Dylan Bruce – Midnight, Texas

By starrymag | August 14, 2017

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

Q) Are there any recent projects you have been busy working on?

A) No, not really. We’re kind of beholden to the show. Filming ended so I’ve basically been hanging out and waiting with anticipation. It was supposed to premiere earlier in the year, but it makes so much more sense to make it a summer show. So, I’m happy with where we are now. It was worth the wait, but it was a long wait since we shot the pilot back into April 2016.

Q) How was Bobo Winthrop originally described to you?

A) A guy with a heart of gold. The guy who would give you the shirt off his back, but also someone with a lot internal conflict and demons in his life. What I found out was that there was this character that has appeared in two of Charlaine’s [Harris] books (by the time I auditioned). He’s in two different series of Charlaine’s, one being the Lily Bard series. That’s where you first meet him as a teenager and high schooler. Some big thing happens to him in one of those books and that kind of projects him into the path he is currently on and the world he is currently in. So, it was really neat for me to see a guy who comes from a very privileged upbringing with a silver spoon go through something that is pretty shocking and tragic that kind of puts him on a completely different path and alters his image of the world. So, there was already this rich, rich background on the character. All I had to do was pick up the books and read them, which I did voraciously. I think I got through three of them in four or five days. I’m not used to that because all the other shows I’ve been on is learning the character as you go. So, it was really nice to be like, “Okay, this is how this guy is.” Being able to do research instead of guess was really fun for me.

Q) Did you speak to Charlaine Harris at all about how she’d like to see Bobo on screen?

A) She had it there on the page so the ground work was basically there for me. I didn’t see Charlaine in person on set until after we filmed the pilot. She came to New Mexico where we were filming the second episode and I spoke with her then. She had amazing input, input that she already had on the page in the book. She asked, “Have you read this book?” I said, “Yes.” She asked, “Have you read this book?” And I was like, “Yes.” So, I kind of knew what her vision with the character was, but then I spoke with Monica Breen (our head writer/producer/EP) and we kind of hashed out some cool things that we wanted to amplify in Bobo’s character. One thing that really jumped out to me was he had a nice smile and he’s always smiling and always warm, but he has sad eyes. There is always something going on inside that is sad. You can see it in his eyes. It’s almost like a puppy dog look, but he’s always masking it with this big smile that is not really bravado or machismo. It’s more a confidence and at the same time you see this broken man in those eyes. That was fun for me to play. A couple weeks ago, you saw a side of Bobo that was very unexpected and what you wouldn’t anticipate. But it’s something that is not out of character for him. In the earlier books, he is said to do karate with Lily Bard. I think he’s a Black Belt. So, a guy who has been on the road and on the run living a rough life for the last thirteen to fourteen years kind of makes sense that he would be able to beat up nine people. [laughs] Some people may think it’s just a plot thing like, “Oh, let’s just make him a fighter.” No. He was a fighter. He’s always been a fighter. Just this rough life – I love that. I love that he used that little meaty tidbit from earlier books and kind of amplified it a little bit that he had such a rough life that it wouldn’t be any means a stretch and beat the crap out of nine dudes.

Q) What did you find challenging about the role?

A) That was hard! We shot in New Mexico and the air is so thin there. I pride myself on being in good condition always, but that’s a whole different animal. It’s higher than Denver, I think. So, the air is so thin and you just gasp immediately. I think a lot of the MMA fighters go there to train because they want to fill their lungs to the capacity that air is able to hold to increase when they actually get into the octagon to do their fighting since it was intense there. So, it was tough but fun. TV is a different beast. We don’t have a lot of time as far as rehearsal is concerned, but we had amazing fight trainers on set and we had an amazing stunt crew. So, it’s basically like learning a dance. If you are coordinated and you know what you are doing it’s not that difficult. It was fun. As long as no one gets hurt it’s a lot of fun – and no one did!

Q) Was it that physicality and Charliane’s work that made you want to be a part of the series?

A) It was the most fun pilot I read! When I read it and auditioning during pilot season…There were so many weird elements to this show and the fact that NBC was taking a chance on it and putting on prime time TV really got me excited. Then, when I got the part, I was like, “This guy is so cool and an interesting character.” It was something that I’ve never played before that I really thought it would push me artistically and as an actor. So, I’m always looking for new challenges. Yeah, I jumped at the opportunity and could not wait to get started.

Q) Is there anyone you haven’t worked with yet on “Midnight, Texas” that you would like have a scene with?

A) It’s such an ensemble. As the series progresses there are tons of scenes where it is just all the Midnighters together. So, I’ve pretty much worked with all of them. I worked with every single character. The only one I didn’t get to work with was Joanne Camp who plays Xylda because I don’t see dead people. [laughs] I think she is fantastic and so fun. She would have bene a lot of fun to work with. But I share a scene with every one of my costars and they are all fantastic. It was all so fun jumping into all these worlds with different residents and learning about them as the series progresses too because I think Bobo is a little ignorant to the fact he knows he is in a special place and accepts people for who they are with Lemuel (Peter Mensah) being a vampire and I don’t think Bobo necessarily realizes that Fiji (Parisa Fitz-Henley) is a full-blown witch, but she has some powers. That he doesn’t care. He accepts them for who they are as people (or supernatural beings), but it’s a fun journey for him to learn other peoples’ supernatural secrets, which was really interesting and fun for me.

