Stuntman looking to ‘break’ into Okanagan film industry

An actor and stuntman in Kelowna is trying to break into the local film industry, without breaking any of his bones.

Duncan Milloy is a bodybuilder and martial artist who took those skills over to the silver screen when he decided he wanted to be an actor. He has experience in other parts of Canada but he’s trying to get roles here in the valley.

“Somebody knew that I was a national competitor bodybuilder at the time. So they asked me to audition and I know how to fall through things very well and not get injured,” he said.

Milloy moved to the Okanagan after the pandemic and although he has numerous film credits from his time in Ontario he said it can be hard to network in the film industry, but it’s a must since stunt jobs aren’t posted to websites like Indeed.com.

“The hardest part would just be getting your name out there,” he said. “I did an audition for a short comedy playing a fitness guru. I’m not sure if I got the part yet or not.”

He does stunts and has some experience choreographing fight scenes because of his background with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and wrestling. He said regardless of the budget of the project safety is the top priority.

“It’s very controlled and very deliberate camera angles,” he said. “When I did the feature films, there were always paramedics on site.”

He said the bodybuilding experience made it easier to get in front of a camera.

“I’m very comfortable on camera. In bodybuilding, you stand up in front of 100 to 3,000 people and nothing but a banana hammock. I’m not very shy when it comes to that,” he said.

Milloy has more than 16 credits in projects like Jurassic Shark, Gnomercy and Clutch.

Acting and stunting is a part-time passion project for him, he works as a facilities director for a non-profit as a day job. But he has gone to stunt school.

“You have to be fully trained. It’s one of those things… don’t try this at home,” he said. “It’s knowing how to take the repetitions and being able to do it safely and not injure yourself or the other participants, whether another a stuntman or an actor.”

Okanagan locals who want to learn how to stunt safely have to travel to schools in the Lower Mainland like Stunt Labs or Calgary’s Stunt Garage.

The courses cover the essentials like flying around on wires, pretending to get shot and faking punches to the face.

He said that even though he often plays a tough guy, and has the look, that’s not what he’s like in real life.

“I think I might come across as a little bit intimidating to people that don’t know me, but at the same time, I’m very personable and I have this creative side as well,” he said.