The highly anticipated horror-comedy series Shining Vale premieres this weekend.
It truly comes out of the gate running with thrills and chills throughout.
We got the chance to chat with Gus Birney (Gaynor) and Dylan Gage (Jake) about the show.
Check out the full interview below.
Starting with you, Gus, how would you describe Gaynor?
Gus: Gaynor is an edgy, rebellious, 16-year-old who’s kind of at that age where her parents are driving her crazy, and she wants nothing to do with them.
But they move to this new town, and I think she’s reevaluating herself and her decisions and kind of wants to turn over a new leaf and be a new person.
That doesn’t necessarily go so well for her. She might not pick the right avenues, does she?
Gus: No, not at all.
Do you know why her name is Gaynor? It’s an unusual name, and I was wondering if they told you anything about that?
Gus: No, that’s a great question. I think Jeff told me that Sharon, I don’t know, someone in her family was named that. I don’t know, but actually, I should ask again. That’s a really good question. I love the name.
I do too. Yeah, it’s very unique.
Gus: Yeah.
How about you, Dylan? What can you tell me about Jake?
Dylan: Well, Jake is a quirky kid who is sort of just obsessed with his own sort of business and kind of tunes out the world around him. He usually has a piece of electronic just like this close to his face. And so he’s very much sort of just in his own world, just sort of going through the motions.
Well, it’s funny, you mentioned the tech in his face, and I was going to ask you, is it difficult for you to act when you’re standing around with 3D goggles on your face? Does that take you out of the moment or put you into it?
Dylan: It’s a little bit of both. They did cut eye holes into it, and they put see-through Plexiglass. So actually, I knew where I was going, so I didn’t bump into everything. But it was a little bit hard because it wasn’t perfect, I couldn’t see everything, and I had my peripherals cut off.
But it definitely allowed me to just sort of focus on my physical bodywork and that because I didn’t have to worry about the top half of my face, acting-wise. So it let me just focus my energy entirely on moving around and doing all sorts of different stuff.
Whenever there are supernatural shows like this, where there’s a family, sometimes the kids are more astute than the parents, and other times they’re oblivious. Keeping with you, Dylan, where would you say that Jake falls on that spectrum?
Dylan: Jake is very oblivious. He is so sort of just like in his own hobbies and life and going through what he’s going through that he doesn’t notice anything about his parents, anything about the house, anything about supernatural. He is just living life to its fullest and the moment, and so he doesn’t really have time to think about all that stuff.
How about you, Gus?
Gus: I think it’s similar. I think Gaynor is, you know, 16-year-olds can be kind of self-involved, and she’s going through that phase and trying to make waves at school and get a boyfriend possibly.
So I think she’s too busy with that.
But there are moments that I think definitely freak her out, and if she was less focused on all the other stuff going on, I think she’d pick up on it, but life gets in the way.
The background of this show, a lot of it has to do with mothers and daughters. What do you think of Gus’s relationship with her mother? Oh gosh, no, Gaynor’s relationship with her mother, and then her relationship with her grandmother as well. How do you view those relationships?
Gus: I think it’s written so well. I mean, I think all of the women on the show are depicted wonderfully because women are so complicated and complex, and those relationships are so complicated at every age.
And it’s like three tiers of how complicated they are and how much love that there is through all of that and fear that you’re going to turn into your mom.
I mean, Pat’s scared of becoming her mom, and I’m scared of becoming my mom, and it just bleeds down. But I think it’s never too late to change too, and I think that’s what all three of the women are realizing. And I love that all three tiers are represented on the show.
Good point. What about you, Dylan? What do you think that Jake is feeling with his father, who’s maybe not being the best role model at the moment?
Dylan: I feel like Jake’s father is trying really hard to make that connection and have this sort of old school, father, son bond, where they talk about things, and they have all these different parenting styles, but Jake doesn’t care enough to really see that his father’s trying to build that connection.
So Jake is just sort of like, okay, yeah, whatever you say, and then he goes away to his room.
So it’s sort of like Jake doesn’t really have the capability to really just understand that there could be something there because he’s just so sort of obsessed with what he’s got going on.
And there’s also a through-line of the family and the kids and all this different change. What do you like to see whenever you see a character on TV, and they’re going through this change?
What would you like Jake to do? And then the same for you, Gus, what would you like to see Gaynor do under their circumstances?
Dylan: I would like to see Jake sort of blossom a little bit because we see a little bit whenever Jake interacts with his grandma’s boyfriend or it’s like he’s just very passionate, it’s not necessarily about video games or electronics and stuff, it’s just about he’s got a lot of passion, a lot of energy for a lot of things.
And he just sort of needs someone to guide him to use that passion for something good and to actually look at his surroundings and take a deep breath.
Gus: Yeah, I think similarly. I think Gaynor has all these feelings, and it’s just so overwhelming, and she knows how to take them out with sex and guys and being promiscuous.
And so, as the season goes on, I think she kind of reevaluates how she wants to use all that energy and maybe tries to turn over a new leaf and be a better person, whatever that means in her head.
But yeah, I think just having a little more strength and redirecting her focus towards something else. That’s what I would hope for her.
And both of you have had projects that have been pretty high-profile. What is it like working on this set and with this particular group of actors? What are you learning from so many different talents this time out?
Gus: Yeah, I know Courteney was someone I looked up to forever, and I was a huge Friends fan, have always been, I was literally watching an episode this morning, and I haven’t told her that, but yeah, I think she will be reading these and find out.
But no, it’s truly like they are a master at what they do and comedy looks easy, but it is not easy. And to make something nuanced and find a new way to say something funny that on a script is like, oh, that’s funny, but then you bring it alive in a new way, her and Greg, it’s unbelievable what they can do with that.
And so that was a gift to watch just firsthand and be a scene with them.
Dylan: I just like watching Greg and Courteney, these actors who have so much experience under their belt, just working and doing their thing, they just bring so much energy, and they put so much effort into the roles that it’s sort of just effortless to just feed off of that and then do the best acting you can.
They lift you up so that you can be amazing. So that’s something that I really strive for and that I learned from them.
Shining Vale Premieres on Starz, March 6, 2022, with two back-to-back episodes beginning at 10/9c.
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on Twitter and email her here at TV Fanatic.
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