Emilie Bierre and Caleb Dolden play two siblings living in a mysterious and nightmarish time in the new series Teacup, which was released on Peacock on October 10. Before the series release, we got to chat with Emilie, who plays Meryl Chenoweth and Caleb who plays Arlo Chenoweth to learn more about what they learned from each other as actors and what they are most excited for people to see in Teacup.
Teacup is a loose adaptation of Robert McCammon’s novel Stinger and comes from executive producer and horror aficionado James Wan. The series follows a group of neighbors trapped on a farm in rural Georgia. They must put their differences aside and unite in the face of a mysterious and deadly threat. In addition to Emilie and Caleb, the show stars Yvonne Strahovski (The Handmaid’s Tale and The Tomorrow War) as Maggie, Scott Speedman (The Strangers) as James Chenoweth, and more!
Caleb: “I am excited for people to see the entire show and just how far we go in everything.”
Both Caleb and Emilie are up and coming talent and new to the filmmaking scene. Emilie found acclaim for her role in the 2018 drama A Colony and has worked in numerous roles in the independent Canadian industry. Teacup serves as Caleb’s first major role, but he has had small roles including in the 2020 horror film Follow Me and on General Hospital.
Given the horror and mysterious nature of the series, both Emilie and Caleb said their roles pushed them to the limits but they learned a lot. Emilie has been acting since she was five-years old and this was her first ever project in America but enjoyed being a role model and friend to Caleb. Caleb said he learned how to cry on command from Emilie.
Caleb: “I learned a lot from Émilie , I learned how to cry on command better.”
Émilie: “[Caleb] kept me grounded and we both learned a lot throughout the process.”
We love to ask cast mates to describe each other’s characters, and Emilie and Caleb found a lot of similarities between Arlo and Meryl. Emilie described Arlo as brave, smart, and curious and Caleb echoed very similar things, calling Meryl brave, smart and emotionally strong.
Teacup is filled with some intense scenes, and both Caleb and Emilie said they did not get scared on set and learned to channel their acting through reading their script from front to back and being prepared to react in the moment to the scenery and set.
“[Acting scared] is really about being in the moment and reacting to what you’re seeing or what you have to imagine.”
Even if you aren’t the biggest horror fan, Emilie said Teacup has a great balance of scary elements with grounded family and relationship drama, and both her and Caleb are excited for fans to see how they went all the way with their characters.
Émilie: “We just go all out with the finale and that was so exciting to do and I’m so excited for people to see it.”
Thank you, Emilie and Caleb, for chatting with Young Entertainment! Make sure to follow them on their Instagram’s at @emiliebierreofficial and @caleb_dolden. Watch the rest of the interview where we ask them more about their tips for acting scared and what they learned from each other as actors. While you’re there, be sure to like and subscribe to our channel for the latest news in young entertainment.
Consider this:
- The key to acting scared is to put yourself in your character’s shoes at that moment and take advantage of the scenery around you.