miller talks about his latest movie “Escape Room,” his upcoming projects along with some bits and pieces from his personal side
Born in Colorado and now making a name for himself in Hollywood, Logan Miller started appearing in TV shows and movies in early 2008. Then, in 2009, his popularity gained a significant boost when he became a regular in “I’m in the Band,” a Disney’s original series set in the suburbs, as a teenager and also the lead guitarist for his favorite washed up rock band.
Today, the length and breadth of his career is nothing less than astounding, including a major role in 2015’s “Take Me to the River” and “Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse,” as one of the leads in the drama “You Can Choose Your Family,” a role in acclaimed TV series “The Walking Dead” as well as voice-acting roles in animated features (such as “Ultimate Spider-Man” and “Guardians of the Galaxy”) and video games (from “Marvel Heroes” to “Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes” and “Disney Infinity 3.0.”). This year, Miller once again came under the spotlight for his appearance in the thriller movie “Escape Room.” Here, he shares some extra insight into his upcoming projects with DAMAN.
DAMAN: Hi Logan, it’s great to have you with us. How is 2019 shaping up for you so far?
Logan Miller: 2019 is shaping up great. Escape Room is coming out right at the top of the year, which is a good way to start. I have about three other things that will be released in the New Year, too, which I’m excited for everyone to see. I’m all around feeling positive for 2019 and ready for whatever it throws at me.
DAMAN: A lot of your current and upcoming works that caught our attention, but one really stood out: “Escape Room.” Can you give us a brief intro to the movie?
Logan Miller: “Escape Room” is a roller coaster ride. The movie centers around six people who get a chance to win ten thousand dollars in the most immersive escape room ever conceived. But, what they don’t realize is, the game is much more deadly then they thought. They must fight to the end to save their lives.
DAMAN: Now that “Escape Room” is about to make its global run, how do you think will audiences react?
Logan Miller: I think audiences will love it. One really fun thing about the movie is the riddles and puzzles our characters have to figure out. The movie doesn’t make it obvious in any way, so the audience can try to figure out the puzzles for themselves before it’s revealed. Who knows, the people in the theater seats might get it quicker then we did!
DAMAN: How did you react when you first saw the final cut of the movie?
Logan Miller: I laughed a lot. I tend to do that when I’m nervous or excited. The laughter was positive, though. It was just crazy how our rigorous three months we took to make this movie finally paid off in a wonderful way.
DAMAN: Correct us if we’re wrong, but this looks like quite a … physical movie. How did you prepare for your role prior to filming?
Logan Miller: I’d say it’s definitely in the thriller genre. Some people might see it in a realm of films like “Saw” but ours is far less violently graphic. It’s more about the torture of the mind than the physical body. I prepared by allowing myself to feel that mental anguish, it really wasn’t too fun but it paid off in the end. Sometimes, you have to fall into a dark place to do a movie and that’s what this called for.
DAMAN: There have been a lot of deadly puzzles themed movies in the past few years. What is it that made “Escape Room” stand out?
Logan Miller: “Escape Room” has an amazing mystery element to it. We slowly find out why our characters are chosen and who is behind this evil plot. Along the way, I think the characters develop pretty seriously too. Some of other movies just focus on the blood and gore, but our movie finds real depth with these characters.
DAMAN: Do you have any particularly memorable on-set stories you can share with us?
Logan Miller: The ice room was pure hell. I won’t sugar coat that for you. The ice itself was Plexiglas that they had greased down so we could get the effect of slipping. I think we had at least one face-plant per day from our characters and also the crew.
DAMAN: And you’re also set to appear in “We Summon the Darkness,” whose intriguing plot has been the talk of town. On a scale of one to 10, how you would personally rate “We Summon the Darkness”?
Logan Miller: Well, I will rate it a ten! I’m in it so it has to be good! [Laughs] Jokes aside, it will be a very fun film. We shot that movie so quickly, but the effect of what we’re doing in the movie is going to hit you like a ton of bricks. I love metal music and to have a horror-thriller set within that era is going to be so much fun.
DAMAN: Is there anything you can tell us about when “We Summon the Darkness”? How far into production is the movie right now? And when will it be released?
