- - Kristoffer Polaha Reveals Why “Mimics” Is a 'Pretty Huge Swing' but Also a Deeply Personal 'Dream Come True' (Exclusive)

Breanne L. HeldmanFebruary 13, 2026 at 10:14 PM

0

Kristoffer Polaha and Fergus in Mimics

Courtesy Panoramic Pictures

Kristoffer Polaha makes his directorial debut with Mimics, in theaters now

The actor shares why the 'spooky little love story with a little bit of horror' is a big swing for him

Polaha also reveals all the ways the movie was personal for him, from its location in Reno to including his family members (dead and alive)

Kristoffer Polaha never stops creating.

The actor, who starred in Life Unexpected, Ringer, Wonder Woman 1984, Jurassic World Dominion and more than 20 Hallmark movies, has co-written two romance novels and, now, he's making his directorial debut with Mimics, in theaters today, Feb. 13, just in time for Valentine's Day.

The "spooky little love story with a little bit of horror," as he describes it to PEOPLE, follows struggling impressionist Sam Reinhold (Polaha), who makes a dangerous deal with a ventriloquist dummy named Fergus in exchange for fame.

"I really did swing for the fences," admits Polaha, 48. "As an independent filmmaker, I wanted to do something that pushed the boundaries, and I wanted to see what we can do in the cinematic space. I just love telling stories."

Kristoffer Polaha

Gilbert Flores/Getty

Below, Polaha, a father of three sons with his wife Julianne, breaks down some of the origins of Mimics, and why setting it in his hometown of Reno was "a dream come true," and why the whole experience has been so personal for him.

PEOPLE: This movie is no small swing, especially for a directorial debut.

KRISTOFFER POLAHA: Yeah, it's so weird. I made a movie about a puppet. It is a pretty huge swing.

Were you a puppet guy before this? Had you ever been to a ventriloquist show?

No, I'm totally creeped out by ventriloquism. I'm not a puppet guy at all. But I know that there have been very successful moments in storytelling with puppets from Twilight Zone to Magic with Anthony Hopkins. Goosebumps had a ventriloquist dummy. It's a trope that hasn't been touched for a long time, other than M3GAN, of course, who's a different type of doll, but there hasn't been a dummy movie in a long time. So I thought, "Yeah, let's bring that back."

How was learning to work with Fergus?

There's a lot of subtlety in the play of his eye movement, in the way his mouth can open all the way or just a little bit, so discovering how to use him as an instrument was a lot of fun and was very practical on set and in the moment.

Kristoffer Polaha and Fergus

Courtesy

As if you weren't wearing enough hats in this film, you also voice Fergus. How did that work?

I would do my coverage and I would do all my voice, and then I would do Fergus's coverage. And when it was just me and the camera, I got to sit there and really, with intimate detail, kind of work on this little guy. It was like doing mask work back at NYU. All of a sudden when you have a mask on, you start to move your body differently. And so the extension of performing through Fergus was a lot of fun to discover.

This movie also is a bit of a love letter to Reno, where you're from. How was making that a part of it?

I've wanted to make a movie in Reno since I was a junior in high school. I had actually written a script called The Biggest Little City back in 2004, and the dream never materialized either because I couldn't raise the budget or because I got a show and I would go off for a year and a half. The dream kept getting deferred. So when Marc [Oakley, the screenwriter] approached me with this idea, the movie actually took place in Los Angeles, where it would make a lot more sense that you could have a really fast rise to fame. But I was like, "You know what? We've got to tell the story in Reno." And now with social media, Reno could be the white-hot center of someone's explosive fame because you could reach the world from anywhere. It doesn't matter where you're from anymore. So we doubled down on Reno, and I'm so grateful that we did because it's a beautiful city and it shines on screen. It's fun to be able to have that dream come true.

Were there any locations that were particularly special to you?

There's a scene shot in the graveyard, and it's actually the graveyard that my grandmother's buried in. And in one shot, you can see these columns off in the distance in the corner, and it's literally where she's buried. That was really special, to be able to include my family across generations and across life and death.

Caleb, Kristoffer, Julianne, Micah and Jude Polaha

Jason Davis/Getty

What other family members are in the film?

My father has the last line of the movie, and I wanted to give him that just as a special way to say, "Thanks for believing in me along the way." And just to hold onto him. We don't have people forever. And so I just wanted a chance to capture my dad on digital celluloid, and he's actually saying hello to his brother and his dad. He's like, "Hey, Andy." And they're both Andrew. And I have him kind of call out to them as he walks off. So for me, that was a really special moment.

Your son pops up too, right?

My son Micah is. It is a family affair. Three generations of Polaha men are in Mimics.

That has to feel so good, especially with this being such a big first for you.

In the wildest way, it is sort of writing my own script, making these dreams come true, inviting myself to the table and doing it on my own terms. The guy who wrote it, Marc Oakley: We went to Anderson Elementary School together. The guy who edited it I went to high school with, his name is Barrie Wise, and he's been cutting CSI for the past 20 years. We have a lot of history together. And then Ken Carpenter produced it with me, and this is our fourth film together.

Fergus, Kristoffer Polaha and Chris Parnell in Mimics

Courtesy

You'd worked with most of the actors before too—

Oh gosh. So Chris Parnell and I worked on Miss Guided together, Arianne Zucker and Julianne worked on Days of Our Lives together, so I've known her since 2001. Austin Basis and I worked on Life Unexpected together. And then Stephen Tobolowsky and I did Atlas Shrugged III: Who Is John Galt? And Ken brought Jesse Hutch and he brought Moriah and Kevin Lawson. It was all about relationships and who I knew and who I really valued and who I wanted to bring in on this journey with me. I'm grateful for each one of them for saying yes because they didn't have to. They could have said, "Not enough coin, bro. Come back when you can pay me proper."

— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

When did you know you wanted to direct?

When I was about 10 years old. My parents had a VHS camera, and I had a best friend named Graham. And Graham and I would make these movies. It was VHS, so I had to edit within the camera, but I knew what shots I needed, and I knew when to cut, and then where to go to pick up the next shot. So I've always wanted to direct.

Mimics is showing in theaters now.

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”