The doctor said, "Dustin . . . Dustin Miles . . . . He is going to be a famous actor."
Since that moment, Miles, now 26 years old and living in St. Louis, hasn't slowed down in achieving that goal.
"When I was 8 years old I saw my brother in 'The Crucible' and loved it," he said. "It was about witches and trials and it had so much dialogue. I probably should have hated it but I loved it."
After seeing his brother perform at Borgia, it was Miles' turn.
"The play I did at Borgia called "The Nerd" was the one play where I was like, acting isn't a hobby," he said. "There's a craft to it. It is an art. It's with that show that I realized that. It was just the right time for me. I was just getting very serious about acting."
From there Miles went to East Central College for three years on a theater scholarship and then transferred to what is now known as Missouri State University where he was a freshman in the theater department.
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His resume now sports acting jobs that have made him a local celebrity. He is known for his role in the "Six Is a Serious Number" commercial for Mobil Fast Lane Gas, which airs during Cardinals games on the big screen at Busch Stadium.
He also has played a piece of cake in a commercial for Car Credit City and is now doing Dierbergs commercials.
Miles also was on the big screen in "Up in the Air," a movie that stars George Clooney and Jason Bateman.
Miles said when he was a child he always wanted to be in a movie. That was his goal, even if he only appeared for a few seconds.
"I like the idea that I'm being immortalized on screen," he said. "Maybe that makes me a weirdo or egotistical or something."
In "Up in the Air" he had a speaking role for a character named Ned who sits across from George Clooney and pretends to get fired.
Miles said he was ecstatic when he was chosen out of 7,000 candidates for the role.
"I was one out of only a few roles in the film who had a character name," he said. "It was a real confidence booster, but it was also nervewracking."
Miles describes everyone on the set as being incredibly friendly.
"They treated me like I was George Clooney or Jason Bateman," he said.
One of his most memorable experiences on the set of "Up in the Air" was meeting Jason Bateman.
"I had a 6 a.m. call and so they took me to get my costume and then my hair and makeup done. While I was in there they handed me my sides, which are lines that only pertain to your character.
"On the front was a casting call sheet and my name was on there along with Anna Kendrick's, Chris Lowell's, George Clooney's and Jason Bateman's and those were the people I was going to be working with for the day," Miles said.
"In hair and makeup Anna and Chris were sitting there with me and we all got along great and then Jason Bateman walks in and looks at Anna and Chris and said, 'I know you two, but I don't know you,' and he turned and looked at me and shook my hand and said, 'Hello. I'm Jason Bateman.'
"The entire time I'm going, 'Oh my God! It's Jason Bateman! He's on 'Arrested Development'! I love that show!' . . . . Jason Bateman kind of became my set friend. He would try and make me laugh before the director would call 'Action!' by throwing things at my head and playing pranks."
Miles said that before this role he hadn't had the opportunity of working with people he looked up to and always wanted to work with.
"Now I know that I won't be uncomfortable or nervous on set with people I admire," he said.
Miles is now saving as much money as possible to move to Los Angeles and pursue an acting career there.
"I like St. Louis and the people so much," he said. "I don't necessarily want to move somewhere where it takes four hours to get five miles, but that's really the only place I can go from here . . . . Maybe lightning will strike and somebody there will think I'm halfway decent at what I do."
Miles said he is now being turned down for acting roles in the St. Louis area because he is becoming known for his characters.
"The fact that I'm somewhat recognizable now is hurting me in such a small market," he said. "I'm to the point where now I'm being turned down for some roles such as Schnucks or Shell because they don't want the 'Dierberg's Guy' and they don't want the 'Mobil Guy.' "
Miles said both his mother and his father, who live in Marthasville, are very supportive of his goals, but understandably concerned because acting is such a risky thing to go in to.
"I probably should have majored in business," he said. "I have nothing to fall back on. The only talent I have is acting . . . . When you say you want to be an actor, you're setting such a high goal. Being a full-time actor is nearly impossible and that's why I try and set lower goals - to make them more attainable."
Miles attributes a lot of his success to his experience at Borgia.
"I want to thank Borgia and Tim Buchheit (theater director) for creating a creative atmosphere," he said. "That was so important for me. Anyone under Tim Buchheit could definitely learn about acting from him."
