In Conversation with Actor Dylan Stumer

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Dylan Stumer is an actor, known for his portrayal as Harry “Twig” Anderson in the short film “Primal”. Hailing from Australia, Dylan’s resume includes appearances in The Last Day (2019), ISOLIS (2019) and A Quiet Street In Pallarenda (2019). He has been busy over the last year! He now stars in “I’m Your Fool” directed by Alicia Horsfield. We caught up with this rising star to discuss his latest project and his career aspirations.

Hi Dylan, can you provide a synopsis of your recent project “I’m Your Fool” and what viewers should expect?

Hi! Great to be talking to you about this great short film. I’m Your Fool is a coming of age story that was written and directed by the talented Alicia Horsfield and produced by our amazing producer Abbie Abela.

The film follows Amelia Grey, played by Brady Gray, who is interested in Kay Jamerson, played by yours truly. But, Kay is living in his own world and is thinking about that – not about girls. The pair get stuck volunteering at their school’s carnival-themed concert but a turn of events sees them ditching together and ending up at an eel-filled creek. Car keys get lost, arguments about emotions happen, hearts break, laughs occur – it’s a great ride about what it means to be young, confused, and working all of it out.

The film was extremely well received at our cinema premiere a few weeks ago, and over 50% of our ticket sales were donated to bush fire relief projects around Australia. It is such a devastating time in our country, and with our film centered in some of our country’s beautiful bushland, it was important to showcase the beauty of Australia and do our best to help return our country to a healed state in coming months and years.

How did this film come together?

As all films are – it took a village. It was a team effort and we had a great team. Alicia Horsfield, our writer, and director created a really beautiful script. It was so easy to see what she wanted to achieve when reading it and I knew I had to be on board. Brady and I also got to engage with Alicia a lot while on set and were able to connect to the story further and explore raw emotion on a variety of levels. Alicia is truly great at what she does, and her work is amplified by our producer Abbie Abela. Abbie locked down our locations, secured screenings, and did all the work producers need to. Producers make sure it all happens! Jacob Shrimpton made sure it all got captured too. As our Director of Photography, he ensured that the script came to life the right way, and our makeup artist Kelly Addison ensured that some of the crazy looks needed for this film were executed perfectly. It took Brady and me over an hour to get ready for our scenes every day, and the costumes were wild! We got to be real-life art thanks to the artists behind the scenes.

From writing to shooting to screening, we needed everyone to pull their weight and do what they came to do – and more. Everyone went above and beyond and the result is something I am extremely proud of.

So how did you get into acting?

I knew this was something I wanted to do from a very young age. It started with school plays, and then, one day, I watched “Zathura: A Space Adventure” (2005). Something in me clicked and I realized wanted to be involved with something like that – to act and tell stories that get audiences to think and feel and experience something beyond themselves. To take people on an adventure. It didn’t have to be a film like Zathura, but I had to be part of creating that feeling. And, I wanted to create it through acting.

Behind the scenes, footage and interviews also drew me in. The passion filmmakers have is so inspiring and the process of bringing stories to life is something I have been magnetized to for a very long time now. The teamwork is amazing; we’re all here for the same reason and all have the same passion to make great things. It’s such a multi-faceted beast, but everyone is working together with their unique skills to make something great.

I began training so that I could help bring this passion to life and got involved in short films, music videos, and web series. It’s been a full-speed chase for this dream! We have so many amazing film schools right here in South East Queensland and across Australia – and tonnes of filmmakers with a real passion for creativity. It’s beyond incredible. Once I started meeting others with the same passion that’s when the magic happened! Networking is also a very important thing you have to keep in mind. Go to festivals, film events, and more – and get networking! Your next project could be a conversation away.

To date, what has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced as an actor?

Rejection. Hands down. This industry is so rewarding and incredible to work in but the rejection is constant and intense. To get onto the set, you have to face so many hurdles. You can give an amazing audition but be the wrong height, or the wrong look, or you’re maybe not what the writer imagined for the role. Learning to go, audition, and then move on was so difficult. Hanging on to that hope that your audition was ‘the one’ can be soul-crushing. But, sometimes we hang on and we hope we book a certain project because it’s so close to our hearts and how passionate we are for making stories and it’s that project you’ve been waiting for, for so long. At the end of the day, we’re human and as actors, we should be letting ourselves feel that emotion, that rejection and learn and take from it. But, not to let it affect your mental health as the right role for us is just around the corner.

Learning to learn from it – yeah. That’s hard. It means letting your barriers down and letting yourself feel rejected, and understand that maybe it wasn’t you, and if it was, that you can grow and do better.

Are there any actors, directors, and producers you would like to work with?

Oh, this is so difficult. There are so many talented people out there – some of whom I haven’t even heard about yet! But, if I had to pick… Sandra Bullock, Sarah Paulson, and Leonardo DiCaprio. In no particular order – of course! The way they treat their craft is so inspiring and I’d love to work with them! I’d also love to work with the director Alfonso Cuarón. The way he tells his stories is breathtaking and he really knows how to connect to the audience. That would be a dream come true.

Do you have anything else in the pipeline we can look forward to?

I’ve got a few projects on the go, but I can’t mention anything just yet! It’s busy, but it’s good. There are some great scripts and teams, and I can’t wait to update you when the time is right!