If you watch the Disney Channel, you’ve probably seen 3-2-1- Acting student Dylan Boyack! He’s shot promos, pilots, and most recently Dylan Boyack stars on Jessie for Disney! We got a chance to talk to Dylan about his 2-part, one hour episode of Jessie after one of his acting classes for teens in Los Angeles here at 3-2-1- Acting Studios. He’s a busy guy these days between high school, acting classes, sports and his professional career!
Dylan, thanks for talking to us today! What can you tell us about this two-part episode of Jesse you recently shot for the Disney Channel?
Dylan: Okay, well this is the funny part, because this is season 2 and I played Emma’s boyfriend in the show. You know, there’s conflict within the show because Jesse has an arch-nemesis from high school, and I’m the younger brother of the arch-nemesis, so there’s a lot of conflict with me and Emma dating because Jesse’s her nanny and they—the families don’t like each other.
What was the shoot like? Was there a lot of preparation?
Dylan: There was one wardrobe fitting before rehearsals. It was a two week
thing. The first half of week one was rehearsing. It was one script, all together, so it was a fat script. It was a big script. So, we rehearsed the first half of first week, we shot the second half of the first week, and then we rehearsed the first half of the second week, and we shot the second half of the second week.
Did you shoot in order?
Dylan: No. They go all around. That’s kind of the tricky part. People think that they shoot things in order. That doesn’t happen, and it’s tricky because you have to be able to keep the emotion of the scene even if they’re shooting out of order, make sure you know what you’re doing in that scene and remember what you’re supposed to do and just do it.
Skills you develop with practice in acting classes and in rehearsals. How did the regular cast treat you?
Dylan: Oh, they were super nice. I was a little nervous at first. When I walked into school, they were all giggling with each other, so I thought, “oh, no, they’re all friends. They’re gonna leave me out.” Within the first 30 minutes we were all having fun.
When you say school, do you mean the on-set school with a studio teacher?
Dylan: Yeah. They have their own desks and rooms on stage. Not on stage but in the building where the stage is. And so they do their work there. They were super nice. It was probably the best welcoming cast that I’ve ever been a part of. It was just a fun environment and it was great to be a part of.
When your episodes aired, did you have a viewing party to watch them?
Dylan: I was kind of scared. You know, I kind of had to walk out of the room for a minute because I was super nervous. The main thing was my friends were like, “okay, he did okay I guess,” you know? Like kind of judging the way I acted, but it’s like—it’s Disney. And so I grew the courage to just watch with my friends and it was—I thought I did okay. So it was—was fun. It’s good. The nerves were gone.
As an actor, what kind of tools do you rely on to help with nerves?
Dylan: Ms. Mae taught me a breathing exercise to get rid of nerves, which I had a lot of when I first started acting because I had never done this, I was very intimidated by the casting directors and producers. It’s breathe in eight seconds, hold it for two, and let it out four. And I don’t know what the science is behind it, but it works every single time and I’m really grateful that she taught me that. Some of the jobs I’ve booked I’ve used that, and I think if I didn’t use that to calm myself down, I would have been too anxious and I wouldn’t, you know, have gotten those jobs, so I’m really grateful that she taught me that.
Dylan: I got started here about three or four years ago. I had a friend who heard about Ms. Mae’s class and she recommended it to me because I was always kind of an energetic kid growing up. I did plays in elementary school and middle school, so I decided to try it out. And I loved it, and I decided it was a great
opportunity for me. It was very fun, very energetic, and it wasn’t stern, which I liked because I was a little kid, so I didn’t like stern. So I was very excited.
Dylan: I showcased for six agents. I got a callback for five of them, and that was all because Ms. Mae helped me through it all. She helped me through my monologue and then my commercial piece.
Do you have any advice for other kids out there who might want to be actors and do what you do?
Dylan: Don’t get discouraged. There have been times when I haven’t booked a job and I got super discouraged, but then there’s just that one audition that just like—that one job that just clicked, and I got it, and that one job can be the job that you’ve been waiting for for a long
time. So I would say just don’t get discouraged. When you go into an audition, just be energetic, because casting directors like people who are excited to be there and know what they’re doing.
Thanks, Dylan. Tune in to Disney Channel’s to see Dylan at work. Or we invite you to check back here for more updates on his rising stardom.
