Myles Humphus’ life path shows us time and again the impact that GMC makes on students’ futures. Since graduating and going off into the world, Myles’ journey has taken him from playing professional football, to prizefighting, and now to working as an actor and stuntman living in New York City.
Myles Humphus was raised in Milledgeville, Georgia and born into a GMC family. He is the son of GMC History teacher and Senior Army Instructor, Major Thomas Humphus. His mother, Kija Humphus, taught dance and was a seamstress in her own boutique, Kija’s, located in downtown Milledgeville. His brother David, who is also a graduate of GMC, now runs a Paula Deen restaurant in Savannah and is a husband and proud father to two girls.
While interviewing Myles over the phone, I could hear the whir of Atlanta traffic where Myles is currently on location. He told me his life now is “like a traveling circus, we go from city to city, show to show, it’s wild and there’s not a lot of security. I’m fortunate to be working with Team Rock in this business- we take care of each other.”
Myles remembers his childhood fondly, running barefoot through the woods behind his home in Milledgeville “juking out thorn bushes, diving over logs and dropping sweet spin moves on unsuspecting pine trees.” He recalled not being a naturally gifted athlete, but his work ethic was elite. He further proved his determination to be successful by lettering in football, baseball, basketball, track, cross-country, orienteering, and powerlifting while attending GMC.
After graduating in 1995, Myles headed to the United States Military Academy Preparatory School at WestPoint. He shared that at the time, he wasn’t ready to be an adult, so he left the program and headed back to Milledgeville for the summer. He then went to Liberty University and finally The University of Memphis. After a few years in college, Myles left school his junior year to pursue professional football. His experience in pursuing professional football prepared him for his career now. Myles stated: “Talent will get you hired, but if that’s all you got, it’ll get you fired. Hours and hours of preparation go into every down played and you won’t get a chance to use that talent if you can’t handle all those endless hours of prep.”
Myles is currently an actor and stuntman, a career that began when a director asked the question every aspiring actor longs to hear, “Do you want to be in the movies? I have a place for you.” At the time, Humphus was living in a van making $300 a night as the main event in a large mid-level cage-fighter show. Living paycheck to paycheck, acting was the last thing on his radar when Doug Crosby called his gym after seeing him in the show. Crosby liked Myles’ savage persona coupled with his classical walkout song by Chopin.
Myles started out in the entertainment industry as an extra, and after earning the privilege of joining the Screen Actor’s Guild, he gained the coveted SAG card at the end of 2010. He never thought he would be nominated for two SAG awards when the opportunity to become a stuntman first presented itself. “Everybody thinks they can become a stuntman, but it’s a lot harder than it looks. Being athletic is not enough, nor is being tough. It’s the attention to detail ingrained in me by my father and reinforced at GMC that has allowed me to survive and thrive.” He landed his first SAG role on Saturday Night Live.
In 2013, Myles joined “Team Rock” as a stunt double for Dwayne Johnson, whom he respectfully called “DJ”, in movies like Hercules, Furious 7, Fate of the Furious, Jumanji, and Rampage. When he’s not jumping off roofs, sliding over ice in Iceland, or breaking down doors, Humphus takes classes focusing on Strasburg Method and Meisner Technique. He also writes his own screenplays, acts in Marvel’s Iron Fist, a binge-worthy show on Netflix, and recently starred in a short film directed by Law Chen titled I Don’t Make the Rules that’s quickly growing in popularity. The film, written and based on Myles’ life story, showcases the struggles of a professional football player whose career leads him to working several blue-collar jobs in New York City.
While Myles has served as a stunt double for actors like Vin Diesel in the past, Myles is currently loyal to Team Rock and solely stunts for Dwayne Johnson. Myles fills in for Dwayne Johnson when a role calls for an agile action scene. For training he sticks with calisthenics similar to work outs at Georgia Military College, keeping his body quick and fast for the athletic scenes that are required of him.
While working on the set of the movie, Tracers, Myles’ stunt work required him to kick down a massive steel door, jump over a railing ten feet to the roof and then leap to another rooftop. The director envisioned a seamless kick to leap. However, when trying the stunt, Humphus destroyed the railing, crashed, and somehow jumped onto the roof. Once the adrenaline wore off, he realized he was injured and requested bandages and antiseptic to clean up his leg. He begged the production assistant not to tell the medic because Myles knew an injury like that could keep him from being on his next film, Hercules. Once again, Myles’ determination helped him reach his goals. The next day he flew out to Budapest and walked onto the Hercules set. Since then, Humphus has worked in Iceland, Hungary, six major U.S. cities, and twenty smaller towns with plans to be in Canada and China this fall. “My career has been blessed from the start, but I owe a lot to Doug Crosby, Tanoai Reed, and Brian Smyj for helping me become successful in this business.”
