BB Exclusive: Dan Jeannotte Talks Freeform’s Hit New Show, The Bold Type
Freeform’s new show, The Bold Type has become a Summer must watch for us here at BeautifulBallad and we had the amazing chance to talk to one of the stars of the show, Dan Jeannotte. Dan plays Ryan aka Pinstripe guy and Jane’s (Katie Stevens) love interest on the show.
In our interview with Dan, we talk what drew him to the show and his character, Jane and Ryan’s relationship, how the set of The Bold Type differs from the set of Reign and so much more.
On what drew him to the show:
“My first audition for the part I had a couple of scenes to go off of. I didn’t have a full script yet and what I really responded to was the banter between Jane and Ryan. I just thought it was really funny and snappy and sexy.”
On what drew him to his character, Ryan:
“I liked that this was a character who was sort of up front, straightforward, didn’t mind saying things that throw people off. I think he enjoys getting under Jane’s skin, so that would be a pretty fun part to play.”
On the audition:
“I made this tape, I taped myself, doing the audition and a few weeks later I found out they were interested. They wanted to have me come to Montreal, where the series was shooting, and do a chemistry test with Katie Stevens, who plays Jane. They wanted to know what our rapport would be like and so I went to Montreal. I was nervous about it a bit, it’s a strange thing to have to be judged on the connection you have with another person, but it is all a part of the business.
So, I went to Montreal, met Katie, and just in the first couple of seconds of meeting her I was like, ‘Oh thank god, she is a good person, a nice person and we get along’. We had a few minutes to talk before we did the audition. We just chatted about where we’re from, I think we were talking about families and I was like ‘Okay, this is going to be just fine’. Because you never know. Then we did a couple of scenes together, spoke to the director and they were seeing some other people, too, for the part, so I finished the audition and went back to the hotel and waited around. And, just when I was thinking ‘Okay, I’m not going to hear from them again. I didn’t get this job’. They called me back saying, ‘We want to bring you in again tomorrow for another chemistry test’.
I think at the beginning they were still trying to figure out who Ryan was. At the time he was only known as Pinstripe guy. They were trying to figure out what his place in the story was, what his personality was, and they were not sure what direction they were going in with this guy. I went back the next morning and did the same scenes again and at this point Katie and I are joking about ‘Can’t they tell yet who they like?’ Eventually I got the part, but they made me sweat for it.”
On if we will learn more about Ryan as the season progresses:
“We don’t know much about Ryan yet and we will learn a bit more, but we’re going to learn more about Jane and what’s important to her and how he fits into that.”
You can read the rest of our interview under the jump. The Bold Type will air its next new episode this coming Tuesday, August 15. If you have not watched the show yet, head over to Freeform’s website or On Demand page to check it out!
Photo credit – David Leyes
On Ryan and Jane’s future:
“I think what’s honestly refreshing to me about this show, and the way this relationship is handled in the show, is that it’s not really the most important thing. Jane’s got a lot going on in her life. All the characters are balancing work and personal stuff along with relationship. Relationships are sort of a part of the puzzle, part of the idea of finding happiness, but they are not the most important part. I think it is kind of cool that Ryan is this guy she is seeing, it’s not the biggest deal. I think we see this more from her (Jane) perspective, she is one of the main characters in the show, so you see her kind of figure out, ‘What do I want out of this? Do I want this to just be a fling? Do I want this to be more than that?’ Jane and Ryan make assumptions about one another. They think they know who the other one is and that sort of thing gets in the way of them being fully themselves and fully being in the moment. In real life, you have to put aside your second guessing and just let a relationship be what it is, but they have a bit of a hard time of doing that. Anyway, we will learn a bit more about him”
On filming episode 1×09, “Before Tequila Sunrise”:
“That was the most fun episode to shoot. We were calling it The Breakfast Club episode because all these people are trapped in one place together for much longer than they would like to be. And, there might be some alcohol involved, so they get a little bit silly. It was great fun to shoot. It was also really long days shooting this one and late nights for all of us, which makes you, as anybody who works late nights know, it makes you a little bit loopy. But it was really fun. Almost all the rest of my scenes in the season are just with Katie and I got to work with Meghann (Fahy), Matt (Ward) and Melora (Hardin) and it was so much fun to do. I think it is going to be exciting for the audience to see everybody interacting, letting their guard down a little bit, and just seeing people talk to each other who don’t normally talk to each other. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
On if there is a specific character he would like Ryan interact more with:
“Just watching the episodes that have already aired, all the women are such great characters. Such strongly drawn characters and really beautifully performed, so I would love to be in some scenes with Sutton, with Kat, with Jacqueline. I think Meghann Fahy is very funny and very charming, I think it would be great to work with her and to see Sutton and Ryan butting heads a little bit. I think that would be work. Aisha Dee does such a wonderful job, I would love to see what Kat thinks of Ryan. I do get a couple brief moments with Jacqueline (Melora Hardin) and I really hope there is a second season. Everyone cross their fingers, so I would get to, somehow, come up against her because she is a formidable woman.”
On how The Bold Type set differs from the set of Reign:
“There is a lot less horses and swords on the set of The Bold Type. Aside from the obvious, the fact that Reign was a period piece and everything that goes along with that. I was wearing leather pants and double edge swords and I was speaking in a British accent, so there are some crazy differences on the surfaces, But beyond that, one thing that’s really stood out for me on The Bold Type is on set there is this atmosphere of collaboration.
Everybody wants to make this show the best it can be, obviously, so they have given the actors a little bit of freedom to improvise. And, not necessarily making up whole new lines, although we do that sometimes, but also rephrasing sentences so they feel more natural. It comes out of our mouths feeling like us and when I watch episodes that’ve come out already a huge part of the show, especially when you see scenes with the three main women, they just sound like real friends because they are real friends. They are given this opportunity to play with the lines and ad lib a little bit. It just makes it sound very real.
I come from an improv comedy background, and I’ve never actually had much of an opportunity in TV to improvise, so that’s really fun. And, it’s fun to watch the episodes and remember ‘Oh yeah, Katie just threw that line in there’ or whatever it might be. There is a real kind of playfulness and looseness to it that makes it feel very fresh.”