Miles Heizer Talks Filming ‘Boots’ for Netflix and Friendship

Miles Heizer, the star of Netflix’s new drama series “Boots,” is still getting used to seeing some of his costars with hair. 

“Over the last two-and-a-half years, we’ve pretty much exclusively seen each other bald in three different outfits,” says Heizer, a few days before the show’s debut. “It’s sort of jarring to see some of them with hair and normal clothes and like, ‘oh — I know you as a bald recruit.’”

Two-and-a-half years after production for the show got underway in New Orleans, Netflix is finally introducing viewers to its recruits. “Boots” is set at Marine Corps boot camp, and the ensemble cast spends most of their screen time donning military-issued uniforms and the mandated buzzcut. 

“A big part of it is teaching each other: you’re a group now. These are your people in a life-or-death situation,” says Heizer of the uniformity. “And I think we had a little phantom experience of that [onset],” he adds. “These forms of self-expression are taken away, so you’re forced to really get to know each other — which is sort of what the show’s about.”

The easygoing actor, who also starred in the streamer’s popular teen drama series “13 Reasons Why,” is seated on the lush roof of Netflix’s New York corporate headquarters in Flatiron. He’s dressed in a look (notably, his own) more reflective of his personal style, and his hair is slightly curly.

Heizer leads “Boots” as Cameron Cope, a young gay recruit who enlists with his (straight) childhood best friend. Cope is woefully unprepared for the physical rigor of boot camp, but fully invested in making it to graduation. He also faces the extra hurdle of needing to keep his sexuality a secret from the platoon: the show is set in 1990, a few years before the U.S. military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, when it was illegal to be gay and enlist. Despite the subject matter, the overall tone of the show is heartfelt and uplifting, focused on coming-of-age camaraderie and the individual impact of the era’s LGBTQ policies. 

The series, executive-produced by the late Norman Lear, was inspired by Greg Cope White’s memoir “The Pink Marine.” White enlisted in 1979 and served for six years before making a switch to Hollywood.

Heizer first met White in person at the L.A. airport; they were en route to the New Orleans set, and White had offered to help the actor transport his two dogs, Crouton and Girl, on the plane. “Right off the bat he was very clear about, ‘I don’t want you to be doing an impersonation of my life,’” says Heizer. “This is Cameron’s story, not Greg’s.”

While the series is told mainly through Cameron’s point of view, the story is fleshed out by the individual tribulations of his fellow recruits. The full ensemble is heavily featured throughout the show, and supporting cast was on-set for the duration of filming.

“It felt very much like summer camp or something,” says Heizer. “We got extremely close. Which obviously again, with bootcamp, I think a big part of the purpose is creating this group mentality. Creating a brotherhood and making sure that you’re good with these people.”

Not surprisingly, Heizer’s biggest takeaway from “Boots” was new relationships. He considers costar Angus O’Brien one of his best friends, and has cultivated a newfound hobby alongside Liam Oh, who plays his best friend in the show.

“[Filming] was such an intense experience, and I could tell I was gonna be devastated when I got home,” says Heizer. “So on the flight home, I booked a ceramics class. And immediately became completely obsessed with ceramics — like 10 hours a day, every single day. So that’s my big hobby at the moment.”

Heizer will soon head back to the ceramics studio, but has been taking full advantage of New York during his two-week stretch of “Boots” press. He’s been to the Noguchi Museum, popular Thai restaurant Soothr, and saw “Oh Mary” on Broadway (it lived up to the hype). The lead-up to the release has also meant an opportunity to reconnect with his costars. A few days earlier, the cast attended a bootcamp-style premiere event, where guests competed in physical challenges; the winner took home a Theragun.

“One hundred percent the biggest takeaway is lifelong friends. Oftentimes the most exciting part to me about working is you have this really intense experience, and it allows you to make really deep connections,” he says. “I hope to keep working with them for a long time.”

That hope might be granted. The series sets the scene for a potential second season with the looming onset of the Gulf War, so the platoon might be reunited onscreen soon enough.

Before that, Heizer will be back on Netflix with a supporting role in Netflix’s rom-com “People We Meet on Vacation.” For Heizer, the throughline is quickly becoming People He Meets on Netflix.

“I love my Netflix,” says the actor. “ I basically owe my entire adult career to Netflix.”