‘Danger Force’ Actress Dana Heath Explains How Stunt Fighting Differs From Real Fighting

Young Hollywood is proving the future of television and film is in good hands. Dana Heath, one of the stars of the Nickelodeon hit TV series Danger Force, is a prime example of that. With a love of entertainment deeply rooted in her childhood starting in musical and drama theater, the emerging starlet always knew a career on screen is what she wanted.

“As far as I can remember, I’ve always performed for people, even if it wasn’t professional,” Dana told Glambergirlblog during our exclusive chat. “Like my mom told me a story, it’s just embarrassing, but kind of funny now, of [how] we would go to restaurants and music would play and I would just 100% go to other people’s tables and perform for them.”

Although she had the acting bug, going from theater stage to screen was a big leap for Dana. “It was a big one because on stage it’s all one take and if you mess up, you just keep going and improvs a thing. It’s a lot more chaotic and more free form. Whereas when I stepped onto stage with cameras, I was like, oh, I have to position myself a certain way so cameras can see my face. Like normally you’d want to talk face to face with someone, like look at them, but the camera will see half of your face. So you have to like cheat out when you talk and still talk to them over here, that was just completely different.”

Working as Mika Macklin aka ShoutOut on Nick’s Danger Force for close to two and a half years now has been a rewarding experience for Dana, whom she describes her character as a “fun one,” “anxious energy ball,” and “very kind.” Danger Force follows a group of kids training to be the next superheros of Swellview. Training to be a superhero is no easy feat, but Dana conquered her fears and reveled in being able to tackle her own stunts.

“Oh, it’s always so scary. You get so many rehearsals and then it’s like, okay, well here’s the day we have a limited time to shoot this. You’re going in a harness. We’re taking you up, have fun,” Heath shared with a laugh. “And harnesses are very uncomfortable as well, but the fun thing is you’re never doing it alone. That’s what makes it a little less scary because you have so many people on set there for your safety. They do a bunch of rehearsals and make sure you’re comfortable and the best part about it is if you do not want to do a stunt, you do not have to. Which gives it a level of comfort. I always wanted to do my own stunts.”

Photo Credit: Marie La Franque

But could ShoutOut show up if you try to come for her in a dark alley? “No, no,” replied Dana erupting in laughter when asked if her stunt work could help her in a real fight. “Stunt fighting is completely different from real fighting. Like they teach you not to actually connect. I think the most realistic thing that I’ve learned from that is being able to move out of things. Because I’m so small, I’m squirmy so I can get out of holds really quickly. I think that’s gonna be my best bet.”

In the future, Dana would love to work with Samuel L. Jackson and appear in a horror movie, but right now she knows how important her work playing a black, female superhero is. “There are so many little ones who watch me and who are seeing themselves on screen for the first time. So I want to do them justice. I don’t want to be the stereotype. I’ve always wanted to be a good role model for little black girls and just black people, in general, to see themselves on screen in a good interpretation because we do get the smart black girl, but we don’t get the superhero who kicks butt and is no-nonsense, but also super fun. We don’t get complex characters like that as much as for kid’s television as much as I would like to see. I’m honored to be that kind of person for people.”

Dana is working on some exciting things she can’t talk about quite yet, but be sure to follow her on Instagram @MissDanaHeath to stay in the loop for all updates. In the meantime, you can watch Dana on Danger Force airing on Nickelodeon on Thursdays at 7pm EST.

Check out my full interview with Dana Heath in the clip below. Share your thoughts in the comments.

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Photo Credit: Marie La Franque