Gus Birney & Dylan Gage – Shining Vale

By starrymag | March 2, 2022

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

 

Q) You’re playing brother and sister. How have you developed a relationship as actors? Maybe you haven’t even met before?

Gus: I knew immediately when I met Dylan. I mean, I’ve watched him in “Pen 15.” So, I was a fan. I’m not gonna lie, and I little starstruck, but I think that like the more we hung out on set, and the more we developed, I don’t know, just off camera relationship, the easier it became. And it was nice because we were the two kind of younger people on the show. So we really only had each other to rely on in that way and then it bonded us also I think we’re both a little dorky. So it was good. I’m sorry, Dylan.

Dylan: Yeah, I feel like just sort of, because we’re both sort of like young there wasn’t a whole lot of people to relate to but other than just me and Gus. So, we sort of like became conjoined at the hip. And yeah, we just sort of blossom sort of naturally into where we like we’re very easily able to play like a realistic brother sister relationship on the show.

Q) How important is it for likability to be part of your role?

Dylan: Sure. I feel like likability does not really affect…I think that Jake is very likable, just in the fact that he’s just sort of goofy and a little bit dorky, just like he’s just in his own world doing his own stuff. He’s very uncontroversial because he doesn’t really put himself out there that much, but I feel like character likability does not really affect too much of what I care about the character because it only matters how the character thinks of themselves.

Gus: Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, it’s the audience is gonna have their opinion and so it’s like it’s the viewer who’s gonna like you’re not and you can’t really control that. And look, Gaynor can come off very I guess at times unlikable as six year olds do, and you have to let that be and know that that’s part of it. And I don’t think that should be worried about because people are unlikable sometimes, and I hope as the show goes on, you see that she’s much more layered and complicated than at first glance.

Q) So, can you each tell us about the audition process that you went through to get the show?

Gus: Well, I auditioned I think like two summers ago and it was still COVID, and I sent in a tape, and I think I didn’t hear back for like two weeks. And then I did a read with Courteney over Zoom. And it’s so interesting doing like auditioning over Zoom because you can’t really get a sense of people. But I remember about this Zoom audition she was like I really, really still felt connected to her through this Zoom weird format that we’re using now. And I remember leaving that and being like, “Oh, that was interesting. I actually felt like I was just having a moment with someone.” And then I found out Yeah, like, not that long after that, that I got, and it was the best feeling in the world. So yeah. All right.

Dylan: Yeah, I so I did my audition, sent it in and I got a callback as you do, and the callback was virtual. And I did it in like my grandmother’s office. And the internet wasn’t great. And it was like over Zoom, and it was like hard to like, hear. So, like a lot of the times I like misheard what they were saying, and I thought I was doing terribly. Like I was like blowing it so hard, but no. Turns out that they liked me. So, I’m glad that they did.

Q) Gus you were brilliant on “Dickinson” and Dylan you were great on “Pen 15.” These are kind of darker roles. I think for both of you where both of you sort of have some sort of struggle that you’re dealing with. They’re sort of a lot angst as well for you Gus and a little bit more mental mentally as for Dylan, how did you shake off a long day of being these characters?

Gus: I mean, I know like there were actually pieces of Gaynor that I really liked and pieces that I wish that I had. She’s just kind of a Spitfire and very confident and outgoing and strong, and I guess I would leave and I’d be like, “Wow, I wish that I had a little bit more of that in me.” So, it would actually be I would shake off the day and be like, “I should take that with me moving forward,” but I was left really happy.

Dylan: Yeah, and I mean, I feel like I’m close enough to like, Jake as a personality. I feel like the only thing I really like that differentiates us and like, is a little bit difficult at times. It’s just sort of the fact that he’s very just sort of apathetic towards the outside world and is very toned out or tuned out. And it was a little like, kind of hard a little bit sometimes to just like be so in my own stuff like on set and then have to like be back into it. So I kind of had to like keep doing that. But after the first few days, I got into the groove of it and really started doing pretty good.

Q) Guys, how is it balancing the horror and comedy?

Gus: I mean, it’s fun because it’s actually like, they merge them so well. So, you get a good sense of both. Sometimes like if it’s all horror, you don’t get real people behind it. And then if it’s all comedy sometimes it can be a little cheesy. And I think that there’s this great mesh of all of these different genres in there. And at the end of the day, like they’ve written very real, full people and characters that I think anyone can kind of find themselves in. If not one and you’ll find one in someone else. But yeah, it was very fulfilling.

