(Photo Credit: Nick Busch)
How did you get your start in acting?
It all started back when I was forced into a play in 4th grade. I hated the idea at first to be honest but after being silly on stage and the crowd reaction I became addicted to it. Everybody came up to me telling me I should become an actor and that really stuck with me all these years. I unfortunately had to wait until high school to get into more theater plays because my small school had nothing for us young folks at the time. All through elementary school and middle school I would sneak into all the school plays because I was so addicted to acting. I studied every movie I watched and prepared myself to become the best actor I could. Once I got into high school I auditioned for every play and musical. I ended up landing really good roles. After each show I would continue to have people encourage me to become a professional actor.
After high school I continued to act in plays and musicals at our local community theater. I left acting for a while to join the medical field as an Oral Medication Technician. Taking care of people is another passion of mine. Becoming a professional actor in Iowa felt like a pipe dream so I gave up on it until JoJo Munkee who noticed me on stage reached out to me asking to do the impossible. The snake alley film festival which is located in Burlington Iowa was looking for an actor the play an adult man who was sexual abused by his stepfather his whole childhood. This role was very emotionally demanding and local actors didn't feel comfortable doing it. I thought to myself maybe this could be my chance. Maybe just maybe id finally get noticed and could get into some movies. So, I agreed to do the stage play for "Morris." The writer Michael Helgens came up to me after the show and told me he was turning this stage play into a short film and would love for me to star in it as the lead Morris. I of course agreed to this, and the rest is history.
After meeting some amazing people at the film festival, I found out Iowa had a strong film community and independent films were being filmed daily here in Iowa. After making a name for myself after starring in "Morris" I've starred in 17 movies, directed, wrote and produced 2 of my own movies and have a feature film that I costar in coming out this year called 'You should have killed me," directed by Michael James Minard.
I've become a three-time award winning actor two of those awards being best actor at the Iowa Oscor's known as Iowa Motion Picture Awards. I'm now 29 and a single father of a beautiful son. His name is Jasper, and he is my everything! Being a single father is hard, so I definitely slowed down quite a bit but I'm going nowhere. I've become very picky on which roles I accept now. I only accept roles that I believe could benefit my acting Career because time away from my son hurts ya know? They only stay little once, and nothing is more important than family. I'm still an Oral Medication Technician at my local care center. My coworkers and residents I love dearly. They became my friends and family. I plan on becoming a Physician Assistant once my son gets, old enough to watch out for himself and continue to work on the side as a filmmaker and actor.
Is there an actor that inspires you to continue your acting career?
Well, I get mistaken for Johnny Depp often who oh so happens to be my all-time favorite actor...haha. I've loved his since a was a wee little lad and he inspired me to chase my dreams.
Has there been a shoot that has been extra challenging either physically or emotionally, and how did you overcome it?
The most demanding role for me was "Morris". The movie is based on a true story. This is the real-life story of the writer and director Michael Helgens. I'm a method actor and I had to mentally and emotionally become Michael Helgens to bring this story justice. Emotionally feeling what he felt was so hard but also so rewarding. This story gave him closure which I'm so honored to be able to help him and other's share their story of sexual abuse and let them become the heroes of their story.
If money was not a question, where would be your dream location to shoot a movie at?
I've yet to film in Hollywood. One day....one day. Everything so far has been made and filmed in Iowa.
Do you have any pre-filming rituals that you do before a take?
I'm a method actor so I Mentally, Emotionally and physically become my characters. I study the character inside and out. I picture how they would look and shape myself into them to the extremes of cutting and coloring my hair to losing or gaining weight. Each one of my characters become my babies.
(Photo Credit: Michael Huntington)
What is a piece of advice that you wish you knew when you were just getting into acting?
I'm a strong believer in the law of attraction. I highly recommend the movie and book "The Secret". I manifested all my success in life. The only thing I wish happened differently was having someone tell me about "The Secret" sooner and maybe I could have been starred in movies as a child.
When you’re traveling for a shoot what are three songs that you make sure to play?
I usually pick songs that I could see relating to my character I'm playing. They become the soundtrack to my character. So, I can't really tell you which songs because they change with each role. My favorite artist right now though is a new indie artist Cellar Ghost. Check him out on Spotify!
Where can we find you?
I'm an open book and have a bad habit of sharing probably too much of my personal life on social media to the point to where I'm about to share my personal Facebook with the world. Add me on Facebook @ Dylan Jaeger (Ducky) to keep up to date with my acting career and boring yet entertaining personal life.
You can google my name "Dylan Jaeger" and my IMDb shows but where you can read my bio, look at my awards and filmography. YouTube "Miles a Spider-Man Fan Film" directed by Tarrell Christie which has almost 300k views. This is the movie that got me noticed in the film community around the world. I play the super villain The Shocker.
I also have a podcast that I co-host with Michael Huntington, Brittany Benedict and Kevin Shepherd. Our podcast is called The Indie Social Podcast. We interview independent Filmmakers and Actors LIVE. You can find us on Facebook, YouTube and Spotify.
(Photo Credit: Michael Huntington and Brittany Benedict)
Comments