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An Emerald In The Rough – Bleeding Cool Talks To Dan Cade

Dan Cade is a British actor who has appeared in a number of genre-ish shows such as X, Y and Z, and has now been cast in NCB's Emerald City. We asked him a few questions about his career.

Dan, the first time I remember you on screen was in the kids action game show The Eliminator. Essentially it was a pantomine-style role that played on your physical attributes, how did you take that relatively high profile and turn it into an acting profession?

I basically started to make showreels of my acting and martial arts skills and used this television credit to get an agent. I then started sending out my reel to producers and directors directly and from there started to get smaller roles in BBC shows like MY FAMILY and DEAD RINGERS. After these shows I started to get more serious acting roles and after doing a European movie, I met a casting director who gave me a break and cast me in the Canal Plus tv series, BORGIA, and then it went from there getting good television and film parts in high end productions.

You are a good looking man. No false modesty here, it's a fact. Hell, you were even called Handsome Jim in World Without End. In your Metal Hurlant Chronicles, you just looked too damn pretty for the Wild West. In an industry that seems to value this rather heavily, this would seem an asset, but can it impede the roles you will be offered? Something pretty to look at rather than something interesting to say? Similarly, while your martial arts skill sets can get you work, does that stereotype impede the roles you are cast in?

Funnily enough, I tend to get more straight dramatic work. That was my original aim, to first get known as an actor and then if the right project comes up that involves martial arts to showcase these skills.  So I tend to not get stereotyped in the martial arts genre. I would like to do more work that involves martial arts, but I don't see a lot of these projects made and the big movies sometimes require these skills but they mostly use already established stars and then use stunt doubles for the martial arts. Hopefully at some point it comes together and I get to do one of these projects that allow me to showcase more of my martial arts skills on screen. As far as being 'pretty', sometimes it can narrow the roles you get as the producers or casting directors may want a specific look for a character, quirky, mean looking or unusual looking. Though if your performance and audition is strong enough and they like you for the role, they can make you look how they want really. I've had fake beards, wigs, hats, all to make me look different for each role. 

Your career history seems to be a few jobbing parts in British TV shows, an episode here, an episode there, before your agent gets you something similar for international and American productions, a bit of Borgia here, World Without End there, some AD The Bible Continues, all of which didn't air in the UK. Even Legends which had your most substantial TV role as Steve didn't get a great high profile. Does it matter to you that your friends and family are most likely to know you for an ad for the WKD alcoholic drink?

That's ok for me, Matt Le Blanc was known for the Ketchup advert before 'Friends'. The good thing is that I'm known for more of this work in the US. These shows had more of a high profile there and people out there know the shows and my work. Also with Emerald City coming out on NBC later this year, that should be another piece of work known Stateside. I feel for me, my market is more tailored towards US television, and hopefully this also crosses over to UK television and dramas too in the future.

However you can't underestimate the devotion of a fan to an actor, or character. Does that happen to you a lot, are you at the stage where you appreciate the attention, or has it ever gone too far? With the kind of roles you take, in a lot of genre fiction – and Emerald City on the way – how do you see yourself coping with the Comic Con circuit?

I've had a few fans letters here and there, but haven't experienced any attention going too far yet. I appreciate it when people recognise and write to me to praise my work or are interested in a show I was in and recognise my work, that's great. I'm excited about the Comic Con circuit and Emerald City coming out, so really looking forward to that.

There's been a plethora of British actors getting work in US productions but especially it seems on television. You can see it when it's something like Game Of Thrones, a fantasy retelling of The Wars Of The Roses, and they're trying to get a feel of The Old Country, but with something like the three leads of Texas-set Preacher, what the hell is going on from your perspective? Why do casting directors seem to prefer the British to fill their roles right now? How long of a wave is it you think can ride.

Having worked on American television with American producers and writers and meeting US casting directors, they like British actors as they feel they are more interesting and more well trained. They feel that British actors work on their craft more and know how to grab the essence of a character, so tend to get excited when the see a British actor and that's why they tend to cast them. That is their opinion, but the American actors also work at their craft a lot and are always in an acting class and working with difference coaches, so I wouldn't say UK actors are better, but it appears that US casting directors have this impression of British actors. Most likely from the reputation of drama schools like RADA and actors like Judi Dench and Maggie Smith. It's great for me as a British actor working in US television as when I walk into a room they already have this impression. I think this wave will continue as long as great dramas, movies and actors keep coming out of the U.K. A lot of big UK dramas get seen over in the US, so this really helps with the reputation of British actors out there.

We've just run some casting horror stories on Bleeding Cool – the female actor required to masturbate a male actor, the East Asian-appearing actor who was hired on the basis that she could translate the lines into Mandarin but was a week away from shooting when she confessed she's just been making it up. Do you have any horror tales of your own – or those that you've heard from others?

I haven't really experienced these kind of horror stories myself. The productions I work on are pretty big budget, so it is mainly schedule changes or trying to avoid the rain so changing certain shoot dates. I have heard of things like this happening on smaller budget films from other actor friends, like not being paid, or the shoot getting cancelled at the last minute or the film not going ahead after months of waiting and script changes. I tend to not do these kinds of projects, but if the right one comes and it's all green lighted and works, with a professional crew then they can be fun and sometimes can be big hits when you don't expect them to be.

What are the biggest challenges you face as an actor now? How is the industry changing and what new pressures are being placed upon  you?

The biggest challenges I'm facing as an actor right now is the amount of competition from all over the world. Things have changed now where actors can self tape from anywhere. So casting directors will have too much choice and will have tapes from Australia, LA, New York, London, Sweden, all over, so it makes getting cast in a big show or movie a lot harder. The pressure I face is to constantly make sure I have a good team around me, in the US and the U.K. so that I'm getting seen by casting directors or my tapes are getting through to casting and producers. Also, producers and casting directors have a list already of named actors they may want for a role, so the challenge is to somehow get on to that list or be on their second list or have a manager or agent that can convince them to put you on their list. That's the toughest part. The industry and casting process is very quick on television, so sometimes they may not have time to sit through and watch the tapes, so even though a casting breakdown has been put out, the producers may not even get to see the tapes as there is not a enough time to go through all the submissions and choice they have. Though, I have my own way of getting around this and sometimes it works, other times, there is only one way and that's through all the right channels, that's the toughest challenge right now in the industry as an actor.

Emerald City airs on NBC next year.

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