Mike VanZant
- Actor
- Stunts
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Actor, Producer, and asst. Director, Mike VanZant grew up in Central Kentucky. He studied at Berea College (one of only eight nationally recognized work colleges in the US) where he worked as an apprentice actor and touring puppeteer. The Puppetry Caravan tour provided workshops and shows to schools throughout the Appalachian region, giving Mike the opportunity to perform everything from Japanese Bunraku to a Punch & Judy show (doing every character and voice except Judy). After college, Mike went to New York where he trained at the National Shakespeare Conservatory.
Mike was most recently seen in the sequel to cult classic horror film Dark Night of the Scarecrow, as well as Silver Hills Pictures production The Good Journey -the latter his most recent work behind the camera as well, serving as a producer. He has had a passion for all aspects of filmmaking as far back as his 2013 stint as 2nd A.D. on Healing The Stupid and beyond.
However, going from horror films to faith based films is nothing new for Mike. Whether it's playing the spoiled progeny of Rupert Bonehams' Bo in Mountain mafia or a disco dancing vampire, Mike is most at home when he's branching out.
When he isn't on set, he can also be found on stage. From dinner Theatre in Dallas to Shakespeare in Cincinnati, Mike has performed in front of audiences throughout the Midwest (recent performances include Edmond in the Josephine Summerstage production of King Lear, and Eros in Antony and Cleopatra at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company).
In his free time (if he's not memorizing lines) he enjoys cartooning and illustration.