 Peter DaCunha At 6 years old he began acting in commercials and has since transitioned into the world of film and television. His young career quickly took off, with guest appearances in Rookie Blue, Alphas, Against the wall, Flashpoint, The Listener, The Rick Mercer Show and television movies such as, "Mistletoe Over Manhattan", Disney's "Frenemies", "Home Alone 5", "Holidaze" and "Pete's Christmas". Peter can also be seen in Darren Bousman's, "The Barrens" with Stephen Moyer and Mia Kirshner, Damian Lee's "A Dark Truth" with Andy Garcia, Forrest Whitaker and Eva Longoria, and Vincenzo Natali's "Haunter" with Abigail Breslin, Peter Outerbridge, Michelle Nolden and Stephen McHattie. In the last two years he had a leading role in Jordan Barker's "Torment" with Katherine Isabel and Robin Dunne, and a recurring role as Prince Charles of France, in the CW Network's series Reign. Most recently, Peter filmed a pilot written by Ricky Blitt and Johnny Galecki; worked with veteran actor Christopher Plummer in the feature film "Remember"; and completed a leading role in the piece "The Box", directed by Jovanka Vuckovic, as part of the horror anthology XX. "Hellions", with Chloe Rose and Robert Patrick and directed by Bruce Macdonald, is set to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2015. Hello Peter, how are things with you? Everything is great! Thank you. If you don’t mind we’ll start with some basic getting to know you questions. I see you grew up in Toronto, a lovely city, do you have any lasting memories of your time there? I actually still live in the Toronto area and plan on staying here for a while. I have lots of family and friends close by. What is your current favorite album to listen to? I really like Hedley and Imagine Dragons And what have been some of your favorite films of the last year? Insurgent, Hunger Games Mocking jay part 1, Mission Impossible Rouge Nation and Antman What made you want to become an actor? My mom always told me that I loved watching movies when I was little. I did a little community theatre and really loved it. My sister is a singer and was getting an agent and I went with. The agent asked me if I would like to do it but my mom thought I was too young. I was only 6 yrs. old. She agreed to let me try and I loved it! It must be traumatic enough going through the audition as an adult, how do you cope with the pressures of this? Maybe I am weird but I have always liked auditions. I am always a little nervous but it is so exciting to read scripts and try different characters. And how do you keep yourself busy while waiting to go in? It is usually not a long wait because I have a specific time for my audition so I just read over my lines a couple of times before I go in You have appeared in a lot productions, how do you balance your private life and time with working on set. Homework must be a right pain? When I am on set, I have a teacher with me who works with me one on one so it is pretty easy to stay caught up with my schoolwork. My teachers at school are very helpful and get my work together for me so that I can do it on set if I need to. Homework is always a pain when you go to school...hahahah I always have lots of time to spend with friends and I take part in different activities too. What would you say was your big break in terms of getting noticed by production companies? That’s a hard one. I have had so many awesome jobs. I am not going to be right for every part so I am very grateful when I get chosen. I think being polite, kind and professional is what helps get anyone noticed. An actor has to constantly develop and evolve how do you think you have developed in your acting career? I like to watch movies and watch how actors portray a character. You can learn a lot by watching other people. And do you ever look back and cringe at some of your earlier appearances. I It is hard to watch yourself but I have had so much fun. I was only 8 yrs. old when I did The Barrens, which was directed by Darren Bousman, and I have so many happy memories  If you don’t mind I would like to talk about your horror film appearances? You have appeared in a number of horror films, The Barrens, Haunter, Hellions, Torment, and the upcoming XX. Are you a fan of horror, and what is it about you that appeals to you? I love horror! Everyone on set keeps the mood light and it’s a lot of fun. It kind of feels like family on set. Its fun to be scared by things that are not real. If you could appear in any horror film past or present what would be your first choice, and what role in the film would you like to play? Well, I have only seen my own horror movies and some that are more kid friendly so I don’t really know the answer to that one. There is obviously a level of detachment when making a horror film that isn’t present when you watch one, thanks to all the production staff, cameras, and lights etc being on set. But I have always wondered with younger actors, do you ever get scared or scarred by what you see going on? Do you have some sort of support network available to you? It’s not scary at all! My mom was actually worried about that when I got the part on The Barrens. She met with Darren and he was so great that my mom said yes. She is always with me on set and the Directors will always go over everything with her before we film. It is always a lot of fun. It is important to have someone who can watch out for you if you are a kid actor. We have people from the union come to set to make sure everything is safe, fun and that I am being taken care of. I have made friends with a lot of the crew and I always see a few people I know on every set so its great! Was there ever a time when you truly terrified by what you saw on set? I really have never been scared. Everyone is so nice. If I had been scared my parents wouldn’t let me do it anymore You have just finished filming Hellions. Could you tell us about what the film is about and the role that you play in it? Hellions is about Dora, who is played by Chloe Rose, who finds out she is pregnant on Halloween. I play her younger brother Remi, who goes out “trick or treating” with my mother, Rachel Wilson, while Dora stays at home. Soon evil “Trick or Treaters” come knocking at the door  The film is set around Halloween, Why is Halloween such a huge thing over on your side of the pond? It is so much fun! We dress up and get candy (who wouldn’t love that?) Is the film a straight up home invasion / slasher film or is their a more supernatural element to the film, or would that be giving too much away? I would say more supernatural! Do you have any horror stories of your time trick or treating, or as we call it in Scotland Guising? I don’t really have any horror stories. Some people really decorate their houses a lot and may jump out and scare you. It’s a lot of fun and we laugh a lot You star opposite Robert Patrick in Hellions, were you ever tempted to finish a conversation with him with “I’ll be back”? Hahahha! I actually didn’t have any scenes with Robert Patrick but if I see him this Thursday at The Toronto International Film Festival, I will say it to him! Why do you think we should watch the film, what are the films strong points? Bruce Macdonald is such a great director. The cast is all great and the special effects are awesome! I have a really cool stunt that involved a 12 ft. scaffold! The film has now wrapped and you and the rest of the cast and crew and in promotion mode. How do you feel about this side of the acting coin? I have only done a few interviews in the past so this is different for me. It’s much easier when you have a script! :D I walked my first red carpet last night for the movie “Remember” with Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, Dean Norris, Henry Czerny and Bruno Ganz. I was nervous at first because so many people were taking photos but after a few minutes I was having so much fun signing autographs and talking to all the media. It was pretty awesome! Can you tell us what you are working on next? I am on 12 Monkeys for season 2 which we are still filming. I play Ramses’ (Kirk Acevedo) son. That will air in January. Thank you Peter for taking part in this interview, do you have any final words for the readers of Nuts of horror? Thanks for being horror fans! ☺ Comments are closed.
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