An Interview With Edward Sylvan
Do a lot of theatre. In the UK, the casting directors come to you, particularly if they see you in the theatre. It sometimes doesn’t matter who your agent is because if casting doesn’t know you, it’s a struggle to get in the door, even if you’re repped by the same agent as Kate Winslet, it’s not easy if they do not know your work.
As a part of our series about stars who are making an important social impact, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Dan Cade.
Dan has extensive training as an actor, martial artist and gymnast. He began his career playing Galeotto Schlafentus in the Canal Plus/Netflix TV series, Borgia produced by Tom Fontana and Barry Levinson. Dan then went on to play Handsome Jim in Ridley and Tony Scott’s World Without End, the TV adaption of Ken Follet’s novel, Sinbad for the BBC/Sky and many other television and film productions. Notably, he worked alongside Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer in the Luc Besson movie, The Family and also the remake of the classic movie, Papillon.
On television, Dan began to make more of an impact in regular roles in productions such as Legends for TNT and Fox 21 alongside Sean Bean and AD The Bible Continues for NBC and also Emerald City for NBC. More high-profile productions followed including Universal’s Extinction, and being part of the Intrigo Trilogy and the anticipated series for Amazon, Carnival Row and the up-and-coming Season 5 of Netflix’s Van Helsing where Dan will be introduced to the series as a new vampire hunter, Roberto.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I grew up in North West London, UK with my Mum, Dad and younger brother. My brother and I were both into movies, especially martial arts movies growing up. I started martial arts from the age of 6 through my father and then acting was next. Growing up, I was always very creative and expressive.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
I used to love watching movies and TV series. And one day, I think I was watching the movie, “Speed” starring Keanu Reeves, and I saw him move and act, and thought…I could do that and how fun and exciting a career on screen would be. So I pursued it, and at a young age found myself in acting classes as well as auditions.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
There have been many interesting stories. However, one of the most exciting stories was getting a call from Paris, asking if I want to audition for a Luc Besson movie with Robert De Niro. Two months later, I got an email asking if I had a French agent at the time, and to go to France to work on Malavita (The Family). The next thing I know, I’m on set with De Niro, Michele Pfeiffer and having lunch in Luc Besson’s Restaurant at his house in Normandy.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I did a short film when I first started out, and in one of the scenes, another actor made me laugh during a take, as he was off-camera. Then at each point in the same take, I couldn’t stop laughing, so this taught me to never get distracted by the other actors on set in this way.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
Aside from Van Helsing, I’ve been working on a show for Netflix called Terra Vision. I shot this in Budapest and it’s a very interesting story. I’ve got Atlantic Crossing being released, where I play a real-life character, Joseph Lockard, a US air-radar operative who could have helped stop Pearl Harbour. I also have the movie Resurrection, coming out on Discovery Plus, which is followed on from the NBC series, AD; Rome and Empire.
You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?
To get success in this business, you have to know the business itself very well. Then you can navigate it. You have to really do research and know who the best agents, managers, casting directors, drama schools are. This is very important. However, just as important, are your skills as an actor. So what I would say to someone is to train at a good drama school if they are from the UK. See who likes you at the end-of-year showcase, and if you get with a good agent, follow this. Otherwise, there’s a lot of hustling if you don’t get into a good drama school or a good agent. You have to have good skills, keep in good shape, stay healthy and work on your craft. The US is a different route. You still need to know the business very well and in the U.S. it is about image as well, so be in the best shape you can and be as good as an actor you can. There will be lots of rejections but if you want it, you have to keep going. There are even roles out there for people in their 70s, so you can keep going your entire life.
We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?
It’s important to have diversity as it reflects the reality of the population. People will be able to relate to content more if it is diverse. Also, it’s important to give everyone a fair chance in the business, not just in front of the screen, but behind it too. It will improve our culture and keep content relevant. So three reasons are: to reflect reality, give everyone on and off-screen a good and fair chance in their career, and to keep content relevant and interesting.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
1) To continuously work on the American Accent — I wish I started this when I was very young. Now a lot of my work and auditions are in this accent and it’s not an easy accent to do if you’re not American. I work on this a lot now and it helps to have a dialect coach. My first lesson was to talk smiling and then the US accent comes out, which is a big help.
2) To learn and say lines whilst there are lots of distractions around you. No one teaches you this at drama school, it’s in a closed environment. Though when you’re on a set, just before a take, you have make-up and costume and hair all over you. It can make it hard to focus, so I wish someone would’ve told me this to begin with. Also, you will have a dialogue coach whispering in your ear after every take, teaching you how to pronounce a word or an accent. With all these distractions, it’s a challenge to stay focused on your character and lines. I was on a movie set in Malta, and the director actually told the hair and make-up to not go to the actors before a take. This was great to work with as the director knows that actors need to stay in character, which I really appreciated at the time.
3) Do a lot of theatre. In the UK, the casting directors come to you, particularly if they see you in the theatre. It sometimes doesn’t matter who your agent is because if casting doesn’t know you, it’s a struggle to get in the door, even if you’re repped by the same agent as Kate Winslet, it’s not easy if they do not know your work.
4) Study TV and film pacing — Again, not taught at drama school, so I wish someone would’ve told me to study this pacing coming up. The pacing is part of what makes an audition good. TV series and movies have different pacing and tones. You have to research the specific show and style and adapt your pacing between lines and listen to that of the character and the medium you will be filming in. Film pacing can be sometimes slower, so you have more time to create a dramatic effect, whereas TV is much quicker, so your pacing and thoughts have to be quicker. The same with reactions, you have to react after each line but do not show the audience, let them feel it. It’s a tough skill to learn.
5) Don’t go and try to crack LA without a green card or good credits and representation. I feel the old days where Brad Pitt would turn up in a banged-up car with $300 dollars and then suddenly he has a good agent and auditioning for leads are gone. I used to think I could do this when I was younger, but then I learned a lot when I first went out to LA. It’s even harder now as they have self-taping, which means you have competition from every country in the world and the actor doesn’t have to be there. So I wish someone would’ve told me, most studios in LA won’t accept a blanket 01 and you really need to have a green card. Also, having a great manager and a portfolio of work from your own country is important too before hitting LA and competing with the US actors.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Basically to keep going, keep working on your skills and learning scripts, accents, and auditioning. Also, have something else in your life you are passionate about.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
That’s a tough one. I guess climate change and looking after the world we live in order to make it a healthier and peaceful place.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
There is one person actually who has helped me from the beginning; a really passionate casting director I connected with over 10 years ago in Europe. We connected over email first and then I ended up doing a film job and went to see her at her office. At the time, she’d put me on tape for a commercial. We kept in touch and then she helped me get my first big TV gig. We’ve kept in touch since and she has helped me with several jobs. She also puts me in front of producers. The big productions come to her and I’ve seen her career grow as well, so I’m very grateful to have this relationship with her.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
One of my life lesson quotes is, “If you don’t take risks, you don’t drink champagne”. I love this quote since it reflects the way I live my life. I try to take risks and go outside my comfort zone and then you see rewards and your life move in different directions.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
It would be great to have lunch with Ari Emmanual from WME (William Morris Endeavor). I love what he has done for the careers of his clients, and how he hustled to get where he is, in his position, within the entertainment business now.
How can our readers follow you online?
They can follow me on Instagram at dancade.official or Twitter at DanCadeReal.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
Stars Making a Social Impact: Why & How Dan Cade Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.