Pete : Welcome Dan Rymer to Casualty Files!
Jen: Hi Dan. We all love Dillon’s character, but his love life has been a bit full of ups and downs. Who do you think makes the best match for your character – Dillon and Anna, Dillon and Roxy or Dillon and Lara, why?
DanR: I think he is really keen on Lara, and always has been. But they’re too close now almost, they’re such good friends. They’ve created a bond, and it would be difficult to overstep the line. But ultimately, he’d be best suited to Lara.
Becki-Claire: Dan, this is from Jen in the Wirral – She would like to know whether you think Dillon will emulate Charlie in later years as head nurse. She says apologies for asking whether you had ginger hair on the Saturday Show in September!
DanR: Haha, I remember that actually! Yes, I think he would emulate Charlie. I’m not sure if you’re aware that Dillon isn’t going to be in CASUALTY for very longer, but if he was he would probably follow a similar route to Charlie.
Jenny: Do you enjoy being seen as a sex symbol?
DanR: I didn’t realise until now, thankyou Jenny! But it’s not something I pay too much attention to – if people like my work that’s always a bonus, but I don’t try and believe in the hype too much!
Pete : This is the UK’s third CASUALTY Live Chat with Dan Rymer who plays Dillon – thankyou so much to everyone who has joined us today!
Leanne: Hiya Dan. Who do you get on with most in the cast, or do you love them all?
DanR: I love them all, but my closest friends are definitely Christine Stephen-Daly and Lee Warburton, we have lots of fun together and we go out a lot outside of work.
Loz : What are your views on the amount of characters that are being axed from the show to bring in ‘new blood’?
DanR: I think any television show does need new cast members to keep going. It’s every actor’s life to spend a period in one show then move onto another. It’s a shame some of the characters didn’t get a chance to develop, but that’s the way it works – you have to lose old characters to bring in new ones.
Jen: It was once thought by some that Dillon and Tony would get together, how would you feel about that story line?
DanR: Well, for a while the show’s writers couldn’t make up their minds if that was going to happen or not! As an actor I’d always be glad of a good storyline, and it was difficult for a while, playing the character and not knowing which way it was going to turn. But eventually it didn’t happen – obviously Dillon isn’t that way inclined.
Hannah: Hi Dan Dillon tried to pull a prank on Roxy while visiting her at her other job – what’s the best pranks you’ve ever done in real life, or are you too nice?
DanR: I’m certainly not too nice! We’re always playing ticks on each other at work – we’ve quite often locked each other out of the dressing rooms while changing, I share with Will Mellor and we get up to a lot of pranks, especially involving photos. We found a funny photo of Ian Kelsey playing with his cat, and we blew it up and stuck it all over the warehouse where we film, so everyone could see him looking stupid and soppy!
SophM: I heard you got married a month ago. How did it go?
DanR: It was a fantastic day, thankyou very much; quite a few of my friends from CASUALTY were there. We enjoyed it very much, and had a fabulous honeymoon in Mexico!
Pete: Yes congratulations Dan, well done!
Becki-Claire: Dillon has been a Samaritan in the past – did you have to do a lot of research to play that role, and do you think you could do it given the chance?
DanR: I think it’s a really difficult job to do. I did quite a lot of research, spending a day at the real Samaritan centre in Bristol, and some of the things they had to deal with were quite distressing. I wouldn’t be able to do that in real life; I wouldn’t be able to leave the problems behind when I left work.
Pete : This is a public announcement… You’d be crazy to miss Live Chats every Tuesday and Saturday @ 9. Also… this is the last celebrity Live Chat for a while.
Sammie_nutter: Were you able to decide how Dillon leaves CASUALTY, and if not, how would you have chosen him to leave?
DanR: I wasn’t able to decide; it’s something that the writers decide on. But if I could choose my exit storyline, I would want him to leave in a dramatic tragedy in the line of duty.
