The Darby and the Dead cast and director discuss the new film, and what it was like to work with Tony Danza, in this exclusive interview.
Darby and the Dead is a new film that tells the story of a girl, Darby Harper (played by Riele Downs), who has a near death experience as a young child and is suddenly given the ability to see dead people. When Capri, played by Auli’i Cravalho, unexpectedly dies, Darby must now help her with her unfinished business so that she can pass on. She does so with the help of some friends, Alex (played by Chosen Jacobs) and James (played by Asher Angel).
Tony Danza is also in the film. He plays Gary and according to the cast and director Silas Howard he is an absolute joy to work with. During this exclusive interview with Mama’s Geeky, we talked all about him and how kind he was to everyone he crossed paths with.
Darby and the Dead Cast Talks Working With Tony Danza
Chosen Jacobs says that he got to shoot a couple of scenes with him and that Tony is a classic guy. “Everything about him is a testament to why he’s been successful for so long. He’s so fun. He’s so refreshing. He’s still so excited when he comes to set.”
Chosen adds that he took the time to get to know the cast. “From a guy who has a resume like Tony Danza to be on a scene with us young actors and give us such great energy and ideas and respect, it is testament to his character as well as his acting ability.” He wraps up by saying that he thinks fans of Tony Danza will love what he does in this film, and we agree.
Auli’i Cravalho did a few scenes with Tony Danza, and she admitted that she wasn’t really familiar with his work before getting together on set. “I’ll be honest, I only know him from the song ‘hold me closer Tony Danza…’ which was stuck in all of our heads for months.” She giggles as she remembers times when he would be telling a whole story in his New York accent, and they would call for them to start rolling, but he was still in the middle of this story. “And no one’s gonna tell him no, because he’s Tony Danza! It was iconic.”
Riele Downs was able to spend the most time with him as the two have a lot of scenes together, and she assures us that he is everything you would expect. “He is so multitalented. He was talking about how he’s doing these charity galas, and he’s just so worldly. He has so many experiences and stories to tell. Not to mention, he’s just plain fun.” Riele laughs as she talks about how they would tap dance on the side when they weren’t filming, and that they played a bit of chess during down time. “He played the ukulele. He’s a very fun person.”
Asher Angel unfortunately did not get the chance to work with Tony, because of protocols on set, but he says he seemed like a cool guy and he heard great things about working with him from his fellow castmates.
Director Silas Howard explains that it was a dream come true getting to work with Tony, but that the whole cast really is just so perfect and the bond was instant. Silas brags a little bit, saying that he recently had dinner with Tony Danza at Manny’s Bistro and it was just the best. “He brought so much to the role considering it was a limited amount of pages and dialogue.”
Silas goes on to talk about how committed to the role Tony was because he took the time to get to know Riele to make Gary and Darby’s relationship believable. “He really made friends with Riele. He really thought about every little thing — even having a nickname for Darby. I saw him bond with her because his role is a bit of a fatherly and friend role in the movie. He was so kind to all the crew who were excited to meet him. He brought a ukulele and serenaded everyone.”
See what Tony Danza brings to the role of Gary in Darby and the Dead when it comes to Hulu on December 2nd.
Full Darby and the Dead Interviews
Be sure to check out the full interviews with the Darby and the Dead cast and director where we talk about how they would react to seeing dead people, the message of the film, and so much more!
NEXT: Strange World Cast Discusses What They Brought To The Film
About Darby and the Dead
After suffering a near-death experience as a young girl, Darby Harper (Downs) gains the ability to see dead people. As a result, she becomes introverted and shut off from her high school peers and prefers to spend time counseling lonely spirits who have unfinished business on earth. But all that changes when Capri (Cravalho), the Queen Bee of the school’s most exclusive clique, unexpectedly dies in a freak hair straightening accident, resulting in the obvious cancellation of her upcoming “Sweet 17.”
Capri, however, pleads with Darby from the other side to intervene and convince Capri’s friends to proceed with the party as planned. In order to appease the wrath of the undead diva, Darby must emerge from her self-imposed exile and reinvent herself — which along the way allows her to find new joy back in the land of the living.
Darby and the Dead is streaming exclusively on Hulu starting December 2nd!
