Mike Miller: Man Behind The Mask

Untitled from The Mask Series by Mike Miller. © 2022 Mike Miller

My friend Mike Miller is one of the most talented people I know.  

We first met in 2014 when I interviewed him for a video I was shooting for a client. He was such a natural in front of the camera that a year later I asked him to audition for my short narrative film Dark As Night, which was part one of a trilogy I was producing. He was perfect for the part of Ryder, one of the main characters. In fact, his performance was so convincing, I cast him as the lead in part two: A Free Man. Unfortunately, the pandemic cancelled the final film. 

Recently Mike shared some striking photographs with me. His series of masked self-portraits are as powerful as they are otherworldly. Mike not only has the eye of an artist, but the courage to explore his own nature as the central theme of his work. 

When I asked Mike what the masks meant to him, he told me he has been fascinated by masks since childhood. “I’ve always covered my face a lot even when I was younger,” he said. “Maybe I think it will hide the other side of me. Or maybe it’s a way to let people know I have another side without letting it out.”

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—Stephen Newton