Sonny Miller

Sonny Miller
Sonny Miller enjoying a beer after a long filming session at Teahupoo
Personal information
Born	Sonny "Harold" Miller San Jose, California
Died	July 8, 2014(2014-07-08) (aged 53) La Jolla, California
Nickname	Cap'n Fun
Residence	Escondido, California
Surfing career
Sponsors	Rip Curl
Major achievements	Searching for Tom Curren Video of the Year by Surfer Magazine in 1997.

Sonny Miller (July 18, 1960 - July 8, 2014) was an American cinematographer and waterman specializing in surfing and nature photography. He achieved success filming surfing related dramas, In God's Hands (1998). Riding Giants (2004), The Big Bounce (2004), Lords of Dogtown (2005), Blue Crush (2002) and Die Another Day. Miller experienced a heart attack and could not be revived just one week after the passing of his mother, Suzanne Gilliland.

Born in San Jose, California in 1960, Miller moved to Encinitas, California, sometime prior to 1971, where he learned to surf. He attended San Dieguito High School and studied photography at Palomar College. His career began with the accepted submission of still surfing photographs to Surfer and Breakout magazines, he was also a contributor to Snowboard Magazine with his work appearing on the début cover. Miller soon expanded into 16 mm film for motion photography.

Also known as Cap'n Fun, Miller and Tom Curren teamed to produce the series, The Search (1992). Filmed and directed by Miller, the series would travel the world and focus on Curran's freestyle surfing as most of the footage at the time, focused on Curren in competition. Miller's surfing documentaries include: Breakin’ on Thru (1992), The Search (1992), The Search II (1993), For the Sea (1994), Beyond the Boundaries (1994), Feral Kingdom (1995), Aloha Bowls (1996), Tripping the Planet (1996) and Searching for Tom Curren, which was awarded Video of the Year by Surfer magazine in 1997.

In 2000, Miller's work began to include Hollywood feature films, his work includes, In God's Hands (1998), Blue Crush (2002), Riding Giants (2004), The Big Bounce (2004),Lords of Dogtown (2005) and the James Bond film, Die Another Day. He appeared onscreen opposite Michelle Rodriguez and Kate Bosworth as a surf contest announcer in Blue Crush, and his work is said to appear in the remake of Point Break (2015).