Logan Miller: Well, we shot for about a month in Winnipeg and as far as I know the movie is in post-production. The producers have told me we are getting a lot of buzz from buyers’ conventions and people like what they see. It’s only a matter of time before we will have the release news.
DAMAN: From what we’ve learned, your character will be a guy named Kovacs. What was it that first drew you to playing the character and how did you end up being cast for this one?
Logan Miller: Well for one, my character is the lead singer in a 1980s metal band, so I simply had to jump on board for that. Also he is a pretty fun loving drunken maniac, and even though that’s a stretch for me, I knew I could play that pretty well. [Wink] The casting process was pretty easy too, because [director] Marc Meyers offered me the role, which I was honored by and wanted to try to make his vision the best it could be.
DAMAN: Did you find shooting this horror movie particularly challenging in any way?
Logan Miller: Although this movie was a fast shoot, it was rigorous with the amount we had to get done in that time. That was really the only challenge. Everything else was pretty fun.
DAMAN: Moving on to your earlier works, you’ve actually done quite a bit of voice acting, including for video games like the “Marvel Heroes,” “Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes,” and “Disney Infinity 3.0.” How did you end up in those projects?
Logan Miller: I got very lucky. The voice over world is a small one and they let me join in their club to play Nova in the Marvel universe. I was more then happy to take the job. And now I’ve been playing Nova for almost six years.
DAMAN: There are also TV series like “Ultimate Spider-Man” and “Guardians of the Galaxy.” What does it take to be the voice of a Marvel superhero?
Logan Miller: I wish I could say a lot of preparation goes into voice acting, but it’s pretty easy, honestly. I can show up in pajamas and do the work. Best preparation would be some good throat coat tea and warming up them good lips.
DAMAN: Back to the present, we’ve also learnt that you’ll be appearing in “Prey.” Can you give us a brief rundown of this movie?
Logan Miller: After the death of his father, Toby is put into an outward-bound program to help him with the grieving process. He is put on an island, where he will have a three-day solo camping excursion. The island is supposed to be uninhabited, but down there he meets a girl living on the island named Madeline. We don’t know why Madeline is on the island, but we soon find out the darkness that lurk beneath her.
DAMAN: Can you tell us a bit more about Toby?
Logan Miller: Toby is a simple guy. He was pretty far removed before the death of his father. But as we see throughout the movie, being in the island makes him stronger and more of a fighter.
DAMAN: In a nutshell, what was it like shooting “Prey”?|
Logan Miller: It was amazing. We shot in Malaysia on Langkawi island. Being in the jungle for real to shoot this movie made it so much more immersive. Monkeys would steal our craft service food. I definitely got injured and cut up a couple of times, but it didn’t matter because we were all in. We fought hard against the elements on this one.
DAMAN: Moving on to more personal stuff, what was it that drew you to acting in the first place?
Logan Miller: I love to create. In any way, shape or form—and acting is a part of that. Creating something or someone that is different for you really gives me the ability to try to understand the human condition a bit more.
DAMAN: When you look across your entire fimography and all the titles you’ve worked on, what would you say has been the most memorable role you’ve ever played in front of a camera?
Logan Miller: Ryder in the movie “Take Me to the River,” as a young gay teenager who comes into a Nebraskan family reunion thinking he would be misunderstood. But because of a terrible incident that happens, it opens up all these family secrets and we come to realize that the lack of understating is coming from Ryder.
DAMAN: How about the one that you’d consider as your breakout role? Which one would that be?
Logan Miller: Probably Tripp Campbell from “I’m in the Band.” That show was my first big entry and responsibility as an actor to carry a show. It was a huge learning ground and I became very disciplined and educated on how everything in this business works.
DAMAN: Besides acting, what else are you passionate about right now?
Logan Miller: I’m passionate about the environment, traveling, music, writing, camping with my friends. In short, just always trying to find new adventures.
DAMAN: One last question: Do you have a favorite quote or saying that keeps you going through busy days on set?
Logan Miller: That would be “don’t sweat the petty things and don’t pet the sweaty things” by George Carlin.
Photography Mitchell Nguyen McCormack
Styling Britton Litow
Grooming Robert Bryan using La Mer skincare and Bumble and bumble. hair products
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