By Colleen Bement
She started out as a very successful professional dancer. Now Dylan Ratzlaff is a leading lady in Lifetime’s film “An Amish Sin” which premieres Oct. 29th. It’s inspired by a true story and this talented young actress shares what it was like to make the movie. Fans have seen her in ABC’s “A Million Little Things,” Lifetime’s “Doomsday Mom,” and Netflix’s “Honey Girls.” Freeform viewers will see her in the second season of “Cruel Summer.” Dancing since she was three, this Canadian-born artist has been a storyteller from the start.
Find out what Dylan has in the works and what she does when she’s not in front of the camera in our up-close interview.
Colleen Bement: Congratulations on your fabulous role in “An Amish Sin.” What was the experience like?
Dylan Ratzlaff: It was definitely a rollercoaster. From casting to finishing the project was about a month so it was a fast project! I learned so much about the Amish community and what it was like to be in a lead role position. I felt like I had a lot of weight on my shoulders. Meaning that this movie was based on true events and I had a responsibility to portray those events and to give a performance that would inspire people to leave any bad situation they are in. That was our main goal the whole time. To help one person leave their abusive situation.
CB: Did you have any challenges or stories during filming that you can share with us?
DR: One thing that was challenging was knowing the scenes I was doing actually happened to someone in real life. It was heartbreaking and it gave me such a huge appreciation for people in similar situations that had the courage to leave.
On another note, since the Amish don’t use electricity all of our night scenes had to truly be shot at night. We couldn’t do day for night which meant a lot of shooting until 4 am. One night we shot till 3:30 am and I had to be in hair at 7:30 am the next day for my sister’s wedding because I was her maid of honor. It was wild.
CB: Let’s chat dancing and choreography. I read that you began your professional dance career working on Disney Channel’s “Descendants 3” alongside Kenny Ortega and “A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish.” Two questions:
1.) When did you realize that you wanted to be a dancer?
DR: I started dancing when I was 3 and seriously fell in love with it. I was a spirited child and found it was such a great outlet for my emotions. From a young age, I lived and breathed dance so I always imagined myself having some sort of career in dance.
2.) Tell us about the transition from dancing to acting? How did it happen, and do you still do both?
DR: I started by landing a role on a show that was like a mockumentary about a dance studio. It was one of my first film/tv auditions! They hired me mainly as a dancer and taught me how to act! I had done a couple of commercials when I was younger but really developed a love for acting when I was on The Next Step, which was my first lead role in TV. I started training and diving deeper into the craft and now I have a dual job with acting and dancing.
CB: Just how much do you love to dance? Do you ever find yourself dancing in the living room for no apparent reason?
DR: Well at events I will always be the first one on the dance floor! It really is my first love and I don’t think I will ever give it up! My parents even have a picture of me when I was younger dancing in the living room by myself with the biggest smile on my face.
CB: Your Instagram posts are super creative. Where do you get your inspiration to design your Instagram work of art? (Yes, I called it a work of art because I know how difficult it is to curate and design it.)
DR: My mom is actually the genius behind most of my posts. She is always there to take pictures of me haha! I call her my momager. I also try to be as authentic as possible on my social media. I try not to just show the good things but also the bad things so people don’t see this perfect life but a real life!
Nerd Alert News is looking forward to seeing Dylan’s new movie, “An Amish Sin.” Watch the trailer:
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