Kaitlyn Dever Is The Real Deal

Role by unexpected role, Dever is proving herself to be an unstoppable force — and one of the most talented actresses of her generation.

Kaitlyn Dever knows a thing or two about meeting your idols. At just 25, the actress from Phoenix, Arizona has already worked with most of hers, including Amy Adams, Michael Keaton, Clint Eastwood, Julianne Moore and now George Clooney and Julia Roberts, who play her warring parents in this month’s Ticket To Paradise. And then there’s Tom Hanks, who she hasn’t worked with (yet — give her time) but who she ran into at the 2019 Golden Globes where she was nominated for her portrayal of a rape victim in the Netflix series Unbelievable.

“After the ceremony, I was standing with my family and he looked at me and said the sweetest thing,” she recounts. “He was, like, ‘Hold this’ and he gave me his award and said ‘Doesn’t that feel nice? You’ll be getting one someday.’ I almost passed out. It was crazy.”

He’s probably not wrong. (He’s Tom Hanks — of course he’s not wrong.) Dever has worked with impressive consistency since the age of five, but it was her role in Olivia Wilde’s 2019 directorial debut Booksmart that made her a card-carrying member of Young Hollywood and a much-lauded ‘one to watch’. She hasn’t put a foot wrong since, moving smoothly between projects that show off a wide and impressive range, from that defining dramatic role in Unbelievable (for which she also snagged a BAFTA nomination) to a series regular in the sitcom Last Man Standing, a singing role in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen co-starring the aforementioned Adams (“It was hard to stay in it — there were constantly moments where I had to catch myself during a scene and go ‘oh wait, I need to focus and not be actor-Kaitlyn admiring what Amy is doing on her coverage’”), and her portrayal as an opioid-addicted miner in the critically-acclaimed Dopesick (for which she was nominated again this year for a Golden Globe as well as an Emmy).

Which brings us to what must be the crazy-flattering notion of being cast as the lovechild of two of the most genetically- and charismatically-blessed people who have ever lived, George and Julia — let alone the thrill of being a young actor cast alongside them. “The two of them in the same movie, I mean, that’s a lot! I love both of them so much and meeting them, they’re just everything you’d want them to be and more,” she reveals. “Seeing the two of them together, they’re just best buds who love making each other laugh. George is basically a stand-up comedian. He loves being on set and he loves making movies. And Julia was so sweet and kind to me. Just to be around Julia’s energy and George’s energy all at once… It was such a lovely, fun experience.”

Did she bear witness to any of Clooney’s notorious pranks on set? “No, but actually [French actor and Ticket to Paradise co-star] Lucas Bravo pulled a prank on George one day. We were shooting in a hotel lobby and Lucas hacked all of the computers so that each screen saver had a wall of George’s Sexiest Man Alive covers. That was a prank that I was a part of on the sidelines, but not really because I was too scared and didn’t know how George was going to take it,” she says. “He loved it, of course.”

Next up, Dever is starring as the titular character in the comedy Rosaline (airing from October 14 on Disney +), the story of the girl Romeo was dating before he fell in love with her cousin, Juliet, told from her (slightly deranged, My Best Friend’s Wedding-esque) perspective. For a complete change of pace, next year sees her take the lead in the horror/sci-fi film No One Will Save You. “I can’t reveal much, but I will say it is very different to anything I’ve ever done before. It was a real exercise in acting and I loved it.”

In terms of projects, it’s clear that Dever has been working at a pretty relentless pace over the past few years — a commitment to the job that was hinted at on the InStyle Australia shoot where, despite suffering from a bout of food poisoning, she didn’t have to be asked twice to jump on a mini trampoline, perform high kicks in heels, and roll around on the floor when asked.

“My favourite place in the world is being on set,” she shrugs, when asked about her work ethic. “We come together and create something and everybody, in their own way, has a passion to tell the story and we all play a part in it. The process varies because you’re working with a different style of dialogue and a different style of directing each time, but the sense of camaraderie and community that you get on a set is so great. And I’ve just been honestly so lucky with the people that I’ve worked with. The experiences I’ve had have been so good, so wholesome, and every project I’ve done I’ve been surrounded by really nice people who are also really passionate people. It’s sad in a way because we come together so closely for such a short amount of time and bond in a really deep way, and then we have to leave each other after three or four months. I have a love-hate relationship with that element of acting.”

Despite an obvious passion for her day job, Dever is equally as passionate about her side project: music. As anyone who saw her hold her own in Dear Evan Hansen or belt out ‘You Outta Know’ in Booksmart’s karaoke scene would be aware, the girl can hold a tune. Throughout the pandemic, Dever wrote and recorded music with her younger sister Mady, collaborating with producer and industry icon Tony Berg (who worked most recently with Phoebe Bridgers). There are three Dever sisters in total, of which she confesses, “We’re all very different, but when the three of us are together people say it’s like an overload of Dever. We have so many inside jokes, everybody feels like a fourth wheel and it’s not fun for people sometimes.”

She admits to feeling much more vulnerable when it comes to music than acting. “Making music in general is a very vulnerable thing. I think it’s even sometimes more vulnerable than acting because it’s literally your own personal diary being put out into the world for people to listen to. Acting is super fulfilling and works one part of my brain and music works another part — I love switching back and forth. But I’ve learned so much about myself in making music, and it’s also been another way to bond with my sister.”

The two of them were already close (“We always say that I have half of Mady’s brain and she has half of my brain. We’re always thinking of the same thing at once, it’s like we’re the same person”) but making music together has brought them even closer. Mady even joined her sister in Australia while Dever filmed Ticket to Paradise in the Whitsundays. They lived on Hamilton Island throughout the production, which took place just as the pandemic border closures were lifted, meaning the rest of their family could visit too. The Devers spent Christmas together in Byron Bay. (Fun fact: their dad is also an actor who played Barney the Dinosaur for a stint.) “Oh my god, we loved it so much. It was one of the best Christmases we’ve ever had. And shooting in the Whitsundays was just gorgeous. Breathtakingly gorgeous. Getting to live on a tiny island and drive around on golf carts was just a dream. We were shooting a movie, but I also felt like my life was a movie,” she enthuses, before adding, “Great coffee in Australia… Best coffee I ever had.”

Source: instyleaustralia.com.au