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Actor Dylan Walsh has worked with the best.

Photo courtesy ‘Our City Tonight’

Dylan Walsh talks about his acting longevity

By Jim Gordon and Leeta Liepins

Published 12:04 PDT, Fri April 25, 2025

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Our City Tonight had the opportunity to sit down with long time actor, Dylan Walsh, while he was in Vancouver. He is best known for his role as Dr. Sean McNamara in the popular TV series Nip/Tuck. He also gained fame for his role as Al Burns on Unforgettable and recently for his role as Sam Lane on Superman and Lois.

OCT: It’s great to finally get to sit down and chat with you while you are here in our city, working on Superman and Lois. We have followed you for years and I’d like to point out, that when we looked at your résumé it is extensive. You are one of those actors that has been around the TV and film landscape for a long time and have worked with many other incredible actors. For example, let’s mention your first television role was with James Earl Jones. What was that like as a young and upcoming actor?

DW: That was a great education. I did a development deal for ABC, and we were trying to find the right project for me. They thought they were going to get me a lead role and my career would just take off. That’s when they mentioned that there’s this other thing that although you won’t be the lead, it is with James Earl Jones as the lead. I said, that’s what I want and that’s okay. So, I did that for a year, and it was a great experience. I have to say what a great guy he was. Many years later, my wife and I were in New York, and we were invited to an event to honour James Earl Jones. I hadn’t seen him in so long. When we walked in, there were so many celebrities there like Kelsey Grammar, and a lot of other big actors. James Earl Jones had his special table with his family, and we were invited to sit at his table. He shared really good memories of me from 25 or 30 years ago. He won the Emmy that year in 1991, for outstanding lead actor in a drama series. I had watched him all year struggle the way every actor struggles, but I watched him struggle and then win an Emmy.

OCT: I guess at that age, as a young actor you’re just soaking in everything you can and especially if you’re observing someone whose work you admire and treating the craft with such respect. Some actors just get to a point where they’re mailing it in. How impressive was that for you as a young actor, to watch him in action?

DW: He was such a committed actor, and when I saw him in Fences on Broadway and I, like every young actor at that time in the late 80’s was mesmerized by that performance. That’s why I said, I want to work with that actor. TV is a different beast. It’s a whole other deal. The first thing that I learned from James Earl Jones is to cross out all the directions in the script, every last bit of it. If the script says “he feels moved” then just cross it out. You do have to say the words in the script, but you do not have to pay attention to what they’re telling you to do or feel. That will happen on its own and that was his rule.

OCT: You have a great track record with Nip/Tuck becoming a massive show that also was part of an era that had to have great music in the show. It was a time when they wanted to sell CDs of the soundtracks. Talk about how you’ve managed to continue as you get older to take on different types of roles.

DW: The best thing I can say about myself is that I’ve been acting for a long time and I start to sound like an old man but honestly that’s what I’m most proud of. It’s a lot of years and the résumé keeps getting longer. And you’re right about Nip/Tuck, it stands out because it was a big hit, and it was such an honour to be a part of that. Of course, it was also a roller coaster ride, and I loved every second of it. I’m proud of the longevity, the whole breadth of my career and doing a lot of different things which includes some mediocre stuff. Some of my best work has been in the mediocre projects over the years. That’s just the way it happens.

OCT: We have seen many movies where the movie has been mediocre, but we have loved the actors’ performance. For example, Spencer Tracy did a lot of mediocre stuff and we always liked his performances in those mediocre films. One of our favourite movies from the 90’s that you were in is, Nobody’s Fool from 1994. We are big Paul Newman fans, and you have a very large role in that movie playing his son. What lessons did you learn in that movie acting alongside not only him, but the great Jessica Tandy?

DW: I think I learned the most in those years with James Earl Jones and Paul Newman. I was so thrilled to be part of the cast and it wasn’t easy to get that part because the producer wanted somebody else who they thought, should be a star already. The casting went on for months and it was Paul Newman who said no, he’s the guy for this role. He and director, Robert Benton, stood up for me and they said it’s him or forget it.

OCT: We’re so glad we got you to come into the studio to talk to us and we wish you continued success.

For the full video interview richmondsentinel.ca/videos