Michael Gross Talks All Things ‘Tremors,’ Fond Memories of Iowa

I've been a die-hard Tremors fan since I was a little kid. The original film, starring Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward, was one of the first movies I remember watching start-to-finish, and it completely gripped me. In hindsight, it was the perfect entry-level horror movie for me and other young kids. It's the right amount of silly and scary, and it takes its premise seriously to the perfect degree, yet knows how to have fun with it.

After Dusty Meier, a friend of mine from the horror film Are You Dead Yet?, had the opportunity to meet Tremors mainstay Michael Gross at a recent horror convention in Rosemont, IL, he implored me to try and interview him. I couldn't pass up the opportunity. I had the privilege of chatting with Michael Gross about all things Tremors, and ask him all the questions that have been festering in my head since I was a child.

Buckle up, Tremors fans... this is a great one!

Michael Gross is such a friendly guy. He was so friendly, he answered every single one of my Tremors-related questions, from the serious to the ridiculous, with thoughtful, beautiful responses. For one, he had some reflective words on the late, great Fred Ward, his co-star in three different films, who passed away in 2022. Furthermore, Gross elaborated on some of his on-set injuries while shooting seven Tremors movies over the course of four decades.

A native Chicagoan, Gross does have some strong connections to the state of Iowa. His grandparents lived in Fort Madison, about three hours south of Dubuque, and he'd spend portions of his summer there as a child. Furthermore, his wife, like his father, is a graduate of the University of Iowa. His deep Midwestern roots is probably from where Michael Gross gets his everyman quality.

What I also loved was Gross saying that Universal, the studio behind Tremors, missed the opportunity to market the series, Graboids, and Burt Gummer with shirts, action figures, and more. There was an 11-year gap between the fourth and fifth films, and if it hadn't been for a producer Gross fondly recalls, we probably would've never seen the three most recent movies in the series.

Michael Gross still stays busy these days. Later this year, he has two new films coming out, including a Christmas movie on Netflix called The Merry Gentleman, and another called Chosen Family. The latter is directed by longtime actress Heather Graham; Gross plays her character's father.

Take a listen to my interview with Michael Gross below, and be sure to follow him on Instagram!