Pop-Culturalist.com

Dale Whibley has quickly emerged as one of the industry’s most versatile young talents. He’s starred in coveted projects including Degrassi: The Next Generation, Make It Pop, Good Witch, and Big Shot.

This fall, he’s turning heads and leaving audiences speechless with his transformative performance in Netflix’s There’s Someone Inside Your House.

Pop Culturalist had the pleasure of speaking with Dale about getting his start in the biz, There’s Someone Inside Your House, and how he prepared to bring this multifaceted character to life.

PC: How did you discover your passion for acting and storytelling?
Dale: Oh, wow. I started acting at a very, very young age. It was actually my parents who got me into it. I was such an energetic, distracted kid that sports weren’t fulfilling that space for me. Acting grabbed onto me as soon as I had the chance to try it. I couldn’t stop.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Dale: A lot of it has been what I’ve gained personally. Acting is very therapeutic for me. I leave nothing on the table when I’m in front of the camera. Continuing to give myself this therapy has been a big motivator.

PC: You’ve had a lot of success already in your young career. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out to you?
Dale: It would have to be booking my first lead on Make It Pop. That was a huge experience for me. I spent a lot of my time watching leads, wishing I was in their shoes. When the opportunity came about, it was one of the greatest experiences of my life and of my career.

PC: That’s the perfect segue to this next question. You started your career working on a lot of family-friendly programming like Make It Pop. What has the transition been like going from a project like that to now There’s Someone Inside Your House?
Dale: Oh, man. I love it. I love it. The family-friendly stuff is nice. It’s fun to do comedy because comedy is right up my alley. I love it. But getting into that nitty-gritty is where every actor wishes they were able to play; those dark, mysterious characters. It’s always fun because it’s not something that you do in your everyday life. Playing a psychopath is not something that you do on an everyday basis. To be able to put on that mask is really fun.

PC: Speaking of There’s Someone Inside Your House, can you tell us about the film and your character?
Dale: There’s Someone Inside Your House was a dream project for me. There was so much depth to a lot of what we were doing. We were doing a lot of new things in the field of slasher films and bringing a lot of diversity into a usually very White-based genre. It was a fun genre to play around in. Zach was such a fun character because he was pretty similar to me in that he’s a bit quiet and a bit weird. Then you flip on a switch and you’re this psychopath. It’s amazing. The whole filming process was fun. All of us in the cast were best friends pretty much from the get-go. It really shows on camera. It was just a wonderful experience. Patrick Brice, of course, and Henry Gayden—all of them are brilliant. It was super easy to work with them.

PC: One of those central themes within the film is how we’re all wearing masks and that’s especially true for Zach. In a lot of ways, it feels like you’re almost playing two characters. What was the process like developing Zach for this film?
Dale: Zach definitely was a development for sure. He starts as the basic archetype of a rich, spoiled kid who hates the world, but there’s also a sense that he belongs in the friend group he’s in. Behind the scenes, it was hard not to be in the killer Zach mindset when we were doing our everyday scenes and some of the party scenes because I was really getting into the mindset of a murderer. It was so interesting. Henry talked me down and Patrick talked me down. They were like, “We get that he is doing this behind the scenes but he needs to come across as an honest character that you would suspect nothing of.” That was probably the biggest challenge for the character.

PC: The film builds to this intense confrontation that involves your character. As an actor, how did you get into the mindset for a scene like that?
Dale: Oh, scary music. I listened to some dark screamo music that really invokes that kind of emotion: anger, teen angst, hating your parents, and where you’re from. Whatever I could bring out of myself with whatever outlets I needed: music or visuals. Sitting down with Sydney [Park] was huge because she and I really worked a lot on that scene together. It was really whatever drove me to the place of pure and utter anger.

PC: Like you’re saying, there’s great chemistry that comes off the screen between you and the rest of the cast. How were you all able to build that bond?
Dale: It was pretty much from Day 1. We all met for the first time in Vancouver during a table read, which James Wan was a part of. Pretty much everyone who was part of the project was sitting in a room reading the script and afterwards you were like, “Wow. This sounds awesome”.

We ended up playing the game Werewolf. It’s a game where you try to find the imposter. That really helped us ease into it. It can be an awkward situation when you’re meeting strangers and then told that you have to be best friends. That really got the ball rolling with how our relationship grew. Also, living in the same apartment made that super easy. We were seeing each other for breakfast every morning. We went out for some drinks. It was a good time and I feel like we all bonded very quickly.

