When Miles Fowler, class of 2015, walked onto the Menlo campus in sixth grade, he was devoted to academics and athletics. Fowler had no idea that in a decade, he would be acting alongside his Hollywood idols.
Fowler, who had always considered himself more athletic than artistic, was initially reluctant to partake in drama at Menlo. However, Fowler’s mom recognized the joy he experienced from acting, and eventually, with her encouragement, he became more involved. Falling in love with the fun, playful nature of acting, Fowler chose to pursue acting as a double major in conjunction with political science at the University of Southern California.
Despite loving his discussion-based political science courses, interning at a local law firm in his junior year at USC didn’t give him the excitement and perplexity he wanted in a career. Professors at USC encouraged Fowler to consider acting professionally and helped him find his now-manager, Joshua Pasch. Pasch got Fowler an audition opportunity on “Women of the Movement,” a drama series based on the story of Mamie Till-Mobley, the mother of Emmett Till. Filming “Women of the Movement” involved visiting historical sites in Mississippi where the Emmett Till murder occurred, something Fowler noted made his work feel more impactful than he had ever considered a career in acting could be. Fowler appreciates the way everyone on the cast and crew came together to tell a story as meaningful as that one.
After being inspired by his first role in such an influential film series, Fowler auditioned for as many projects as possible. Fowler has come to realize that the acting profession involves dealing with a lot of rejection. “If you book, like, one job out of, you know, a thousand, people look at you and they don’t see (…) all of the attempts and all of the frustration and the rejection that comes from [acting],” Fowler said. Fowler found joy in uncontrollable situations by shifting his goal from booking jobs to creating audition tapes he was proud of.
Throughout Fowler’s career, he’s acted in a variety of different roles in a variety of different kinds of films. From playing an evil jock on the set of the comedy “Bottoms” to portraying an intelligent but hot-headed medicinal chemistry major on the series “The Resident,” Fowler appreciates that because each role is unique, he never runs out of the excitement that comes from figuring out a new kind of character.
Among Fowler’s friends in the acting field, few grew up in an environment as focused on fostering ambitious, driven and successful young adults as Menlo. According to Fowler, many acting professionals he encounters describe their educational experiences as rebellious and wayward. By contrast, Fowler grew up in an atmosphere where excellence was not only encouraged but expected. “I was looking around and seeing all of these kids have 4.0 [GPAs] and going to these top, elite schools all over the country,” Fowler said.
Fowler, who appreciates the genuine sense of curiosity and love of exploring he developed as a Menlo student, also notes how the detail-oriented mindset and vision of success that was instilled in him has impacted his career in both positive and negative ways. Despite his lengthy and varied discography, Fowler struggles with comparing his accomplishments to those of past classmates. “I feel like growing up I questioned the idea of success because I grew up in an environment where the idea of it was almost always associated with jobs Silicon Valley is known for like in science, technology and business,” Fowler said.
Over time, Fowler has learned to enjoy the present moment in his career and the playful, fun nature of the people he surrounds himself with as an actor. Fowler’s advice to Menlo students would be to chase the fun in their lives, especially if that means overcoming the discomfort of potentially failing, and most importantly, learning in the process. “Continue to remind yourself of the things that you enjoy,” Fowler said. Chasing fun led Fowler to a career that he loves with people who support him through every process and difficulty. “[Acting] is a combination of do your job, do the hard work, but then have moments where you can go home and you can, after a long day on set, sit in your bed and be like ‘wow, this is really fun and beautiful,’” he said.
Recently, Fowler was cast on the second season of the romantic comedy series “Nobody Wants This”. Alongside Kristen Bell, Adam Brody and Leighton Meester, Fowler will bring Lenny, a new character on the show, to life. The show is set to premiere on Oct. 23. Beyond that, Fowler recently filmed his first horror movie for Paramount Pictures, which will premiere late this year or early next year. Fowler has also tried his hand at directing a documentary short film. In the future, Fowler hopes to continue to partake in new projects that excite him while also working with kids to instill a love of acting in them.
