The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Oakville actor Dillon Casey may not bea household name, but if things keepgoing as well as they currently are, it may not be long before he is. The 26 year old who lived in Oakville for the majority of his life, but now resides in Los Angeles, has appeared on various Canadian and American television shows in returning roles and is now excited about his several Hollywood film projects. People may recognize him from his roles on CBCs Being Erica and MVP television shows as well as the hit American show The Vampire Diaries. I have been recognized, he said. There have been a few times, when I was doing MVP especially, that I have been recognized. Actually just recently in Oakville, I was walk- ing into a Starbucks and a woman caught me and said, Hey, are you in Vampire Diaries? It always catches me off guard and I dont know what to do with it. Dillon spoke with the Oakville Beaver while staying in the Greater Toronto Area, as he is often travelling back and forth between L.A. and Toronto. However, what is most exciting for the actor is that he recently finished shooting a thriller film playing one of the two lead roles and will soon begin shooting another film starring big name actors Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum. Though shooting has not begun yet for the film, titled The Vow, he has already met both actors. Rachel McAdams absolutely lights up a room when she walks in, the Oakville Trafalgar High School graduate said. Channing Tatum is a really nice guy. But its really cool to be in a movie with that pedi- gree of actor and Im really looking forward to it. In the film, he will play the role of a char- acter who gets cold feet before his wedding. Though hes serious about his acting work, he has another interest in the movie. Im still working on how I can ask (McAdams) out for coffee. If we do a little improvising maybe Ill throw it in there. I think you have to try, he jokes. He admits he still gets some jitters before filming, but much less so than he did earlier in his career, even when hes acting next to big Hollywood actors. Now when I do something like this I feel like I deserve to be here, he said. These guys have a huge resume, theyve done a lot of great work, but you know Ive also been in the business a while and I definitely feel like I deserve to be there. Yes, there are some nerves, but nerves are a good thing. The other role that has him excited is in the film Blood is Blood, which was filmed in April and May in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The filming took place in swamp lands, sur- rounded by alligators. Casey is co-starring in the thriller film with Mehcad Brooks, who is known for his role in True Blood. The coolest part about it was getting to work with Sid Haig, Casey said. Hes sort of a horror movie legend. Hes been in the busi- ness for 40 years. He plays the crazy clown in House of 1000 Corpses. I get to work with him and have scenes with him and the sto- ries this guy has about the business are just incredible. He added life is different in the Louisiana capital, the pace of life is different and so is the food. If you wanted to eat healthy you had to specifically ask for no butter and say you are allergic to butter because they put butter in everything, he said. One of the cool things about this business is you get to go to places you would normally not think of going. There is no release date for the film yet. Casey moved to L.A. in January of 2009. He lived with some relatives for a bit and when work picked up for him he was able to move out with a roommate. My first major role that I booked out there was as a guest star on The Vampire Diaries, which was a lot of fun because I got to work with a friend of mine, Nina Dobrev, whos the star of the show, he said. It was fun working with her because I did a movie with her a few years back called Too Young To Marry where we actually played young husband and wife. Roles were slightly different on the vam- pire show where Casey, playing a vampire named Noah, was stocking the human Elena Gilbert played by Dobrev. It was a three-episode role however, the role is open for the character to come back for flashback episodes. In Canada hes also done some recogniza- ble roles. Casey played a love-interest char- acter in the first season of Being Erica, while he still lived in Canada, through five episodes. Then on season three he came back for one episode, this time he was already living in L.A. It was funny because I was staying in a hotel in downtown Toronto so I felt like a tourist in my own city. When Im there (in Toronto) its fun to stay in a hotel but its also nice to spend some time with your family too. He said he was most recognized on the streets during the now-defunct MVP televi- sion show, where he played the lead role of Trevor Lemonade. However, he said during those days he didnt even realize he was being recognized by people. On one occasion he went to see a Second City live show, in which his friends per- formed. When he was standing with his friends after the show and someone recognized him. He said, I was standing and a girl came up and said, I thought you were really great 29 W ednesday , Septem ber 8, 2010 O A KVILLE BEA V ER w w w .o akvillebeaver .co m Artscene From Canadian TV to Hollywood big screen RISING STAR: Oakvilles Dillon Casey has gone from various roles on CBC television shows to the Hollywood scene where hes ready to hit the big screen. SUBMITTED PHOTO Rachel McAdams absolutely lights up a room when she walks in. Channing Tatum is a really nice guy. But its really cool to be in a movie with that pedigree of actor and Im really looking forward to it. Dillon Casey, Oakville actor See Actor page 30