VT: In terms of finding the right roles, what do you look for in a role? Are there dream roles you want to pursue?
DI: I think the main thing I actively am thinking about when reading about a certain role or project is honesty. The whole reason I love to act is because of how grounded in truth it can be, and how that truth can resonate and speak to so many people from different walks of life. In regard to dream roles I’d want to pursue, I’ve always wanted to play a superhero. Marvel movies have a special place in my heart and playing one would probably make me the happiest I could be at work.
VT: Your current role, playing the character of Cam in Amazon Prime hit streaming series, "The Summer I Turned Pretty", (Now about to film its second season), for those that haven’t seen the series yet, tell us what the show is about, your character Cam and how you would like to envision his character development.
DI: The Summer I Turned Pretty tells a really beautiful story of growing up, in a way that I think a lot of other shows in the young adult space don’t. It follows the story of Belly Conklin and her family, and their relationship with the Fishers (Conrad, Jeremiah, and Susannah), a family the Conklin kids have grown up with since before they were even born. Belly’s been spending every summer with the Fishers since she was a baby, but what makes this one summer different is the idea of true love actually materializing out of something that was once seen as just a crush. As the season goes on, the idea of love is challenged and complicated by many factors, but what the show does so well is it creates such a beautiful world full of care that the audience is inevitably engulfed by. Cam is one of Belly’s love interests throughout the complications of this summer; a kind, kind of endearingly awkward dude who really cares for Belly. As Cam’s character develops, it would be great to see him prioritize his own self a little more.
VT: What’s your favorite memory of your perfect summer?
DI: There’s been a bunch of really great ones! If I had to pinpoint one summer though, it’d probably be the summer between 8th and 9th grade. I think it’s easy to look back on good times with rose-colored glasses, but that summer really did feel so simple. High school hadn’t begun yet, so I was looking forward to the next chapter of my adolescent life, but I was also really really enjoying how much everything kind of made sense. Got to hang out with friends I’d been hanging out with for years, so didn’t have too much overthinking to do. Calm times.