Dylan Smith – I Am The Night

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) My current and maybe most enjoyable project is being a full-time Daddy Day Care for our 7 month-year-old son. Mom is a theatre director and she is back directing her first play since giving birth. Other than that, I am waiting on jobs that might go and actively trying to court Denis Villeneuve for his upcoming film – Dune. What a cast, what a director. It would be a dream to work with him.

Q) Please tell us the premise for the series “I Am The Night.”

A) “I Am The Night” is based on the real life of Fauna Hodel who was a Caucasian girl raised in an African American family who thought growing up that she would eventually have darker skin because her birth certificate said she had an African American father. She discovers that there are lies about who she is and as she seeks out the truth, she uncovers some horrific truths about race, misogyny in the name of art, sexual abuse by men in power in the name of art and who her real father is.  She unearths some truths about who the Black Dahlia killer is in discovering all this.

Q) How was your character Sepp originally described to you?

A) Sepp was a bit of a mystery. He was clearly a violent man with violent thoughts, but once I was cast I wrote quite a bit back and forth with Sam Sheridan, the creator. He began to unveil a character who was besotted with George Hodel. He was an aspiring artist who not only desperately sought the artistic approval of the charismatic and unique George Hodel, a great friend and proponent of the Surrealists, but also the sheer trust, love and loyalty of this mentor.

Q) Was there anything you added to the role that wasn’t in her initial breakdown?

A) I think the backstory of Sepp, which I created, was an important addition to the character. I insisted that Sepp be the first and foremost ambitious as an artist. If he was going to cut up a woman, it was in means of pushing the Surrealist manifesto to places no one else would dare go. Sepp felt that he naturally had more of the “courage” and “danger” that Hodel often challenged artists and ordinary participants of his soirees with. And let’s face it, there is something conceptually brilliant about turning Hodel’s own daughter into a work of art so magnificent that even Hodel, if he is true to his word, will be overcome and awed by.

Q) What was your process for getting into character for this series?

A) I spent a lot of time trying to turn some of the horrific things Sepp says into delicious ideas. For example, when he describes cutting up Fauna by slicing off her calf and frying it up and eating it and then puking it up in front of her, I indulged my thoughts for a long time about what I would cook the calf in, what wine I would pair it with, what seasoning I would give it, the texture, etc. Also, I wondered how to capture this torture so it can be shown as art. I also spent time finding his “mask” in which I watched Mike Tyson during the heyday of his fighting career. His eyes are the scariest eyes you have ever seen on camera. I am a non-violent guy, essentially, so making the leap to seeing violence as a 5-star meal you are about to eat shows in someone’s eyes. Then, we added the pockmarks, a villain classic, but hey we are in Film Noire and the character seemed to come to life.

Q) Talk about working with superstar actor Chris Pine.

A) First and foremost, he (more than almost anyone I have worked with) strikes you as a movie star in the best possible way and in no way through status. Chris is truly effortless but hugely concentrated. You feel he has thought a lot about the part and that he thinks quickly, a very smart guy. But he is, more than anything for me, deeply trusting of his instinct. He is incredibly loose and kinetic and when he is working out a scene and on take after take, he is relaxed, focused and constantly discovering new things. I also think he is a stand-up guy, very respectful, very professional and it’s nice to be working with a man you think would make a stand-up guy in whatever job he happened to choose to do. That way when you look into his eyes and play a scene, you think, “Don’t patronize this guy. He is serious and heavy.

Q) What advice did famed director Patty Jenkins offer while filming that you took to heart?

A) Patty is all about confidence and trust. She instills confidence in every single member of the cast and crew. Her sets run smoother than anyone’s and when she looks at you while shooting and even off shooting, you feel she is looking to see who you are more deeply and how the camera might capture that. Patty never had huge notes or suggestions, but she did say, “Don’t worry, I will tell you if I don’t like what you are doing,” and you absolutely believe her. She keeps the set completely down to earth, everyone is there to work and that is no small feat on a mega Hollywood set.

Q) What were some of your favorite onscreen moments that you’re looking forward to “I Am The Night” viewers getting to see?

A) I would love to be a fly on the wall when they see me finally capture Fauna (India Eisley) and tell her what I have planned. I absolutely couldn’t believe I was going to get to work with Jefferson Mays who plays Hodel. Some of the stuff I shot with Jefferson was just so weird and surreal, no pun intended, that I would love to know what audiences think of it. And I hope the audiences’ butt cheeks are tightly clenched throughout the brief but excellent fight with Chris Pine.

Q) You are a part of social media. Have you enjoyed the instant fan feedback you’ve been receiving to the show?

A) I am not a huge social media presence, so I have not heard a ton of what people are saying. Although, from what I have heard, yes, audiences love it and that is just the best thing ever. To know it has been seen, let alone adored, is very cool. I did a Reddit AMA the other day and the people writing on it were just so smart, funny and knowledgeable about the film that their appreciation was so welcomed on my end.

Q) What did you personally take away from working on this project?

A) I got a baby boy, conceived during the shoot, and now the sun, the earth and the moon to me. But also, I made a really strong friendship with Sam Sheridan, the creator. We discovered that we were at rival high schools at the same time. I will never forget working with Chris Pine. Just by watching him alone taught me so much.  And to work on the Warner Brothers lot was a dream come true.