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EXCLUSIVE | 'Dash & Lily' actor Troy Iwata says he loved playing Langston as 'his queerness is not a struggle'

'It was really fun to play, to take part in a project that was like a very warm love letter to New York'
UPDATED NOV 12, 2020
Troy Iwata (Jingyu Lin)
Troy Iwata (Jingyu Lin)

Spoilers for 'Dash & Lily'

If you haven't watched Netflix's holiday romcom 'Dash & Lily' by now, we can safely say that you're missing one of the sweetest binge-worthy series that is an adaptation of the New York Times bestseller 'Dash & Lily's Book of Dares' by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. It is a beautiful ode to New York City during the holidays and brings in nostalgia solely because of the fact that Christmas in the Big Apple will look a lot different this year.

From character chemistry and cast excellence to visual aesthetics and keen representation, we thoroughly enjoyed the half-hour, eight-episode series. In an exclusive interview with MEAWW, Troy Iwata, who plays the role of Langston, Lily's (Midori Francis) brother, speaks about his experience working on the series, what he thinks viewers should take away from it, and what's next for him.

We asked Iwata what drew him to the role of Langston and how he ended up auditioning for the role. The actor explained that he had met the show's creator Joe Tracz a few years ago, as Tracz was also a theater writer. "I'd done a couple of shows that he worked on and the year previous to 'Dash & Lily', I worked on a Broadway show with him called 'Be More Chill', said Iwata. "In that process, he came up to me and said that he was writing a new Netflix show and that there was a part that he thought I should come in and audition for. Then a few months later I went and I auditioned and then did a couple more auditions, and then I got it."

Iwata is no stranger to the stages of Broadway and has also had guest-starring roles on shows like NBC’s 'New Amsterdam', Showtime’s 'Ray Donovan', ABC’s 'Quantico,' and The CW’s 'Katy Keene'. We wondered how it was like working on a holiday series that was so focused on the joys of Christmas in New York City. "Well, I mean, as far as TV gigs go, this is definitely like the warmest most cheery project," said Iwata revealing the simple fact that new TV shows that are set in New York are usually "cop dramas and hospital dramas." "The feel and tone of it ['Dash & Lily'] are so different. It was really fun to play, to take part in a project that was like a very warm love letter to New York. It's very pretty and, and warm and welcoming," continued Iwata. He also revealed that since he has lived in the city for 6 years now, it was his home, and so "it was really nice."

The series is very special in the way that while it may focus on the titular characters of Dash (Austin Abrams) and Lily, it didn't push the secondary characters to the background at all. Langston, in fact, has his own character arc in the series and isn't overshadowed by Dash and Lily's story. We asked Iwata how he felt about playing a character that was given the right amount of attention, though Langston wasn't a titular character.

Giving credit to Tracz, Iwata revealed that the creators and writers did a "really great job of evening out all of the storylines because, in the book, they are very important characters" — he spoke of both of his character and Dante Brown's character Boomer. Calling the approach "refreshing" and "brave", Iwata added that Tracz created a really "wonderful representation of a queer character," when it came to Langston.

Giving us details about how it was playing the character and how the character was approached generally, Iwata said, "One thing that I really gravitated towards playing Langston was that his queerness is not a struggle for him or anyone around him. It's just part of who he is and it's just accepted and acknowledged and celebrated and not questioned. Langston kind of just exists in this unapologetic way."

He continued, "I think that's something that's really refreshing to see, especially in a younger queer character. I feel like a lot of gay characters you see, for some reason, at some point, writers feel the need to include some kind of bullying or trauma or some kind of struggle with identity. And those stories are valid, but it's also really refreshing and I think important to show that we are more than our struggle."

(Netflix)

Speaking on if the series could have done anything differently when it came to adapting the book, Iwata said that he thinks the series did a "perfect job." The actor added that it's "a difficult process" when one has to adapt a book "that is loved by a lot of people." He said, "I know that Rachel and David were both very involved in this entire process and know that David was like on set most of the time. I think that they did a really good job at staying true to the book, but also, filling in extra details that a TV show could hold." 

The entire series has beautiful backdrops of festive New York, and cozy homes, so we figured it was probably an absolute joy to be on set. Iwata described one of his favorite scenes to shoot: "It was a scene on a rooftop with me and Diego (Guevara), the guy who played Benny. It was a very short clip, but it was just, it was at nighttime, we were like in a blanket on the roof and there was this really lovely view of like the skyline. They added fake snow and it was just like a really great representation of the tone of the show. It was very snuggly and sweet and beautiful — my favorite clip."

If you've seen the series, you'd know the basic themes of the story revolved around love, confidence, and stepping out of your bubble. We asked Iwata what he thought viewers should take away from the series, and got probably the best thought-out and real answer we've gotten from an actor. Firstly, Iwata mentioned that most productions that are holiday content are usually movies, but 'Dash & Lily' is a short series, which is rare in any case. He then added that what he thinks makes the series stand out is the age group that it focuses on.

He said, "A lot of holiday movies, they tend to focus on either like very young kids or if we go to the Hallmark channel, it's like adults. I think that what Netflix and what 'Dash & Lily' really honed in on was this very, very important time of your life, which is like 16, 17, 18, 19 years old — that sort of coming of age time where you're still a kid and still feel like a kid, but trying to establish yourself into adulthood and then also just set in the, in the lovely world of the holidays. So I think that that's a really important age group for people to see, and even people who aren't in that age group sort of remember because it is that time where you're really discovering yourself."

Playing Langston, a queer character in the show, was some of Iwata's best work and the series goes far beyond when it comes to representation. Something Iwata too mentioned in admirable detail. He said, "One of my favorite things, about our show, is the representation throughout. I don't think that any movie or TV show can accurately or thoroughly represent every kind of individual that exists. But, I do think that 'Dash and Lily' is a great step towards progress when it comes to representing people from different backgrounds and different cultures. Obviously, we have not represented every kind of individual in our show, but I think that they did a really great job of trying to include even more. And so I'm really proud to be part of a show that feels like it is moving forward."

Calling the show palatable, aesthetically pretty, and a love letter to New York, Iwata hopes that they've created a series that is a "joyous escape".

We also have a few fun facts for you: Iwata has watched 'Dash & Lily' four times, loves the holiday movies 'Home Alone' and 'A Christmas Story', was absolutely thrilled to meet one of his favorite actors (his mother's too) James Saito (who played Lily's and Langston's grandpa) and his favorite character on the series the 'Christmas Elf', and a drag Queen played by Michael Creighton. As for his upcoming projects, Iwata revealed to us that 'New Amsterdam' has called him back for their upcoming season 3!

'Dash & Lily' is now available to stream on Netflix.

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