When asked if his mental toughness came from his time at GMC, Humphus responded: “Self-discipline was something I was always taught, but never realized I possessed. The years of being held to a high standard at GMC helped me be successful in this business. A lot of a stuntman’s work is paying attention to details. If I’m told to hit a mark, I have to know exactly where it is without looking for it, because my actions have to look organic and natural. Constantly being aware of details, such as not touching my belt buckle so it didn’t turn brown, protecting the creases in my shirt, shining my shoes; all those things I learned at GMC helped me pay attention to details as an adult in my career. My father is very much about attention to detail and I really struggle with being too much of a perfectionist, because sometimes the stunt needs to be messy. GMC also taught me how to follow directions from people above me who I don’t really know, but have to respect based on the line of authority in the industry. A lot of egos exist in this business and it can be quite tough to navigate if one doesn’t keep their own ego in check.”
Myles had many people influencing his life during his time at GMC. “I thought Coach Jeff Lee, former Falcons player, was the greatest guy on the planet. He brought out the work ethic instilled in me early on and helped me learn how to use it to become a better athlete. He encouraged me to be more than what I thought I was capable of being as a high school athlete.”
Humphus also mentioned Mrs. Anne Bertoli, his now retired Algebra and Geometry teacher, as a role model. He described her as a positive influence and that she always believed in him enough to push him to do better. “I was always causing trouble and spent a lot of time on bullring. It was a time to either think about what you did or wish you were somewhere else. I normally just wished I was somewhere else and I hated it. I had 77 bullring hours my junior year. I don’t know that it taught me much else, but when I finished those hours I realized that suffering always ends.”
Myles is enthusiastic about the Fine Arts Program at GMC. He has visited GMC prep school classes to speak with them about the great opportunities that lie within the fine arts. Humphus believes students need an outlet, like a supportive art program, to better the development of all students. “I truly didn’t understand myself until I went to acting school. Then I understood why I had the feelings or thoughts I had. I think that GMC’s fine arts program is one of the best things they can offer to students.”
Myles Humphus had some words of wisdom for incoming GMC students as well. “Don’t take anything personally. If you are working as a unit, you can’t make it all about yourself. As a kid, you’re trying to figure out who you are. Take it all in and don’t resist it. Let yourself develop.”
When speaking about his fitness lifestyle, Myles chuckles as he shared a story from when he was ten years old. He was picked on as a child, so he bought a weight set from a Boy’s Life magazine and spent time running around the 3-mile block. “I became an athlete by being hard headed and not wanting to suck anymore. One of our little jokes before we do stunts comes from director, Brett Chan, ‘JDS’ (just don’t suck).” Not only was Myles running and lifting weights, he shared that he spent many days in the woods behind his home putting on plays by himself. All that hard work paid off as he voluntarily trains five days a week as well as teaches other actors and stunt performers how to perform on camera.
Myles admits that there isn’t a certain amount of training hours required for his career, but he trains religiously, as he knows there’s always someone stronger, faster, and more talented. “I have to always perform at the highest level so that those hungry young bucks don’t stand a chance.” Myles’ senior prophesy (written by Maj. Samper) on where he would be in 20 years was, “I will be chief artist and designer at the most important advertising agency in New York City.” Not many people can say they fulfilled their high school dreams, but Myles can boast that he has surpassed what he dreamed up 20 years ago.
“I work in a lot of military roles and a lot of people in this business don’t know how to do a left-face, right-face, about-face, or how to keep cadence. While working on the show Last Ship, many people couldn’t start on their left foot. My experience in being part of a unit allows me to see the bigger picture with all of us working together, while other people I’ve worked with can only see it as an individual role.”
When asked what GMC teachers would say about him as a student, Myles said, “They would call me lazy, a clown. I was bad because I was bored. I wasn’t interested, but I loved teachers like Maj. Kitchens who was excited to do science experiments with us. Because he ‘geeked out’ over the experiments, we did as well. Mrs. Kennedy, my English teacher, would kick my butt for being lazy and never let me get away with anything.”
When asked about his hometown and what he misses about Milledgeville, Myles replied, “I actually get down there a lot when I’m working in Georgia. I enjoy stopping by the school, talking to the kids and catching up with the teachers. What I miss most though is the community. When you live in a small town, there may have been someone you didn’t like, but if they were in trouble you’d definitely help them. That doesn’t happen where I live in New York. I miss that atmosphere where everybody meant something and people were better to each other because you were accountable, knowing you’ll run into them again.”
Myles Humphus is currently working in Atlanta on Rampage. He also has a big undisclosed commercial in the works, is shooting his own script for Lucifer Speaks, and is promoting his starring role in the short film I Don’t Make the Rules. He also will be on future movie sets in Vancouver and Hong Kong for the movie Skyscraper. His home in New York City is located a mile outside of Manhattan. Although he’s still a Georgia boy at heart, he takes pride in being a New York actor, because the best are trained there. We at GMC take pride in Myles because he is one of GMC’s best. You can read more about Myles Humphus by visiting his website: https://MYLESHUMPHUS.COM and checking out his bio page on IMDB: http://www.me.imdb.com/myles. Instagram fans can follow his pictures of massive hamburgers, bar visits, and sarcastic humor @magiktaco.