Carly Chaikin plays Dalia Royce on ABC’s SUBURGATORY. I spoke with Chaikin about her audition process for the role, tonight’s episode, and what we can look forward to for the rest of the season.
How was your audition for the role? I read you went in for the role of Tessa originally?
Carly Chaikin: Yeah, originally I went in for Tessa and met with Emily Kapnek and the other producers and director and went I for that character. Then my agent called me and said they wanted to see me for Dalia and I thought they were kidding, I had really never played a part like that. I didn’t have blonde hair I was always kind of scene for more dramatic roles but I was like “okay.” Once I began with casting I had no idea what to expect and throughout the audition process I just kind of played her very straight forward and flat and monotone. I wanted to stay away from the typical cheerleading mean girl and they responded to that. Emily, the writers, and everyone after that continued to push Dalia further and make her into what she is now.
Is there anything you would really love to see her transform into? Anything you would like her to change?
There’s not anything I would like her to change. We’ve seen her dabble in relationship-y type of things but I’ve always been curious to see what she would be like in an actual relationship, like if she had a real boyfriend. That’s something I’ve always wanted to see but aside from that I love her exactly the way she is.
So this episode focuses heavily on your character. Can you tell us what happens with Dalia in this week’s episode?
This week is “Dalia Nicole Smith” and we see Dalia and Tessa both applying to colleges and doing college interviews. Then we see that Dalia might not get into college and Dallas (Cheryl Hines) wants to explore other things that Dalia can do in case she doesn’t get into college. Where she meets a possible suitor hence Dalia Nicole Smith.
What about the other characters? How is Tessa (Jane Levy) dealing with all of that?
As well as applying to college, she’s at a college bar/ restaurant her and her dad meet another mom and son and they kind of have their own storyline where George (Jeremy Sisto) is attracted to the mom and he kind of takes Tessa along for the ride. They have a whole thing with this mother son duo.
Aside from possibly going to college where do you see Dalia’s life going?
I don’t know, and that’s such a great question and maybe something I should know. (Laughs) I mean she is such a wild card that I have absolutely no idea.
Can you tell us anything about what we can look forward to for the rest of the season of Suburgatory?
Yes, for the rest of the season we kind of go back to Lisa (Allie Grant) and Malik (Maestro Harrell) and their engagement and what happens with that. In regards to that we see Dalia completely overstep the line and involve herself in things that she has no part in. (Laughs)
You can watch Carly tonight on SUBURGATORY at 8:30 on ABC. And for more information on the show you can check out http://abc.go.com/shows/suburgatory
Victoria Nelli loves TV so much that she is paying $30,000 a year to learn about it in College. When she’s not learning about TV she enjoys writing about her favorite shows, interviewing anyone in the industry that will let her, and ranting about how underrated Parks and Recreation is. She is very much aware of her Netflix addiction, and no she will not be seeking help anytime soon. You can follow her on Twitter @VictoriaNelli