ENTERTAINMENT
HAUTE CHAT:
Dylan Neal
WORDS BY DEE TRILLO PHOTOS BY DAGNEY KERR Fashion, Beauty, Tech, Travel & Entertainment Expert| @HauteFrugalista| HauteFrugalista.com
DYLAN NEAL HAS BEEN GRACING THE SMALL SCREEN FOR OVER 25 YEARS. THE VERY HANDSOME AND TALENTED ACTOR HAS PLAYED AN ARRAY OF CHALLENGING AND PERSONAL ROLES THAT HAVE SHOWN HIS ABILITY TO TAKE A CHARACTER, BREAK IT DOWN, AND FIND WHAT TRULY MOTIVATES HIS ACTIONS. HIS NEW PROJECT, CEDAR COVE, HAS PROVEN TO BE A TRUE FAVORITE FOR VIEWERS LOOKING FOR AN EMOTIONALLY DEEP SERIES WHERE THE CHARACTERS ARE TRULY WELL CRAFTED AND DEVELOPED. This month we will get to see him as Robbin “Bob” Adams on the much anticipated screen adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey. He plays Anastasia’s step-father, and we could not be more excited to see him take on that role. Here is our exclusive BELLO interview with this leading man! DT: Tell us about the experience as lead actor on Hallmark Channel’s first primetime series, Cedar Cove. Did you expect the incredible reception? DN: Well, I was obviously very flattered to be offered the role in the first place. I didn’t audition for the role of Jack; my agent called me one day and said HOLLYWOOD issue - BELLOmag.com
there was an offer for me to play the male lead opposite Andie MacDowell in a pilot for The Hallmark Channel and was I interested? It took me about half a second to answer, ‘Yes, of course I’m interested!’” We’re all so grateful that it has done as well as it has for the network and continues to grow in its second season. Television has such horrible odds for success; this is my seventh prime time series as a series regular and none of them have done well until now, and I’m talking about a span of over 25 years! You never know what’s going to work and what’s not; you just do your best and hope for the best. There are so many
reasons why a show succeeds or fails; you just control all the elements. At the end of the day, there’s just a certain amount of luck in all this. Your character in Arrow was very different. How did you prepare for such a strong role? The only tricky part about Ivo was that no one knew what he was about at first, not even the writers. We knew his trajectory a bit, but like with most of television, the writers and actors are discovering everything on the fly. You’re basically guessing at stuff until pieces start to fall into place, and then once you get a little traction, you start building from there. Fifty Shades is being released this month. What can you tell us about getting the part, and what do you think audiences will think about your character? My role of Bob Adams in Fifty Shades was another straight offer. Bob is Anastasia’s step-father and is married 44