DANIEL DALE KNOWS A THING OR TWO ABOUT WEARING A MASK. IN RYAN MURPHY’S THE SHARDS, THE ACTOR STEPS INTO THE BLEACHED-BLONDE, BROAD-SHOULDERED WORLD OF RYAN VAUGHN, A HIGH-SCHOOL JOCK WHOSE IMMACULATE APPEARANCE CONCEALS A FAR MORE COMPLICATED INTERIOR. ADAPTED FROM BRET EASTON ELLIS’S NOVEL, THE SERIES PLUNGES INTO THE FEVERISH SOCIAL HIERARCHIES OF 1980S LOS ANGELES, WHERE DESIRE BECOMES CURRENCY, APPEARANCES ARE EVERYTHING, AND THE SMALLEST CRACKS IN A CAREFULLY CONSTRUCTED PERSONA THREATEN TO EXPOSE WHAT LIES BENEATH. FOR DALE, BUILDING RYAN MEANT MORE THAN PERFECTING HIS POSTURE, PILING ON MUSCLE, OR HOURS IN THE HAIR AND MAKEUP CHAIR. IT MEANT UNDERSTANDING THE CONTRADICTIONS OF A YOUNG MAN DESPERATE TO ESCAPE THE CONFINES OF HIS OWN IDENTITY, EVEN AS HE CLINGS TO THE ARMOUR THAT KEEPS HIM SAFE. SPEAKING TO BTB, DALE OPENS UP ABOUT THE LIBERATING POWER OF TRANSFORMATION, THE INTOXICATING PULL OF BEING DESIRED, AND THE INSECURITIES LURKING BENEATH AN ENVIABLY POLISHED EXTERIOR.
Left T-shirt Pellat Finet, vest Zadig&Voltaire
Right Pants Dolce&Gabbana, belt Emporio Armani
How did you first get to know your character, Ryan? Did you read Bret Easton Ellis’ book before auditioning, or did you start with the script?
It was through the book, actually. I initially auditioned for the role of Matt Kellner, and the scene I was reading was between Matt and Bret. I hadn’t read the book yet, so I didn’t really know what was going on. I just knew that scene. I guess Ryan [Murphy] saw something in me that made him think of Ryan, because he asked me right there if I would go blonde. By the time I got home that night, I knew I was playing him, so I picked up the book and read it. My first impression came from those opening chapters, where Bret is referencing this romance with Ryan but hasn’t really gone into detail about it yet. He’s quite standoffish at the beginning, and because he’s so closeted, you don’t fully understand their history until later.
Left Sweater Celine Homme
Right Full look Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello
In the book, he also comes across as someone who’s quite fed up with the people around him. He’s just doing what he needs to do to survive high school before getting out and doing something completely different with his life somewhere far away.
Yeah, absolutely. The way I saw it was that, at home, he has this very religious family, so he plays that character: “I go to church, I do my homework.” Then, at school, he plays the popular jock, someone who’s straight and very broad-shouldered. That’s another part of what you’re describing: he’s acting as different people a lot of the time. So who is he, really? It’s hard to know.
Left Coat, shirt, pants and belt Emporio Armani, shoes McQueen
Right Full look Valentino
What was the easiest way for you to tap into that armour he wears? Was it something physical, like his posture, or was it more about the way he speaks and behaves?
It was definitely the posture. I don’t think about my posture normally. I probably hunch over and don’t really care about it, but I think Ryan cares a lot. So I thought about having my shoulders back, chin down, that kind of thing.
I was also looking at pictures of football players from high schools in Los Angeles during that period, going through yearbooks and stuff. There’s a particular look they have, including the hair, so I started there. Then I put on a bit of muscle, which felt like another kind of physical armour. I was bulkier than I’d ever been before. I don’t know why I felt that was necessary, but for someone so concerned with how he looks, it made sense to me to put on that muscle and make it a really high priority during preparation. I also imagined him as the kind of person who, if he walked past a parked car, would check his reflection in it. You start thinking about those little things and asking yourself, why would someone do that? That became a way into the character.
Left Full look Prada
Right Full look Valentino
His look is quite severe: the perfectly coiffed, bleach-blonde hair, the sweatbands, the tight clothes. Was there any part of the look you particularly enjoyed, or something you’d never wear yourself but found liberating to try?
I think you put that well. I don’t think I’d ever wear any of that stuff. I certainly would never buy hairspray! But that was what was fun about it. I felt like Ryan was at the steering wheel, and Josh Marsh, our costume designer, came up with a lot of things that expressed who Ryan was. Valerie Jackson came up with that hair, which, by the way, is almost impossible to achieve. It’s so hard to get it that razor-sharp. It took hours. At the end of the whole process every day, I’d look in the mirror and barely recognise what I was looking at.
That’s liberating because it’s a bit like doing an accent. It’s a mask. One thing that’s always been true of acting, even going back to the Greeks, is that if you have a mask in your hand and cover your face, you feel liberated. You’re not as self-conscious. The funny thing is that even if you hold the mask further away, you still have that feeling that you can do no wrong because you’re somehow hidden. With Ryan, there was that feeling because he’s so masked as a character. I’d put on the muscle, the spray tan, the hairspray and the costumes, and suddenly I could do anything because I was so far removed from Daniel. That was nice, especially because I’m kind of shy. It made it easier not to feel like myself in a room full of people.
Left Shirt and coat Prada, pants and shoes McQueen
Right Full look Prada
Is there anything from his wardrobe you could see yourself wearing in everyday life?
There are certain things, like Chuck Taylors, that are classics. But I tried wearing the short shorts out, and I think my T-shirt covered the entire thing, so it looked like I wasn’t wearing any shorts at all. I don’t know how practical that is.
