Dylan Mackenzie Saunders (born April 8, 1987) is an American actor, singer, and voice actor. He is best known for his role as Dick Rile on the HBO drama "Perry Mason," and as Joseph Sturridge on AMC's "Turn: Washington’s Spies." He is a co-founding member of the theatre company Team Starkid.
Early Life and Education[]
Saunders was born in San Francisco, California, performing in theatre and school plays, including William Inge's "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs." As a member of American Conservatory Theatre’s Young Conservatory, Saunders went on to perform at the Connections Festival at London’s National Theatre. It was at A.C.T. where Saunders met and befriended fellow actor Darren Criss in a high school acting class, before going on to obtain his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan, where he reunited with Criss to form what would later become StarKid Productions.
Work[]
In 2010, Saunders spent a season as a company member of Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, performing in "The Government Inspector," "Seven Keys to Baldpate," and "Pygmalion." Other theatre appearances include the revival of "The Steward of Christendom" at the Mark Taper Forum opposite Brian Dennehy, "The Lion In Winter," at Shakespeare Santa Cruz, the world premiere of "Everything That Never Happened" at Boston Court, and the revival of "Ragtime" at the Pasadena Playhouse, for which Dylan was nominated for an Ovation Award for Best Featured Actor In a Musical. Dylan also appeared as Prince Harry in the first American cast of "King Charles III" at Arizona Theatre Company.
Saunders has appeared in multiple recurring and guest roles on television, most notably as Teddy on "Doom Patrol" (HBO Max), Dick Rile on "Perry Mason" (HBO), Scruffy on "Magnum P.I.," (CBS), and Joseph Sturridge on "Turn: Washington's Spies" (AMC). Other appearances include "Chicago Fire" (NBC), and the Viola Davis produced short-form comedy "American Koko."
Starkid Productions[]
Dylan first met the members of Team StarKid while collaborating on plays at the University of Michigan. His StarKid debut was as Albus Dumbledore in A Very Potter Musical, which received millions of views in its opening summer. The show was subsequently written up on Entertainment Weekly's "Must List," and Dylan went on to become a founding company member in Team StarKid's inaugural season.
Dylan went on to reprise his role of Dumbledore in both A Very Potter Sequel and A Very Potter Senior Year. Other Team StarKid roles include Tootsie Noodles in Starship, Ja'far in Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier, Tom Tisdale in Movies, Musicals, & Me, Tom Houston in Black Friday, Gerald Monroe and others in Nightmare Time and Nightmare Time 2, Ebenezer Scrooge in both A VHS Christmas Carol and VHS Christmas Carol Live!. Dylan also served as producer for Nerdy Prudes Must Die. Dylan appears in Workin' Boys as Gerald Monroe and Leighton.
StarKid Roles[]
| Year | Production | Creative Role | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | A Very Potter Musical | N/A | Albus Dumbledore |
| 2010 | A Very Potter Sequel | Albus Dumbledore | |
| Death Eater | |||
| 2011 | Starship | Production Associate | Tootsie Noodles |
| Pincer | |||
| Bumbly | |||
| Bugette's Children | |||
| Totoro | |||
| 2012 | Holy Musical B@man! | N/A | Scarecrow |
| The Green Lantern | |||
| Mobster 2 | |||
| Egghead | |||
| Construction Worker | |||
| Gob | |||
| Narrator | |||
| A Very Potter Senior Year | Albus Dumbledore | ||
| 2013 | Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier | Ja'far | |
| 2017 | Movies, Musicals, & Me | Tom Tisdale | |
| 2019 | Black Friday | Tom Houston | |
| 2020 | Nightmare Time | Tom Houston | |
| Biker 1 | |||
| Passerby | |||
| CCRP Scientist 2 | |||
| Employee 1 | |||
| Security Guard | |||
| A VHS Christmas Carol | Ebenezer Scrooge | ||
| 2021 | Nightmare Time 2 | Director of Next Time music video (Yellow Jacket) | Sniggle |
| Gerald Monroe | |||
| Bob Metzger | |||
| Issac | |||
| Tom Houston | |||
| Bruno | |||
| Jeweler | |||
| VHS Christmas Carol Live! | Associate Producer | Ebenezer Scrooge | |
| 2023 | Nerdy Prudes Must Die | Producer | Gerald Monroe (proshot cameo) |
| Workin' Boys | N/A | Gerald Monroe | |
| Leighton |
Other StarKid Shows[]
| Year | Production | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | The SPACE Tour | Performer |
| 2012 | Apocalyptour | |
| 2014 | StarKid Takes Manhattan | |
| 2015 | A Very StarKid Reunion | |
| 2019 | StarKid Homecoming | |
| 2022 | The StarKid Jangle Ball Holiday Tour |
Personal Life[]
Dylan currently lives in Los Angeles. He married his wife Shashona Brooks in 2021.
Gallery
 Click here to view the gallery. |