Another member of Cochrane’s performing arts community has been awarded for their daring stunt work for the latest in the Predator movie series, Prey.
Stunt coordinator and second unit director Steven McMichael and his team were recently rewarded the “Prime Rib” (the award for the best stunts and choreography) at the 2023 Dead Meat Horror Awards.
The former stuntman, marine, and martial artist, originally from Denver, Colorado, has been living in Cochrane for nearly 30 years. He transitioned away from performing stunts, to taking on the role of designing physical gags, fight scenes, and other action-oriented performances that can be found on the big screen and on TV.
Prior to his work as a stunt actor, McMichael was a world-class practitioner of Wu-Shu martial arts, which was also used by Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee. Through his abilities, it opened many doors for him through the mid 1990’s.
“That’s sort of what got me [casted] into a lot of stuff,” McMichael said. “I’ve been doing this for 26 years now.”
For his first professional role in the film industry, McMichael said it involved playing a role in an East Indian film. Although he does not remember the title of the film, he will never forget the experience he had on set.
“I had to get slapped by the lead actress and it was all in Punjab,” McMichael said. “I wish I could see it, because it was really funny since I had to do some acting too.”
Although that was considered his first official role in the film industry, McMichael said the first time he was on the silver screen was when he served as the colour guard for former President George Bush Sr., in a film starring Hollywood action star Steven Seagal.
“I was in a movie called Under Siege without knowing,” McMichael said. “They show Seagal downstairs and he’s cooking his jambalaya or whatever, and they transition to President Bush speaking at the 50th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
“We were doing the colour guard, and during this entire thing, we had no idea this was being filmed for a motion picture.”
Although he heard rumors while he was stationed in Hawaii about members of the military appearing in a movie, it wasn’t until later he learned about his surprise cameo in the film.
“I had no idea who it was until I moved to Canada and rented Under Siege, and I was watching it, then I saw myself and went, ‘Holy crap, that’s me!” McMichaels said.
From there, his first official, unionized role was in the TV show, Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation. It would later lead to appearances in and working on many other productions, including the 20th Century Studios 2022 film, Prey.
McMichael said he worked with professionals in the Indigenous community, French trappers, and the best talent from Alberta and B.C. on the production. He was also responsible for casting Dane DiLiegro as The Predator in the film, due to the demanding physical features required for the role.
During filming, McMichaels noted the performance of DiLiegro while they were filming in the Stoney-Nakoda land during a heat wave that hit Alberta.
“I’ll applaud Dane until the day I die. That man got into that costume, that first day, and he never relinquished it,” McMichaels said. “Dan Trachtenberg, the director, just loved the way he moved, so everything you see in the movie is Dane.”
From bootcamps to get people ready for productions and everything in between, McMichaels said every person involved in his team busted their butts putting the movie together, and he said that effort is reflected by what audiences can see in the film.
“I had an Indigenous trainer named Kevin Starblanket, who is a retired CPS officer, and he understood the training and did a great job,” McMichaels said. “Hats off to everyone working on that film.”
Although McMichaels has been nominated for several awards in the past, he said this one means a little bit more to him since he was never nominated for best stunts and choreography in a horror film before.
“It was really cool,” McMichaels said. “I won the Prime Rib and it’s sitting in the house right now.”
He said he is grateful for the sacrifices and work done by his team and director Trachtenberg, especially for completing the film at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I know it sounds clichéd, but with that 40-degree weather, trying to work with those masks on, trying to maintain distance… it was hard,” McMichaels said.
He also wanted to give a special thanks to is his friend J.J. Park, a fight coordinator and his right-hand man on the set for Prey, who previously worked as a stunt double for Jackie Chan.
“He worked tirelessly and did an outstanding job, “McMichaels said.
McMichaels said he will continue to work in the film industry. More recently, he has just returned from Germany after working on the new movie in the Hunger Games series, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
He will also be working on a new production called The Order which will be filmed in the Calgary and Drumheller area starting May 11.