Everything is tight and very colourful, too. Neither of us lived through the ’80s, obviously, but what did you find fascinating about recreating that era, particularly an aesthetic that can feel quite outdated today?
It felt cool because it was something my parents recognised. I’d show them things from the set and ask, “Isn’t this a lot?” And they’d say, “Oh, I remember that!” My mum would tell me she’d dated someone who wore their hair like that.
I also loved the cars and the architecture of Los Angeles. I’m from L.A., and a lot of the buildings that remain today were built between the mid-century period and the ’70s. At the time, they were modern, so it felt like experiencing my own city in a way I hadn’t before.
I also think that ultra-coiffed, preppy look, especially in an ’80s prep school, isn’t really in fashion right now. If you look at brands that lean into that preppy aesthetic, a lot of them are moving towards something more vintage, distressed or worn-in. The effort itself isn’t necessarily considered cool anymore.
Right T-shirt Pellat Finet, vest Zadig&Voltaire
Exactly. Now, you want to look effortless.
I think back then, effort was a point of pride. If people could tell you’d put a lot of effort into your appearance, that was a good thing. But that’s just my interpretation as someone born in the 2000s!
Ryan Murphy’s adaptation builds on Brett Easton Ellis’s novel, and Ryan’s storyline has some pretty wild additions, including his porn career and his affair with Debbie. There’s also the storyline involving Debbie’s father’s assistant, who catches Ryan and uses it against him. Why do you think these additions enrich the character and help tell his story?
I think it’s interesting how sexuality becomes a kind of reprieve for Ryan. There’s a lot of conversation about whether he’s gay or bisexual, but I don’t think that necessarily matters. These aren’t always romantic impulses. For a young man who’s struggling with his identity, it feels good to feel wanted, to feel sexy. I think he thrives on that, especially because he’s so concerned with how he looks. It’s like, “Oh, it’s working.” And I don’t think that’s an exclusive feeling. Anyone can relate to the feeling of being desired. It feels good, even if it’s coming from someone you don’t necessarily want to be with. All these characters are under a lot of pressure, and I think that’s one way Ryan feels better. It’s a place of refuge for him.
Left Full look Valentino
Right Vest Zadig&Voltaire
So, in a way, it’s less about who he’s attracted to and more about the validation he gets from those encounters.
Yeah. He’s someone who doesn’t often get attention for who he actually is. He gets attention for the personas he creates. I imagine there’s a bit of a void there.
How do you see the difference between who Ryan really is and the confident, douchey jock he presents to the world?
I think the more you try to project confidence, the more you wonder why you need to project it in the first place. I really wanted both sides to be apparent. As you say, there are scenes in the book that might reveal more of him, but I kind of see it as the more insecure he feels in a particular moment, the more he’ll try to present himself as strong and immovable.
That felt like breaking the rules a little bit as an actor, because you’re always trying to find the vulnerability in a character. But I didn’t want to force vulnerability onto someone who’s clearly trying not to show it. He’s looking for a way out, and there’s an intensity to that. But it’s all very reserved. It isn’t out in the open.
Left Full look Prada
Right Coat, shirt, pants and belt Emporio Armani, shoes McQueen
Ryan Murphy’s sets are known for being immersive, with so much attention paid to the smallest details. Was there a particular scene or episode that made you stop and appreciate the scale of the production?
I think it was the dance-off episode. The whole thing was so meta. We filmed in a parking lot that was actually the parking lot of the studio lot where we were shooting the show. My car was parked there, and then you’d go onto the set, which was the set within the show. We had crew members dressed in ’80s clothes, using ’80s cameras, who were playing crew members. Then we had other camera operators filming them, and we were also using the cameras they were using. It was so layered.
Left Full look Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello
Right Shirt Prada, pants McQueen
The fact that the episode references a real television special makes it even more fun. There’s something great about how the show uses those period details to heighten both the comedy and the drama. The characters behave as though the stakes are enormous, even when they’re just competing in a dance-off. So much of it is about maintaining appearances and protecting their place in the social hierarchy.
Yeah, I think Brett Easton Ellis did that so well in the book. He wrote it recently, but he captures what it feels like to be that age, when everything feels like the highest stakes imaginable. You’re on television, you’re in high school, and you think, “Oh my God, this is my moment.” What I liked about the show is that it didn’t feel like we were looking down on these high schoolers and their little dance shows. It treated it as a genuinely big deal for them. And it would have been a big deal to me, too, if I’d been on television at that age.
Left Full look Valentino
Right Full look Prada
Did working on the series bring back any memories of your own high school experiences?
Yeah, I thought about people I went to high school with. My school was about an hour away from where we filmed, but there were similarities. The weather was the same, and there were the same kinds of characters and stereotypes. There were definitely people like Ryan at my school, too. I remember the captain of the football team had a perm one year. He curled his hair, and everyone was like, “Wow, maybe we should be doing that because he’s doing it.” It’s funny because the edges of the school feel like the edges of the world when you’re that age. It’s like an animal kingdom contained within this little place.
Left Full look Celine Homme
Right Full look Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello
Do you remember anything you did back then to fit in that you can laugh about now?
I don’t know if I want to go there! [Laughs] Truthfully, I don’t think I tried hard enough to fit in. But in the first couple of years, I was probably drinking too much and trying to be someone I wasn’t. I spent about a year trying to be that jock character, but it didn’t really fit me.
Well, now you get a second chance to play him.
Yes! Take two.
Interview by Martin Onufrowicz
Photography by Spencer Ostrander
Fashion & Production by Alexey Kazakov
EIC Michael Marson
Hair & Makeup Herve Claude Bernard
Photographer’s assistant Liam Kennedy