Q) I think it would be great in this day and age if people would take that away from watching “Midnight, Texas” – to be a little bit more accepting.

A) Exactly! I think that’s our main goal. Our show is about community and that we accept the different. We love everyone at “Midnight.” That’s something great about the show. It’s people who are trying to escape humanity and the cruel outside world all come to this place. We don’t care if you’re different as long as you aren’t bad. As long as you don’t have cruel intentions for nefarious reasons then we love ya. So, it’s not necessarily a blind trust and blind acceptance. We’re weary of people’s motives, but at the same time if you’re different we celebrate that at Midnight, which I think is a really cool part of the show.

Q) There are some great CGI effects. What are some other great aspects of the show that you can tease are in store?

A) Our art department – the guys we have – we mix a lot of CGI with practical props as well. So, for example, if we have a big bad in town or a villain, they will actually be dressed to the nines in their makeup. They’ve gone all out on costumes and makeup, but then we’ll enhance it a little bit in post with CG. So, for us to be in these scenes, we’re not acting with a tennis ball. We’re acting with a real practical actor in a costume. So, that I thought was really cool – the fact they have explored both of those avenues instead of just choosing one. With the tiger, there are quite a number of tigers on television that I’ve seen in the past year and I think ours is just head and shoulders above the rest. The people who did Richard Parker from the Life of Pi did our tiger. It’s really neat to see it because it’s not that hard to hold that suspension of disbelief because it doesn’t really take you out of the story where you notice and think, “That’s a fake tiger” or “That doesn’t look real!” It all seems pretty real, which I think makes our show a little spookier and a lot more special.

Q) Will we learn more about the various items in the pawn shop?

A) Yeah! Some of those items come in handy later down the road. I won’t tease too much, but there are some special things that could be helpful to the residents of Midnight. And there are a lot of creepy things in there. Oh my gosh! It was literally so fun going to set. I’d find a new area to hang out in and just look at the stuff. Our props department did a really cool job. I wouldn’t necessarily say I would want to be in the pawn shop after dark without lights on. If no one was there, it wouldn’t be a place I’d go on set to hang out just to chill out while we’re shooting on a different set on the same stage. It wouldn’t be my number one choice. It’s kind of freaky. But the pawn shop has some use later in the season.

Q) What have been some of your most memorable moments from filming “Midnight, Texas?”

A) I just like the comradery and the sense of community that we all had as Midnighters. Working with all the other actors it was so much fun. We have a lot of big scenes with everybody present. Long shooting nights. It was just such a special cast and crew. Just being with them and making a project that Monica put on the page for us were amazing and Charlaine created this unbelievable world. It was just so much fun and I never had more fun filming in my life. I hope it translates to the screen and I think it has. I think viewers will have fun watching our show.

Q) You are a part of social media. Do you enjoy the instant fan feedback you receive to episodes?

A) I’ve never experienced anything like it and I’ve been on some pretty fan favorite shows before. Everything I’ve seen online and from the fans and on social media has been extremely positive and it feels so rewarding for us. The fact that people are enjoying the show as much as we enjoyed making it. It’s just so nice that there is something people can grasp on – a fun show in today’s world. There is so much crud on the news every night where it is just so depressing and an overload of depression. And to be able to escape the world of Midnight and have a really fun show to watch and a show that can be someone’s guilty pleasure is great. The fact that people are recognizing that – I’m tickled. I just blush! It’s just so sweet. I love it.

Q) Coming from being a part of the Clone Club, that says a lot!

A) [laughs] I don’t think people liked me on that show until I died, which is a little sad. But you never knew what you had until it’s gone. The “Orphan Black” fans are incredibly loyal and incredibly tense and incredibly lovely. Whenever I’d go to a fan event they were so sweet and so great. I think we’ve sort of captured that same “lightning in a bottle” fandom for Midnight Texas. This is a show to ship and I think the fandom is just going to keep growing and get stronger and stronger! Hey! I’m a part of it, too. I’m a fan of the show myself so I can’t wait to see where it goes. [laughs]

Q) Your former costar Jordan Gavaris recently tweeted he would have loved to have you back on “Orphan Black.” How does that make you feel?

A) He’s the sweetest guy ever and I’m such a fan of that show that I still watch it every Saturday night. Every episode was insane and so sad. I was literally thinking about it and couldn’t sleep because I was thinking about poor Mrs. S (Maria Doyle Kennedy). Jordan was fantastic. But the whole cast is great. They are like my first family. Midnight is my second family. Jordan is the sweetest guy ever. Unfortunately, Paul was stabbed twice and shot four times and blew himself up. So, there is no coming back from that – no matter what. But that’s really sweet of him to say. I miss my Jordan Gavaris! He’s a wonderful human being.

Q) What have you, personally, taken away from working on “Midnight, Texas?”

A) I hope they take away a sense of community and that they are a part of “Midnight.” We’re an all-inclusive show. We celebrate peoples’ differences and I just hope that people understand we at “Midnight” are there to escape humanity as well. I think I’ve said it before, but they are the people who are trying to save humanity as well. So, if you’re different and feel strange or weird so do we at “Midnight.” [laughs] Come celebrate with us and I hope they just have a lot of fun watching it.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

A) Keep watching and enjoy the ride because it was a fun ride for us! We enjoy your eyes on the screen and we enjoy your dedication to the show. I promise it will just get crazier and wilder as the season progresses. So, strap on that seat belt and get that popcorn ready because it’s going to be a bumpy ride.