Dylan McDermott: 50 is the new 40

Text & Photos: Shah Salimat
Video: Fiona Lin

Dylan McDermott may have hit the big 5-0, but there is little that reflects so. The youthful-looking actor, with his shirt unbuttoned just so, said to xinmsn in an interview that he does not feel like his age and takes a leaf out of what his father experiences to justify his current state of being.

“I asked my dad the other day “How old do you feel?” and he said “35”, so I think people get stuck in that place where even though you do age, you somehow still feel of a certain age and don’t move off that. I want to be around to watch my kids grow up, so it’s important to not abuse yourself. I see people who look so old before their time,” said Dylan.

Dylan is here in Singapore to officiate the opening of the ‘Beauty of a Second’ exhibition by Montblanc at the Mandarin Gallery flagship store. Dylan managed to get leave from the filming of the second season of American Horror Story (AHS) to attend the launch. He guest stars in this season, as opposed to fronting the first season. Yes, he also knows his nude scenes have been screencapped on Tumblr and is “not naïve” about them.

In our interview yesterday at the Montblanc flagship, Dylan said director Ryan Murphy called him about the new part last month. “I gotta tell you: this character I’m playing now, there’s been a few moments where I’ve had to detox and sort of get my head on straight. As an actor, the roles you play whether you know then or not, may affect your moods as well as the way you treat people and yourself. Some people can separate it but I carry characters around with me. This character’s blowing my mind,” admitted Dylan.'