He arrived as an actor in 2003 with his outstanding performance as a young black man passing for white in The Human Stain, a
success he amplified — along with his fan base — by playing the
resourceful, self-sacrificing brother of a man on death row in the Fox
series Prison Break. Yet it is as a screenwriter that Wentworth Miller is making his deepest mark on the movies. His script for Stoker — titled in honor of the author of Dracula, but
about a family whose bloody interactions are psychological, not
supernatural — not only made the 2010 Black List but attracted Nicole
Kidman, Mia Wasikowska and director Chan-Wook Park. In the works are a
prequel, called Uncle Charlie; The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, a murder mystery based on a novel by David Wrobleski; an original ghost story, The Disappointments Room; Scare Me, based on Richard Parker’s novel; and With a Friend Like Harry,
an American retelling of Dominik Moll’s sinister French hit. Born in
1972 in Oxford, England (where his dad was a Rhodes Scholar), he grew up
in Brooklyn, was educated at Princeton, and boasts a United Nations of
ancestors: African, Jamaican, Russian, French, Syrian and Native
America. Despite a bloodline worthy of a Tolstoy novel and an alma mater
in common with F. Scott Fitzgerald, he had neither the nerve nor the
motivation to try writing, at first. A desire was there, but acting drew
him first, to the initial chagrin of his parents. Success eased their
worries — and, as it turns out, lit a spark in Miller himself. Once he
tried his hand at playing all the parts on paper, being master of his
own little universe, he found writing the most satisfying creative
experience of his life. A different kind of caution became his game plan
— he sent Stoker around under a pseudonym. Experience has taught him that Hollywood likes nothing better than to put you in a box. He worried that his writing wouldn’t be taken seriously if people looked at it and thought, actor. Not that he’s quit acting — in October he’ll be seen in The Loft,
written by Wesley Strick — but for now he’s happy to be the new go-to
guy for suspense dramas and thrillers. Not afraid to branch out, he’s
got a historical biopic in the oven, but is mum about its protagonist.
He’s also cooking up an original spec so personal that he hopes to
direct it — the next logical ambition, given his present success rate —
and he admits to one slight phobia. Comedy scares him.
Favorite way to procrastinate: What
I will admit to doing — when I’m feeling insecure about my writing — is
that I’ll go and see a movie that I know will be crap. Then I’ll sit
there eating popcorn thinking, “Well, this got made.” And then I’ll feel hopeful again. Then I’ll go home and write.
Pastime you’ve taken up between takes: Do naps count as a pastime?
Best place you’ve found to write: Near the refrigerator.
Band or singer you’re obsessed with:
Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of early Françoise Hardy. And the
Bird and the Bee. And the Mills Brothers. I love those guys.
novarep
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