Jess: Were there ever or are there any off screen relationships that you are allowed to tell us about, or are you all just good friends?
DanR: We are just good friends, and if there were it wouldn’t be fair for me to talk about them, sorry! But we all get on really well.
Pete: 10 minutes more ladies and gents, get firing your questions
Bex: Have you had any scary or embarrassing moments whilst filming the
shows?
DanR: When I first started, we were on set, and whilst I was waiting, I sat on the desk in Admin, and I didn’t realise that the desk wasn’t actually real! It’s all covered with pens, papers, medicine… I sat on it and the whole thing collapsed! It was my first or second day, and the props guys went crazy, it was really embarrassing. I also filmed one of my last scenes where I had to be naked, and even though the viewers won’t see much of me, all the production crew did!
Pete: I feel like a loner – Soph M talk to me
JoJo: Hiya Dan! Do you think you would ever like to go back to musicals, and what would you like to be in?
DanR: I can’t say never, but I have no intention of doing more musicals at the moment. However, if a part came up that I thought I could play really well, I wouldn’t turn it down.
SophM: There are some great questions coming in – keep it up!
Hayley: Hi. Apart from Dillon, who is your favourite character in CASUALTY?
DanR: I think it’s definitely Lara. She’s pretty cool I think, I like the way she’s really feisty and always stands up for herself when she thinks she’s right, even if it means upsetting other people. She’s not afraid to shout at anyone!
Jenny: What has been your favourite storyline, and why?
DanR: I think personally, I liked the whole Gemma storyline. I think it could have been more involved, but I liked the dilemma that Dillon was in. Reading between the lines, I think he felt a lot more for Gemma than he actually let on.
Pete: Oh no Hollyites – he’s a Laraite!!!
Bex: Do you keep the letters that fans give you as mementoes from your
career?
DanR: I like to try and write back to all my letters, but unfortunately some don’t reach me, it depends where people send them to. But I do keep all the letters I receive in a drawer at home. I love receiving letters, they’re a great joy for me.
Jess: How would you describe Dillon in three words?
DanR: Calm, sensitive… dopey!
Pete: The girls hearts’ just melted… you soft load of pansies!
SophM: Aww. Makes me like Dillon more!
Hannah: Who is the worst person in the cast for messing up lines on set, and what’s the biggest mistake you’ve ever made whilst saying a line?
DanR: It wouldn’t be fair of me to point fingers at anyone, but Ian Kelsey once did 28 takes for one line! It ended up a bit like a Carry On film – he had a lot of medical lines, and he just couldn’t get them right! But I always mess up the word ‘anaesthetist’, I find it really hard! Overall I’m not one of the worst though.
Pete: 5 mins more people
SophM: Keep them coming in!
Leanne: What would be your dream storyline?
DanR: I would like to see another side to Dillon, and maybe see a little bit more of the devil inside him. I feel he can sometimes be a bit too nice, and it would be interesting to see how far he’d go if he was really pushed, maybe if he had a problem with alcoholism or something like that, that would be a great storyline to play, and it’d be interesting to see another side of him.
Pete : Thank you all very much for coming today, it’s yet again been another good chat, big thankyou to Dan and sorry I insulted all females
Chrissy: Did you watch CASUALTY before you got the part of Dillon and will you continue to watch it once Dillon has left?
DanR: I watched it when I was a kid, but because I’ve been working in a theatre for the last few years, Saturday nights were always busy. Now I’ve finished filming I will continue to watch it, but it’ll be weird seeing the whole gang without me being there.
Becki-Claire: In your time at CASUALTY, and seeing other actors storylines, which one would you have most liked to be a main part of?
DanR: I think Jack’s had some great storylines, and I love all the stuff with his dad; for me he’d be a really fun character to play!
Pete : Dan Rymer aka Dillon Cahill thank you
DanR: Thanks very much for all your questions, it’s been great doing this chat! Love from Dan x
