We were lucky to catch up with Miles Doleac recently and have shared our conversation below.

Miles , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I read a quote from Mike Nichols (director of THE GRADUATE) once where he said “the only safe thing is to take a chance. Play it safe and you’re dead.” It stuck with me. We live and work in a medium where you have to put yourself out there, at the risk of feeling exposed or judged. It’s critical to what we do. Many creatives, and I certainly include myself in this, suffer from some measure of anxiety … this nagging feeling that it can all go wrong at any moment. Fighting through that and doing it anyway is not only brave, but essential to having any measure of success in the creative realm, in my opinion. So much that I’ve done has entailed a big leap at some point, whether that was my initial move to Los Angeles, my decision to temporarily put my movie dreams on hold and pursue a PhD, the choice to make (and direct) my first film when I’d never directed a film before. It’s scary as hell, sure. The uncertainty. What if it doesn’t work? But the big leaps have brought me to where I am, to a place where I feel as much sense of peace as I ever have … this feeling that I’m in the right place now, on the right trajectory.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m an actor and filmmaker, who aspires to tell relevant, meaningful, entertaining stories. I’ve directed and written or co-written seven features, most recently, OPEN, and produced several others through my production company Historia Films. I’m also chair of the Film program at Loyola University in New Orleans, an incredible job that has allowed me to foster the next generation of artists, to guide them in some way to find their own unique voices and, hopefully, to inculcate in them a broad-minded, compassionate, inclusive worldview that imbues their work.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think creatives are sometimes viewed as these mercurial, unfocused, dreamers who are drawn to the arts because they can’t make it in more practical disciplines, business, law etc. Firstly, I would say that most true creatives are incredibly driven and motivated; they are the epitome of focused. The reason is being creative isn’t a choice. It’s a calling, a vocation. Yes, those are big words, but I certainly find them to be accurate in this regard. We don’t do this so much out of want, but out of need. We are bound to it. For me, movies, music, theatre … the arts are magnet and I couldn’t escape their gravitational pull even if I wanted to. Most artists are also supremely emotional beings. They feel everything. People will often ask me based on the look on my face if everything is OK. I suppose I have an intense resting face? And it is, most of the time. I’m just in my thoughts … in my dreams … feeling them and often feeling them deeply.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The ability to bring into existence something that formerly didn’t exist is a powerful thing … something that started with a blank screen and an idea. And now you’re now sitting in a movie theater with 100 friends and collaborators and watching it live, watching others respond to it. That’s a rewarding feeling. Everyone may not get it; it may not resonate with every viewer in the way you’d hoped, but you made something new and you did so with a team of amazing artists and craftspeople who committed to your vision and brought it to life. It’s hard to quantify how meaningful that is when I truly think about it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.historiafilmsms.com
• Instagram: @miles_doleac
• Other: Please find my films THE HISTORIAN, THE HOLLOW, DEMONS, HALLOWED GROUND, THE DINNER PARTY, DEMIGOD, and OPEN on most of the usual-suspect streaming channels including Amazon, Tubi, Google-Play, iTunes/Apple and others.

Image Credits
Headshot photographed by Jackson Beals Red carpet shot, 2023 Getty Images, Maury Phillips, from TCL Chinese 6 World Premiere, Nov. 1, 2o23, Los Angeles, CA, from left Miles Doleac, Jeremy London, Elena Sanchez, Lindsay Anne Williams, Oliver Hofer, Clifton Hyde All other photos are property of Historia Films, the one movie still is from OPEN, copyright 2023 Historia Films, LLC Please let me know if you have questions about any of the other photos.