PC: With the film out now, is there a scene that you’re really excited for your fans to see?
Dale: I can speak for almost everyone when I say that our opening kill is one of our favorites. It’s a fan favorite as well. They did such a good job. It’s one of those scenes where you can’t not cringe while watching it. It’s pretty f’ed up what happens. That’s probably one of my favorites, but I wasn’t a part of that.

I was a part of the corn maze scene, which was awesome. We were working with real fire. It was cold out there. Sydney was phenomenal. She made my life super easy. That was the most thrilling and rewarding scene.

PC: You recently shared on social media that playing Zach forced you to explore one of the darkest places that you’ve ever gone to on screen. What was the biggest takeaway from this project that you’ll apply to the next?
Dale: That I can go there. That I have the ability. Sometimes you end up questioning yourself. You get that imposter syndrome that you may or may not be able to do this. Now I know that I can get to that place. If it’s requested of me, I know where to pull from. I know how to get to that level.

PC: There are so many intense moments within the film. What was that process like to decompress after a day of shooting?
Dale: It’s hard because I’m not bullshitting when I’m doing this. I’m really pulling real emotions. I’m really trying to get to that place so I can give an honest and genuine performance that people will feel through the lens. It really takes time to sit at home, shut your brain off, and wind down. I do what most people do at the end of a stressful day: sit at home, have a drink, watch some TV, and relax. We’d go out and sit on a couch and talk about how our day was. Having those support groups within our friendships helped so much.

PC: We’re seeing another golden age for horror to tell really cool stories. There are so many relevant themes within the film. Was there one in particular that hit home for you?
Dale: Wow. In Rodrigo’s storyline, he’s dealing with addiction and doesn’t know who to talk to. That was a big one for me because a lot of people are dealing with the same thing and are in hiding, not really able to tell their story or find the help that they need. Highlighting that was really awesome. I do think we hit some heartstrings with a lot of the situations that we dive into in the film.

PC: Besides this film, what’s next for you?
Dale: I have a project that I’m very thrilled to be a part of. I, unfortunately, can’t talk about it right now, but keep your eyes open because that is coming.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Dale: That’s a hard one. Norsemen was one that I was just watching. It’s kind of a weird, comedic take on the Viking era. I thought that was great. Seven Deadly Sins—I know it can be hit-or-miss on that show, but I can’t help but watch it.

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Dale: Dumb and Dumber. That whole franchise. It’s one of those you can throw on and know that Jim Carrey is going to slay. He was an idol of mine growing up.

PC: Favorite book?
Dale: The Mortal Instruments series was huge for me when I was growing up. I read that whole franchise front to back, even the prequel and sequel series. Hunger Games was another really good one. It felt like every single time I read a book, I would look it up and they were like, “A movie is in progress.” I’m always like, “Yes. Yes.”

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Dale: Sleep No More. That blew me away. That was such an experience. I actually did that with Louriza Tronco, a costar of mine from Make It Pop. She and I went to see that. We were speechless the whole time. It’s such a unique way to watch a play, being able to follow each perspective. It was just a once-in-a-lifetime thing to see.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Dale: Paul Anka. It’s hard because I feel like I jump genres a lot. I feel like the genres I like would surprise people more than anything—like boom-bap jazz from the ’40s. I love that stuff. I also listen to rap music, sometimes hardcore or sometimes jazz rap. I find myself listening to screamo every now and then. I feel like my music tastes jump everywhere.

PC: Dream role?
Dale: My dream role would be something like The Truman Show. I feel like that would be fun to explore. Something that goes beyond the script or what you see. Something that people can study after they watch the film. Something they can pick apart and find cool nuances throughout. I’d love to bring something like that to life.

Also, a period piece! I would love to do something with horse riding, bows and arrows, and fighting dragons. That’s always been a dream of mine since I was a kid as well. There are definitely a lot of things to check off of my actor’s bucket list.

PC: Who would play you in the story of your life?
Dale: I feel like I’m tooting my own horn when I say this, but people say I look like Ryan Gosling. So I feel like there would be a parallel there. Just based on what I’ve been told. It’s probably more likely that I would end up playing him than vice versa, but that’s who I would pick.

To keep up with Dale, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Watch There’s Someone Inside Your House today.