Pop-Culturalist.com

Riley Dandy is one of Hollywood’s most exciting up-and-coming actresses. She’s best known for the dynamic characters she’s brought to life in projects including A California Christmas: City Lights and Kappa Crypto. This year, she’s serving a delectable performance as the lead in the romantic comedy, That’s Amor.

After her job and relationship implode on the same day, Sofia (Riley Dandy) starts from scratch—and meets a dashing Spanish chef who might be her missing ingredient.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Riley about That’s Amor, the importance of showing up for yourself, and more.

PC: How did you discover your passion for the arts and storytelling?
Riley: Thank you for asking that. I feel like no one has asked me that. It’s a sweet question because everyone gets started somewhere. For me, it’s quite stereotypical. My mom put me in dance classes when I was eight. We actually have this family home video after my first dance recital. It’s pretty funny. I’m this tiny little thing with this huge head and a faceful of makeup on. I’m running off stage and my mom is like, “You did so great. How was it?” I look straight into the camera and I go, “I want to do that forever.”

I did dance for a long time, and then I started doing community theater when I was eleven. I remember my first community play. I was like, “I’m acting in front of strangers. I’m famous.” [laughs] I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Then I started doing theater in school, but I stopped when I got into high school. I was too nervous about what my peers would think about me because people are bullies. So I was still doing community theater, but I didn’t want to do it in high school because I was like, “I’m not going to do it in front of them, but I’ll do it in front of strangers.”

For the four years of high school, it felt like my secret little girlfriend on the side. It was like I didn’t want anyone to know about it. Then I graduated high school at seventeen and moved out to LA. I don’t know how my mom let me do that at that age. I went to an acting school and booked my first film the year after graduating college. So I’ve been very lucky to be able to do it for a long time.

PC: That might be the answer to this next question, but who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Riley: My mom. I had an incredibly supportive mom. I remember googling how to get an agent at the age of fifteen. We had no idea. I was like, “Mom, I think I need to go to this agent workshop out in Orange County and this other workshop out in LA.” My mom just blindly did it. She used to come to every single play rehearsal and would sit there until 11 PM. It was her holding space for me while I was trying to figure out my passion. She had no clue what to do, but she was like, “We’re going to figure this out. If you want to do it, then we’re going to commit to it.”

PC: What was the biggest thing you learned from dance and performing on a live stage that you’ve been able to apply to your career on screen?
Riley: It’s so different. I went to a theater college. I remember graduating and being like, “I have no idea what to do on set.” It’s very different, but I will say I really look forward to the day that I get to do a sitcom. That’s the closest thing to theater. I know I would feel at home in an environment like that because I know how to work well under pressure. I learned that from theater.

PC: Tell us about That’s Amor, your character, and what attracted you to this project.
Riley: I play Sofia in That’s Amor. It’s a feel-good romantic comedy on Netflix. I play this really cynical butthead of a woman who’s going through a massive life change and she has to recalibrate with her mom. She ends up taking a couple’s cooking class with her mom, much to her dismay, and she ends up falling in love with the cooking teacher. As the movie unfolds, she opens herself up to life happening to her.

PC: You’ve said in previous interviews that one of the reasons that you were really attracted to this project was because you knew you could bring a lot of yourself to this character. As an actor, is it more or less challenging when you’re playing a character who’s so similar to you?
Riley: Wow, that’s a good question too. It’s both. Because the character was so similar to me, there were scenes where she would act out in a way that I wouldn’t, but because the character felt so close to me, it was easy to judge her when she would react to things that maybe I wouldn’t react to in the same way. I would have an innate judgment, and I was like, “I can’t judge her for that! She’s working through it differently.” But it was very easy in certain senses with all her dry humor and cynicism. I wish I didn’t have that, but I do. All of that was very easy.

PC: Throughout the film, we see your character let down her walls. You handled that with so much nuance. How did you prepare to tackle her journey throughout this film?
Riley: A lot of that was showing up on the day and being in the moment. You can do so much prep for your character, but on the day, you have to let go of that and figure it out. Because you can do as much prep as you want, but it all goes out the window as soon as you step foot on set and you’re with other actors.

We were very, very lucky that we shot pretty close to chronological order, so going on that journey with her was very easy. I feel very lucky for that because so many times you’re flipping through your notes and you’re like, “We’re filming scene two today,” when yesterday you shot scene 40. We got very lucky with that.

