StephenKalynisHavingtheBestTime

The Canadian Actor on stepping up to the challenge of bringing a beloved character to life.

 

Words by Julia Novis

 

Excerpt taken from IMAGINE Magazine Issue Three, full interview available in print.

 

Off Campus, the Amazon Prime TV show adapted from Elle Kennedy’s book series of the same name, has taken the world by storm. The show follows a group of friends and hockey teammates who live, as the name would suggest, off campus, at Briar University. Whilst the first season focuses on the romance between Garrett Graham and Hannah Wells, Dean DiLaurentis and the dashing actor who brings him to life on screen, Stephen Kalyn, have gotten their fair share of love from fans. I caught up with Stephen before he headed back to Vancouver to start pre-production for season two, and we talked all things hockey, books, acting, and the whirlwind reception to the show. 

Stephen plays the cool, it guy, and is the first to draw the distinction between himself and his character, “I’m so not cool, I’m such a dork, so it’s cool to be cool in a show.” The actor and his character share an intense love for their friends and family, I can tell it’s genuine by the giveaway smile whenever he talks about his co-stars, as well as a passion for hockey. I discover his past as a theatre kid, as he enthusiastically describes the high school productions he was involved in, “I remember doing [the shows] and just falling in love.” He has been acting for a while but still seems to be in awe of the response to the show, his gratitude emanating through the screen. 

 

The show is based off a series of books with a massive fanbase, something the actor was well aware of before auditioning for the role. When asked about whether he knew how big this was going to be, he admitted, “I’m not going to play dumb here, I knew. I’m well aware of BookTok. I know these books are really loved by lots of people. I love the books.” He describes the moment he got the news he was cast to play Dean as one of those this is it moments in his career. Throughout our conversation, it becomes clear to me know much he appreciates and respects this primarily young female audience. Describing the fan reaction to the show, he says of one of the press stops, “It was crazy, you’d think the Beatles were just walking into the building.” He is tapped into the BookTok culture and up to date on niche references, citing other beloved characters he’d like to be enlisted to portray in upcoming adaptations. 

We couldn’t cover hockey romance and not talk about the other hit show, Heated Rivalry, and Stephen lights up telling me how much the success of both shows, and subsequently an increased interest in the sport, has meant for him, especially as someone who grew up playing it. He tells me it was a huge part of his life, “When I stopped [playing], I thought that was it. I remember my last game like it was yesterday.” He was focused on hockey, and for a long time didn’t consider acting as a career avenue, until his late hockey coach came to one of his high school productions and told him, “You’re too pretty to play hockey, you should be on stage.” I’m sure many fans would agree that we owe him our undying gratitude. Stephen gets to have the best of both worlds portraying a charming hockey player in Off Campus, and given his performance, I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of him.

Julia Novis: Hi Stephen, how are you today? Where are you calling from?

 

Stephen Kalyn: I’m in Toronto, I’m just kind of waking up, everything’s been very exciting, slightly overwhelming. That’s okay, I’m taking it day by day. I’ve got my bags packed, and I’m about to head to the airport after this, and I’m flying to Vancouver to begin pre-production.

 

JN: Oh my gosh, exciting! 

 

SK: Yeah!

 

JN: So how are you feeling with the show being out? What was the reception like?

 

SK: I feel really great about everything. I’m so happy that people can connect with our stories and fall in love with these characters and these friendships. It really means a lot to me to be part of that. All my friends keep calling me and texting me to tell me they are seeing the show everywhere, it’s awesome!

 

JN: The series had a very loyal existing fanbase, what was your initial reaction once the casting was announced?

 

SK: It was insane, it was probably one of the best days of my life. I remember it like it was yesterday, it was probably like four thirty, and they called me on Zoom to tell me I got to play Dean (laughs incredulously). It’s one of those moments in your life where it’s like whoa, it’s happening!

JN: You were also just in Brazil to promote the release, how was that?

 

SK: That was also insane!

 

JN: Sorry, I need to ask that question because I’m Brazilian, so whenever people go I feel like I have skin in the game…

 

SK: Yeah, it was so cool. I wish I got to explore more, but we spent a lot of time in the hotel in between interviews, press and events. When we went to the big event for the premiere, I’ve never heard so many girls screaming in my life, so that was really crazy, you’d think the Beatles were just walking into the building.

