VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: Dylan Sprouse & Callan McAuliffe Reflect On Masculinity In Their Film ‘The Duel’

Actors Dylan Sprouse and Callan McAuliffe discussed the nature of modern masculinity in their new comedy/drama, The Duel, in their new uInterview.

The Duel follows a young man who learns that his best friend has had an affair with his girlfriend. In response, the main character challenges his friend to a classic contest – a gentlemanly duel to the death.

McAuliffe delved into his experience, communicating his character’s perspective on screen. “In many ways, he’s not so dissimilar from myself,” he told uInterview founder Erik Meers. “You know, he’s a big fan of history, he’s a touch pretentious, he’s driven when he learns of his girlfriend’s infidelity, with, of all people, his best friend, that essence within his, that desire to not settle for ‘It is what it is,’ and to actually really do something about it, that comes to the forefront.”

He added, “It was a joy to play him and it was one of the easier characters for me to become and identify with.”

Sprouse said of his own role: “I think with my character, we made an amalgamation of the people I knew from the beach communities growing up and a little bit more of a chiller vibe… I think the characters are both a blast to play.”

Both actors shared their favorite behind-the-scene moments. McAuliffe said, “During the filming of the duel there’s a countdown and, for much of my life, I’ve been familiar with duels throughout history and the concept in itself. So something bubbled up when the countdown began, and it was certainly the closest to danger I’ve felt for awhile that was an interesting psycho-chemical response that I wasn’t expecting.”

He explained, “The nerves I was feeling in that moment were not those of an actor on set, that was someone about to put their life on the line for something they believed in.” McAuliffe added of the experience, “I’m a pretty surface-level actor for the most part,” and Sprouse interrupted good-naturedly “That’s for sure!”

Sprouse recalled, “I don’t know if you remember, but the boys very accidentally saved that scene for virtually the very end of the movie’s production cycle, so all of the previous month of change that we had, bonding and hanging and filming, actually did build to that point. So that was a really cool moment. I particularly liked – we shot this in Indiana and Indiana has a wealth of really untapped, interesting locations to shoot in.”

The Duel is now available to stream on all major platforms.

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