PC: Shaun [Paul Piccinino] also has experience acting. Is the experience different when you’re working with a director who knows what it’s like to perform on screen as well?
Riley: Yeah, I think it is different. He knows how to make an actor feel comfortable right off the bat. I said this in another interview, but he’s the self-proclaimed “Dancing Director.” This was the first time that I’ve ever worked with someone who was like, “Let your freak flag fly. Dance. Do whatever you need to do to get where you need to be emotionally.” He approaches his work from a place of “What we get to do is extremely fun.” I needed that some of the days because we do have the coolest job in the world. A director who also acts knows that we’re playing pretend at the end of the day. He created a really warm environment for that.

PC: This film does such a beautiful job balancing comedy with these more grounded moments. Was there a scene in particular that you were really excited for audiences to see, and which was the most challenging for you to film?
Riley: The one that I was most excited for audiences to see is the scene in the kitchen with Lainie (who is my mom in the film) where I’m talking to her about going to college. Working with Nancy [Lenehan] has been the highlight of my career so far because she knows everything. She’s a comedic genius. She can be so heartfelt and subtle in her choices, but then we’ll call cut and she’ll crack a really crude joke.

To be honest, I’m really excited for people to see all of the scenes with her. Also the montage at the end where I’m taking her Zumba class. That was one of the most fun days I’ve ever had on set because all of us were uncomfortable and didn’t know what we were doing. We were wearing these crazy, glittery belt things. That was really fun.

The most difficult was probably the scene where I am telling Matias that I have to be kind to myself as I’m saying goodbye to him. That was the most heartfelt scene in the movie. She’s finally deciding to take a step for herself and to show up for herself. Even though it’s difficult, it’s the right thing for her to do in that moment. I identified with that a lot. Sometimes when things sit with you closely, you have a tendency to want to run away from that. That was a bit difficult. We were filming on a very busy street and there were cars honking and people yelling at us. That was the hardest day.

PC: This is also the first time that you’ve led a film. Congratulations, by the way. Did anything surprise you about this experience? What’s been the biggest takeaway from it?
Riley: The schedule was the most surprising part. I wanted to be included in everything and anything when my friends were around, and there were so many times during the cooking class scenes with everyone where they’re all having fun and I’d get pulled away to film something else. There were so many times when I was like, “I don’t want to leave, but I’m getting paid to leave.” [laughs]

That was the most difficult thing. The schedule was wild. You get to see so many different people over the span of the shoot. It gets jumbled in your brain because you’ve done so much and you’re like, “I hope this cuts together well.”

The biggest takeaway is that I learned how to take care of myself. I became my own best friend during filming because there are so many moving parts and you can really get in your head. You don’t have time to overthink. You’re like, “God, I hope that worked. I hope that was good. We’re moving on to the next thing.” So I think the biggest thing that I’ll take with me to other projects is taking care of myself and making sure I’m good.

PC: The film is out now on Netflix. It’s been incredibly well received. What do you think is resonating most with audiences? What do you hope they take away?
Riley: I think what’s resonating with audiences is that the world is so psychotic right now and it’s an easy film to watch. There’s also delicious food in it, and there’s a handsome man. I think those three things are keys to a successful movie. The food was amazing, by the way!

I sound like a broken record but I hope people take away the importance of showing up for yourself. Sofia does that. There are so many times when we don’t give ourselves the space to take a step back and learn from what we’re going through or figure out how the hell we feel about it because we’re expected to jump up and go. Like Matias says, “I hope people learn to be kind to themselves.”

PC: As you look ahead to the next five to ten years, is there a dream role that you’d love to bring to life?
Riley: Anastasia. A hundred and ten percent. Anastasia was my favorite movie growing up. She’s such a strong character. The story’s incredible. The costumes would be amazing. That’s my absolute dream role.

PC: You’ve got a new horror film making its way around the festival circuit. Is there anything you can tell us about that film?
Riley: It’s not officially announced yet, so I’ve been sworn to secrecy. I will say that the director I worked with is Joe Begos. I will follow him into the dark anywhere, covered in blood, whatever it is. He was absolutely incredible to work with. You can expect lots of explosions, fire, blood, and gore.

To keep up with Riley, follow her on Instagram. Watch That’s Amor on Netflix today.

Photo Credit: Liv Wagner