His best friend was Mina, his Australian Cattle Dog: Jan. 23rd, 1993- Feb. 8th, 2004. She was named after the character in Bram Stoker's Dracula (the book) for her physical hair color attribute as a puppy. She had a widow's peak like Dracula.Avid dog lover.Was inspired to make movies, by George Lucas (after seing Star Wars as a kid) and his Grandmother, Catherine "Kitty" Kallio (who took Super-8 movies on famly vacations).Helped Bruce Campbell study/rehearse for his role as Coach Boomer in the Disney film "Sky High. Bruce incorporated physical and comedic suggestions into the film recommended by Kallio, which remain in the film. (March 2005).Went to Detroit Catholic Central, an all male college prep school, located in his hometown of Redford, Michigan.Went to Oakland Community College, Orchard Ridge, in Farmington Hills, Michigan and dropped out before getting an Associate's Degree, to pursue his dream of making movies.Used to sing in various rock bands in High School.His nickname in high school was "Batman" because of his "Batman" T-Shirt and comic collection. He is an avid "Batman" fan.When he was younger, he didn't like horror films and could only watch old Roger Corman/Edgar Allan Poe films or the Universal monster movies for their portrayal of anti-hero/tragic monster (Like his character in "Hatred of a Minute" (2002). After seeing Evil Dead at a party, he became completely desensitized and became a horror fanatic.One of his all-time favorite movies is It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and he references it in his films.Has been making Super-8 movies since he was 7 and still shoots Super-8 as much as possible. He has thirteen Super-8 cameras in his collection.Often credits a character called a "Shemp", a homage to the Three Stooges. Most frequently it is a "Fake Shemp", a reference to the Three Stooges shorts where a stunt man was used in place of Shemp Howard. Out of respect, Mike asked Bruce Campbell permission to use this credit at the end of all his movies. Bruce gladly passed the torch to keep the tradition alive.Attended Oakland Community College, seeking for both a Film degree AND an English degree. His goal was to attend Michigan State University but, instead, followed his idols, Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell and Rob Tapert, by dropping out of school and raising money for his first feature film.Kallio is a Finnish surname and means 'rock' or 'cliff'.Asked Bruce Campbell to be the best man at his wedding but, due to the shooting schedule of Xena, could not be there.He is close personal friends with Bruce Campbell (I).His favorite actors are Kurt Russell (I), Bruce Campbell (I), Christian Bale (I), Robert Downey, Jr. (I) and Jeff Bridges (I).Before he begins directing, has a tendency not to shave, in tribute to Sam Raimi's unshaven look while making the first Evil Dead (1981).