Q) Well, I’m finding more and more when there’s two people who are going to be acting a lot on screen, that as part of the casting process, they put them on a chemistry test or something like that. Did they as part of casting or once your cast put the two of you together or did you spend time together going to coffee or anything like that to see that you vibe well?

Dylan: I feel like during like the rehearsals and stuff whenever they like had like the outline of like…We were doing like basically like blocking and stuff or they just had like tape outlines for like how like the furniture would be set up and we’re doing it like at a warehouse and stuff or like something similar. And so that’s when we kind of like I, at least when I first knew where we were like, “Okay, this is a cool person. And I think I can jive with them well.”

Gus: Yeah, we hung out a little outside of the set. We would like do an escape the room so yeah.

Dylan: I do an escape the room and also we ate at Cheesecake Factory.

Q) I saw the first five episodes and I enjoyed them a lot. Is there anything unusual that you could tell us that happens to your character in the last three episodes after that? Anything non-spoilery. [laughs]

Gus: I’m trying to think of a way not to spoil things. I guess I would say that each character kind of goes through an emotional shift. And I think you start to see it by the fifth episode. But at least for Gaynor I think it kind of is cemented more in understanding her mom a little better and starting to yeah make bigger shifts in the person she wants to be.

Dylan: I’m very excited for the last three episodes. I don’t want to say anything to like, spoil it character wise. But I definitely think some of the best of the comedy and some of the best of the horror and drama parts of it are caged into those last three episodes and just sort crescendos very well, and I think the in done a very good note.

Q) Guys talk about playing in that house, what that’s like.

Dylan: Oh, we only filmed the pilot with like the actual house and everything else was like on Warner Brothers lot, like on sets and stuff, but they recreated it scarily well, like in the Warner Brothers lot. Like it was like one to one. It was very well done. But just seeing that house in person was like, kind of jaw dropping. It was like they kept showing us pictures and stuff before we actually did it but that house is a character.

Gus: Yeah, you get chills walking in there. It’s pretty special.

Q) So, one thing I wasn’t sure about with the show is how long it was filmed over the course of?

Gus: Oh my! Well, we filmed so we did the pilot of a year ago last February. And then we did the rest of the episodes from June to September. So, it was like two and a half months. So, it was pretty fast. And yeah, it was all in LA. And yeah, it felt very fast. It was great.

Q) Where was the house?

Gus: There was an actual house and that house, was it in Pasadena?

Dylan: I’m not good at geography in my own state. For the pilot we actually had like a real like house. It was a real house and all of like the stuff inside it – all the wallpaper all,  like the weird scratches and stuff that was all there. They didn’t add anything to the house for the pilot. Everything’s there. But then for every episode after that they recreated the house like one to one very, very well. And we filmed it on like lots and stuff and not like on location.

Q) Does a real house have a particular name or anything? Is it one they use for stuff like this?

Gus: It was someone’s house. Like she lived there by herself and I think she might have been a hoarder something because they had to clean the house out like completely.

Dylan: Yeah, I think that’s just someone out. I don’t think anything else that’s been filmed there. Yeah, I think they found a gem just for this series.

Q) Dylan, your character has OCD, ADHD, and some other issues. What kind of research did you do into preparing to portray him?

Dylan: I feel like I definitely have like friends that have OCD and ADHD and people that are on the spectrum. And I definitely have a lot of experience with like with those friends and stuff and also I feel like playing Jake it’s less about those things and more just about he’s just a quirky kid who is really just like sort of in his own world doing his own stuff really likes electronics, video games. And those are the things I can really like, touch on and like really dive deep into and like the rest of it just comes naturally of just like not making eye contact, kind of like being hunched over and all sorts of stuff like that.

Q) For both of you, what do you think it is about “Shining Vale” that’s going to make it such a fast fan favorite series?

Gus: I really think we’ve created like our own unique genre that hasn’t really been seen and isn’t like anything on TV. And I think it’ll intrigue people to keep coming back. And truly every episode gets better, gets scarier, gets funnier and gets more complex. So, yeah, I think I think once you start you really can’t stop.

Dylan: I feel like the show definitely has like something special. It’s just ever since I first like read the script, I was like “This show is it.” It’s very good. I feel like it’s very easy to get into whether you like horror or whether you like comedy. It has something for everyone. And such great actors, such great directors, such great writers. I feel like it’s definitely going to be a hit.

 

 

*CONFERENCE CALL*