64–TRUE BLUE
CASEY DEIDRICK
INTERVIEW LEWIS FIRTH / PHOTOGRPAHY DOUG INGLISH / FASHION NICOLAS KLAM
jacket and trousers
by PAUL SMITH
FW15; t-shirt by
LA PERLA FW15;
boots by GIVENCHY
BY RICCARDO
TISCI FW15
grooming LOUISE
MOON for BUMBLE
AND BUMBLE;
production JOE
DALEY; fashion
assistant ALI
RAIZIN; digital
operator MAXFIELD
HEGEDUS
Casey Deidrick cuts a sharp figure as the crimefighting, case-smashing Tommy in MTV’s tech
thriller Eye Candy. Based on the idea of social
networking’s sinister underbelly it’s a show for
our time, a fact this actor is well aware of. It’s
also brutally bloody: as a member of the NYPD
Cyber unit, Deidrick’s character is faced with
hideous murders and creepy stalker trails every
day. It may be a leap from his previous role as
Chad DiMera on Days of Our Lives but Deidrick
has dealt with the change like a pro.
Lewis Firth What are you up to at the moment?
I heard you’ve recently finished filming
Eye Candy.
Casey Deidrick Yeah, we finished filming at
the end of December. I’m also doing a lot of
CrossFit training. I’m Certified Level 1 now.
Have you heard of it?
LF I’m not sure if it’s the same thing over here;
it’s just a weird machine to me. That just shows
how much I exercise.
CD I think it’s different. I’m doing a lot of it right
now and am trying to start my own organisation
teaching CrossFit to kids.
LF That sounds great! Though, you posted
a photo to Instagram where your hand was all
fucked up and tagged it, ‘#crossfit’.
CD [laughs] Dude, it’s like that almost after
every class. My hands are bleeding!
LF It looks painful, your skin was literally in bits.
CD Yeah. All my friends tell me that I have
farmer’s hands, as they are covered in calluses.
LF Your skin must be like rock.
CD It is now!
LF So, back to Eye Candy. How did you get the
part?
CD I auditioned and got called back after
a week test with the writer, producer and
Victoria Justice, who plays the lead role. Then
a week and a half later I was told that I hadn’t
got it. Then further down the line I got a random
phone call saying I had the part and I was
booked on the next flight! It all happened at
100mph, I had no time to pack or anything.
LF That’s madness. Especially after they told
you that you hadn’t got it. I guess you’d already
accepted it and moved on?
CD Exactly. I was at a stage where I was figuring
out what I was going to do: go back to school,
go back home or start another job to support
myself. I kind of just gave up and surrendered
– then I got that phone call.
LF It’s a tough industry. TV series today have
to get really high ratings in the first season –
or even from their first few episodes – to be
renewed by networks. I loved Revolution, which
I know you were in, but that didn’t get renewed
even though it had a really strong following.
I was gutted.
CD I was really into it too. People get really
attached to characters.
LF And Eye Candy is so good. It’s a new twist
on the crime-thriller genre, just way cooler and
totally brutal.
CD Yeah! I think it’s the continuous storyline
plus the little tangents placed throughout
that really make the series. What
Victoria Justice’s character and
mine experience is such a relevant
issue in society today, so I think it
really connects with people.
LF Damn right it connects, it’s
fucking scary. I use Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram and Tinder,
so the storyline isn’t far fetched.
I think that’s why it resonates with
its viewers on such a level.
CD Exactly. You can bet I’ve told
my friends to delete Tinder. That
shit is horrible, man. It’s exactly
what our show is about.
LF It’s a fictional story, but it could
happen. It really makes you think
about who is on the other end of
the line.
CD Definitely. It shows us how
vulnerable we make ourselves
when we put information like that
on the internet. It’s so easy for
someone to take advantage of
that.
LF I didn’t realise that RL Stine
wrote the book on which Eye
Candy was based. Did you read
Goosebumps when you were
younger?
CD I do remember watching some
of it on Nickelodeon, or something
like that. But my dad used to read
me the stories before bedtime
when I was a kid. I was a huge fan.
LF Yeah watching the TV show
freaked the life out of me.
CD I actually think they’re
remaking Goosebumps.
LF Ah, sweet. I can get freaked out
all over again.
CD [laughs] Yeah!
LF I imagine there are a lot of
differences between working on
Eye Candy and something like
Days of our Lives?
CD A lot. On a soap opera you’re
in a controlled environment, on
a stage. Sometimes you’re in
there for four or five hours – and
sometimes it can be just an hour.
It’s very fast. Honestly, you get one
take. Sometimes you would shoot
two episodes in one day. So, 150
pages of dialogue…
LF Wow.
CD Exactly. I don’t think enough
credit is directed towards soap
actors because of how hard they
work, especially considering they
only get the script a couple of days
before shooting.
LF That’s a lot of content to learn.
CD And then it all gets mixed up:
you’ll do a scene from one episode,
then next up will be another scene
from a different episode. It’s not
chronological at all. With Eye
Candy, we’d spend two or three
hours on a two-page scene. You
really got time to explore what’s
happening. I also loved that we
got to travel to different locations,
filming all over New York. I think
it really made the show because
New York is a character on its
own. It’s got such an edge to it.
LF I noticed that you’re very active
on social media. Your Twitter
bio says, “My mom bought me
Monopoly when I was 5… I told
her to take that shit back cause
I don’t play games… muh fucka.”
I’m curious: did you actually say
that to your mum?
CD [laughs] No! We just came up
with that when we were younger.
It’s not true at all but it kind of
stuck with me. I just thought it
was so funny because it explains
my life perfectly.
LF I read it and thought, “Shit, did
he actually tell his mom that or is
there a deeper meaning?”
CD I love that you took that
literally. It’s just funny, you know,
the absurdity of having a five-yearold telling his mum to take that
shit back.
LF You tweet some pretty funny
shit, but I love your Instagram –
well, I love the photos of your dog,
Nanuk.
CD Ah, thank you, man! He’s
a Siberian husky. I’m completely
obsessed with him – he’s my
buddy! I taught him how to pull me
around the neighbourhood on my
skateboard and he goes on hikes
with me. He’s a very loving dog.
LF I’ve never seen a husky with fur
like his… he’s just one big ball of
fluff.
CD It’s funny, a lot of Siberian
huskies have fine hair. I don’t
know why he’s so bushy.
LF How do you split your time
between your dog, your job and
your band, And Still I Rise?
CD The band was put on hold
when I got the part [in Eye Candy].
But we just recorded three new
songs this last weekend. I’ve
been in metal bands since I was in
high school, so it’s a real passion
project. I grew up with that style of
music. Like, Bring Me The Horizon
is my favourite band right now.
But yeah, hopefully be coming out
with an EP soon.
LF I loved the EP you released last
year, Orchard Road.
CD Thanks, man! We’ve matured
a lot as a band since then; it’s a
better sound. I’m really looking
forward to it.