Drama alumnus Dylan Arnold on building his career one role at a time

When Dylan Arnold (B.F.A. Drama ’15) returned to UNCSA last spring, it felt surprisingly familiar. Students hurried between classes dressed in rehearsal blacks, faculty guided scene work and classrooms buzzed with the same intensity he remembered as a drama student more than a decade ago. 

"It really felt like everyone was there to do the work," Arnold says after sitting in on a first-year acting class. "Everyone wants to be there, and everyone was prepared to put in the effort." 

For Arnold, who has built a successful career across film and television since graduating from the School of Drama, that commitment to craft remains the defining characteristic of UNCSA. It is also the foundation he continues to rely on while navigating an industry where actors often have only days to prepare, collaboration is essential and every new project presents another opportunity to learn.

A place built for the work 

Arnold's path to acting began long before college. Growing in Washington state, he discovered community theater as a child and quickly found a sense of belonging. "I kind of fell in love with it very early," he says. "It felt like a home away from home at the theater, which is what I eventually felt at UNCSA." 

After attending an arts boarding school, Arnold auditioned for several conservatories before visiting UNCSA. The school's focus on artistic development rather than appearances immediately stood out. "There were no fancy bells and whistles," he recalled. "Everybody was focused on their work." 

That atmosphere continued after he enrolled. Arnold describes the School of Drama as a place where students could safely experiment, take creative risks and develop their own artistic voices alongside rigorous conservatory training. 

Looking back, Arnold says he wishes he had taken even greater advantage of opportunities by directing and writing his own work.  "I'd tell students to do it all," he says. "Direct, write, it doesn't need to be good. It just needs to be true and honest to you."  

Building a career one project at a time 

Since graduating, Arnold has steadily established himself across film and television, appearing in projects including "Halloween," "Halloween Kills," "Oppenheimer" and the hit series "You." While the roles have varied, Arnold says his training at UNCSA continues to shape every project. "The school gave me a tool belt," he says. "It gave me something to fall back on." 

That preparation has proved especially valuable in film and television, where actors often receive scripts only days before shooting begins and must arrive on set ready to adapt. "You do all the work," Arnold explains. "Then you show up with ideas, but you've got to be ready to throw it all out." 

Rather than teaching a single acting philosophy, he says UNCSA introduced students to multiple techniques and encouraged them to discover what worked best for them. That flexibility has allowed him to adjust to different directors, productions and creative styles throughout his career. 

Some of his most meaningful lessons, he admits, didn't fully register until years after graduation. "There were moments four years later where I'd think, 'Oh, that's what they meant,'" he says." 

Over time, his understanding of acting has also evolved. Instead of chasing emotional performances, Arnold now focuses on physical sensations and truthful behavior. "I think audiences don't want to see someone feeling emotion," he says. "They want to see someone trying not to feel emotion, and then it escapes."

He also encourages young actors to stop seeking approval and instead embrace their own artistic instincts. "Make strong choices," Arnold says. "Don't try to be the good student. If you make a bold choice, people remember you." 

A new challenge in "Born to Lose" 

Arnold's latest leading role offered exactly the kind of creative challenge he had been looking for. 

In "Born to Lose," which was nomimated for Best International Feature at the Raindance Film Festival, Arnold plays a man searching for purpose while navigating the culture of a small-town motorcycle community. The role marked a departure from many of the "boy next door" characters he has portrayed throughout his career. 

"I've done a lot of those roles," Arnold says. "I wanted something that would challenge me and honestly make me question if I could do it." He was drawn to the screenplay's emotional honesty and its exploration of universal human experiences through a world that was unfamiliar to him. 

"It felt like a small story but a big story at the same time," he says. "When you tell a good story, it's a human experience. It doesn't matter where you're from." 

 

 

 

 

 

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Director Joseph Zentil quickly recognized the preparation Arnold brought to the role. "One thing that really impressed me about Dylan was how psychologically prepared he was," Zentil says. "We started every day at the baseline, and there was no ceiling." 

For Zentil, that preparation created room for spontaneity once filming began. "The moments of cinematic magic happen when everyone is so prepared that it gives you the ability to discover something new," he says. 

Arnold credits UNCSA with teaching him that balance between preparation and flexibility. "You want to know the character so well that you can forget all the work," he says. "Show up with an idea and then be ready to let everyone else's ideas shape it too." 

That collaborative process became one of the film's greatest strengths, with actor and director continually refining scenes based on discoveries made during rehearsals and on set. 

Carrying the UNCSA community forward 

Although Arnold's career has taken him far beyond Winston-Salem, he says the connections forged at UNCSA continue to influence his professional life. 

Whenever he encounters fellow alumni on a production, there is an immediate understanding. "There's kind of a shorthand," he explains. "'Oh, you went there. You know what you're doing.'" He believes that shared experience extends beyond technical training. "You carry this artistic love that you have at the school into your professional life," Arnold says. 

Zentil, who visited the School of Drama while attending the RiverRun International Film Festival, was equally struck by the culture he observed. "I didn't see one cell phone," he says after sitting in on a class. "Everyone was completely engaged." The experience also highlighted for him the value of actors and filmmakers learning from one another throughout their training. "It gives everyone a shared language," he says. "The collaboration becomes stronger." 

As Arnold looks toward the future, he hopes to continue seeking projects that surprise him rather than chasing a predetermined career path. "I like keeping a blue sky," he says. "I never know exactly what I want to do next because I want to stay open to something I haven't even imagined yet." 

Be unapologetically yourself. This industry revolves around uniqueness. That's what people remember.

Dylan Arnold

That openness, paired with the discipline he developed at UNCSA, continues to guide his work. "The last few years I've tried to enjoy the process," Arnold says. "If it's a great movie, wonderful. If not, that's OK too. Every story finds its audience." 

For current students preparing to launch their own careers, his advice is simple. "Be unapologetically yourself," he says. "This industry revolves around uniqueness. That's what people remember." 

By Melissa Upton-Julio

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