We were lucky to catch up with Todd Miller recently and have shared our conversation below.
Todd, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?
Absolutely sooner. I wish that I had started much sooner. Like many in the first generation of college students though, I fell into the trap of going after a degree that would “get you a good, secure job.” But it wasn’t just that. It was the fact that it was hard to get a lot of information about what was available out there as far as school goes. You had to request a catalog of available degrees that was usually the size of a Sears Christmas catalog. Often schools would “recruit” you into programs that fit your academic record. Even the Navy wanted to force me into a “nuclear career” and something about floating in a tin can under the ocean with a nuclear reactor and 24 nuclear warheads was not appealing to me. So last year I started an MFA program in Film and TV, and I not only love it but have excelled more than any other program I have studied.
Todd, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I have always wanted to be in acting or comedy. I used to imagine being on the Johnny Carson Show when I was younger, being one of his guests and just having fun making people laugh. But I took the smart route or so everyone told me. Then a few years ago, I decided that I had had enough of doing something that did not truly ignite my passion. So, I started taking some action.
I started by changing my approach to the New Year’s Resolution. I decided that the resolution was too narrow and not motivating enough for lasting change, so I started creating a New Year’s Motto. My first one in 2018 was “Discipline and Consistency.” I started here because this is the root of all lasting change, being disciplined enough to do it and consistent enough to ensure lasting change. For me this started with losing weight. I was over 300 pounds at the time.
In 2019, the motto was “Coming Out.” This was about getting over the fear of sharing my voice and being in front of people. I started a podcast that was focused on making changes at midlife, and toward the end of the year, I took an improv class. 2020 was about “Living The Dream,” which kind of happened since I worked from home that year, and I got my first acting gig. It happened to be a national Christmas commercial for Academy Sports and Outdoors. 2021 was aout “No Limits” and 2022 was “Fear Not” both of which were focused on removing any remaining fear about chasing the dream of acting full time.
This year is “Level Up,” and I am working on making it to the next level, which for me is being able to act full time. I am working on making that happen, but I have a lot of income and bills to replace. So it is a challenge.
I am not sure what my proudest accomplishment has been so far, since there has been so much change over the last few years. I have lost nearly 100 pounds and am arguably in the best shape of my life. I have been in several feature films and short films as well as several commercials. But I think the thing I am most proud of is that I have set an example for my children, family, friends, and others for what can be done if you put your mind to it.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Work until you have enough money to pursue your dreams.
John Maxwell shared a story in one of his books about a study done with 1500 business school graduates. It was a simple survey. They were asked if they planned to pursue their passion straight out of college or to make some money first and then pursue their passion. 250 said that they planned to pursue their passion straight out of school, and 1250 said they planned to make some money first. At the end of 20 years, there were 100 millionaires in the group. 99 of them came from the group that pursued their passion straight out of school.
I think both John Maxwell and Steve Martin said, “Find something that you love to do so much that you would do it for free. Then do it so well that people are willing to pay you for it.” I personally had a hard time imagining doing anything for free. In acting, you have a lot of opportunity to work for free, and I have on more than one occasion. I never felt like it was a waste of time. I loved every minute of it and would do it again.
That was the hardest lesson to unlearn for me. The idea of working for free was something that I never considered, but then I had never found anything that I loved so much that I would consider it until I started acting. I have even paid to act on project that I was really interested in. There was one project that peaked my interest so much in Atlanta that I flew Atlanta and got a hotel for $125. I spent way more than that to get there, but I would do it all over again. It was a fun project and turned into a great short film. It is currently doing the film festival circuits.
But the idea of working for free was never even considered before because I just did not love what I was doing. There was no way that I was going to put in a bunch of extra time or effort and not get paid for it. The reality of it is that it was not as hard to unlearn the lesson once I found that thing I love.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
First, I am not sure I believe there is such a thing as a “non-creative.” One of my masters degrees is in theology, and as part of my masters thesis I did a lot of research on the Imago Dei (Image of God). I believe that a large part of being created in the Image of God means that we are creators and thus creatives. But I think that we have gotten away from being creators to being earners, which goes back to the last question I answered, and this removal from being creators has led to our “human depression.”
The thing is we are afraid to create and to be creative. It doesn’t fit the corporate mold and can even be seen as a threat by some not because they are creative but simply because they are creative in a different way. As an actor, I create characters. I also enjoy writing, which is character creation as well. But I love doing this and having the life experiences that I have now helps me immensely in this. I have met so many different people and see how they act and react, their mannerisms and quirks. I pull from many different people to create a single character who has his own personality and attitude and background.
As a filmmaker, I create stories. Even the documentary that I am working on now is a story. It is real life, but editing it and putting it together to tell a story about my daughter and how she has inspired me is creation.
One of the things that is interesting about art though is that I don’t think it is fully appreciated in all its forms. Leadership is an art. I am currently attending the MFA program at Academy of Art University, and they have a car design program that works with major automobile manufacturers. Designing cars is an art. Designing the engines that run them is an art. And all of it is creative.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://toddscottmiller.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toddscottmiller/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tsmiller.og
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddscottmiller/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/toddscottmiller
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj7MnsPcnXqqZ0WJvvtP1gQ
- Other: IMDB: https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm12172391?ref_=hm_prof_name
Image Credits
All images are mine