Q&A: Vancouver's Alison Thornton cheers on Netflix's Dare Me

Vancouver actor Alison Thornton took on the crazy world of cheerleading in Netflix's Dare Me.

Dare Me. Netflix show with Vancouver actor Alison Thornton. 2019 ORG XMIT: Season:1 Courtesy USA Network / Rafy/USA Network

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Dare Me

When: Screening now

Where: Netflix.com

Based on the Edgar Award-winning taut thriller novel of the same name by author Megan Abbott, the USA Network teen drama Dare Me is a twisted tale of the dark underbelly of small town Sutton Grove’s cheerleading squad that is far better than the football team it cheers for. Examining the levels of layered cruelty between competitive teenage girls, the show is Friday Night (broken) Lights meets Pretty Little Liars.

Vancouver actor Alison Thornton played the character of Tacy Cassidy in the series. Half-sister to machiavellian cheer squad captain Beth Cassidy (Marlo Kelly), Tacy doesn’t have it easy.

Thornton first gained recognition playing Zooey Hernandez Frumpkis in Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce. She also appeared as Lydia Spring in Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency.

She was in Los Angeles when the first stage of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns began. Sensing it was “get out or get stuck” time, she flew back to B.C., where she has been staying with family and doing “a lot of reading.”

Thornton, 20, chatted with Postmedia about working on Dare Me and the wild world of pro cheerleading.

Q: Tacy is in that obviously-next-in-line place on the squad and pushed hard. Did the athleticism come naturally to you?

A: No. Everyone had to workout really hard, incredibly hard, to prepare and even then it was a challenge. I never really knew about how huge the whole cheerleading scene is in the U.S., and in Toronto where we filmed. There were cast members who were pros and they are incredible athletes who travel all over the world competing in one of the most dangerous sports ever. I think the show did a really good job of showing how hard cheerleading can be.

Q: As sibling rivalry goes, you andBeth aren’t close. She calls Tacy “fetus” and harasses her endlessly, is there still a grudging respect between the two characters?

A: Beth can’t be on top forever as she’ll eventually graduate. Tacy is ready to get out of her shadow and literally secure a spot at the top of the pyramid. She’s always trying to move ahead. What’s funny is how mean Marlo Kelly, who plays Beth, and I are to each other on set when we are actually best friends and roommates in L.A.

Q: Everyone seems to loathe the small town the show is set in. The cheerleaders are looking at using what they do as a way out, the young male football players are thinking the same, and there are the military recruiters waiting in the wings, too. Do you think it is that bad in real life?

A: My mother came from a small town in the American Midwest and she said that growing up all she wanted to do was leave. And she did, without having a clear plan either. I think that the show looks at that dynamic pretty deeply. Obviously, some small towns are great, too.

Q: For someone still in their 20s, you’ve done a lot of acting. How was it working with a world famous former Hobbit (Elijah Wood)?

A: It was so great to be acting with him in Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. The Lord of the Rings trilogy are some of my very favourite movies and I’m a huge fan of Dirk Gently author Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I was so incredibly nervous to work with Elijah on the show, but he is the nicest person to know and to work with. That was an important show for my career.

Q: With things on hold in the film and TV business in Hollywood and in Hollywood North, what have you been doing to keep busy?

A: Honestly, it’s been pretty great being home and being able to hang out with my family. We get out hiking, biking and so on. It’s wait and see until travel opens up again.




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