 

JN: I read that your fiancée was actually already a fan of the books, and she encouraged you to audition for the role…

 

SK: Yeah.

 

JN: There’s always a lot of pressure when you’re taking on a beloved series. Did you feel like there was added pressure since you were taking on something that she was a fan of?

 

SK: Of course there’s always pressure, but no, it felt like another job, just a bigger job, and I just did it exactly how I would any other job as an actor. I worked very hard and spent lots of long days on set with everybody. Everyone worked really hard, the pressure was good, because it makes you work harder. I felt great going into it, and of course people have their opinions, but all I can do is my best job as an actor.

 

JN: And did you have an idea of how big this was, or how big this was going to be before you signed on?

 

SK: Oh, I knew. Yeah (nods vigorously).

 

JN: (laughing) you were like, “I’m ready to be all over the TikTok edits”.

 

SK: I’m not going to play dumb here, I knew. I’m well aware of BookTok. I know these books are really loved by lots of people. I love the books. I think they’re great. When I read the pilot I thought, “we have a hit on our hands.” It goes from Elle Kennedy, to Amazon picking it up, to Louisa [Levy] and Gina [Fattore] becoming showrunners, and then our casting team cast everyone perfectly and having all of us be such good friends too. We had all the parts for a really good show, and it ended up clicking, and that’s what you need sometimes to create a hit.

 

JN: You can tell that you guys are having a really good time, which I feel like is something that you can’t really buy, and you can’t compete with people who are obviously having fun.

 

SK: There were so many moments when I was doing a scene with Khobe [Clarke] or Jalen [Thomas Brooks], and I think it was drunk Shakespeare, but there’s a cut montage when you see us laughing, those are genuine moments, we were having so much fun together. That was obviously great as an actor to see us capture that authenticity of that environment, it was really awesome.

 

JN: And what attracted you to play Dean?

 

SK: I love a good story of someone who’s never had too much heartbreak in his life, and I like the idea of going through that character exploration of having that, and then once something happens in their lives, if really changes who they are. I think that happens every day, it’s really relatable, and it’s interesting to go through these different areas as an actor. I’m really looking forward to doing more, and I hope we get many more seasons of all this.

 

JN: I’m sure people will keep watching.

 

SK: Yeah!

 

JN: I think Dean could have come across as a very flat, traditional frat boy character, but there’s so much more to him than that, both in the books and in your portrayal of him in the show. What were the aspects of his personality and of his character that you really felt were important to embody and bring through on screen?  

 

SK: When he walks into the room, there’s an energy that he pulls, and I like to think that there are moments in my life where I feel as if I can relate to that. We both played hockey, I know what it’s like to grow up in hockey culture, I know all about that world.  There are obviously many differences between Dean and I, I loved how he always needs to be involved and having fun, but there’s so much more inside. I love to question and ask why, that’s what makes me really attracted to his character, there are so many layers to him that I find so interesting, and it me question things about myself too, and that’s always the goal as an actor, to learn and explore new things.

JN: Had you read the books before you even went up for the show, or was it something that you did in preparation?

 

SK: I had heard about the books, and when they announced the show, I originally wanted to try for Garrett Graham. I was like, (he says, preening) I would love to read for Garrett Graham. And I started reading The Deal a bit before the auditions came in, and then for some reason I never got a call to audition for Garrett (laughs), but I got a call to audition for Logan. So, I auditioned for Logan, unfortunately didn’t hear anything back, and then I got this audition for Dean, and then obviously the rest is history. As soon as I got the part I read his book, because that’s a very key tool for me as an actor. I find it to be like a cheat code in a way, because Elle Kennedy, whom I love, she’s amazing, wrote such a great book and made it so much easier for me to do my work. It’s like an inner monologue throughout the scenes, so whenever you question something, and I’m like okay what would he do in this situation?

 

JN: Oh you know what he would do!

 

SK: It’s like page 52… But obviously I relied a lot on Gina and Louisa and their scripts, and as myself as an actor and in my instincts, but those were all super helpful tools in order to create a good performance.

 

Full interview available to read in print. Pre-order available now.