Interview with Kyle MacLachlan & Kaitlyn Dias of Inside Out

The big day is finally here! Inside Out is out today on Blu-ray {& DVD} and I can not wait for you all to see the amazing bonus features! One of my favorites is “Riley’s First Date?”, a short that brings us into the minds of Riley’s parents as they try to figure out if the mysterious boy downstairs is Riley’s friend- or something more.

While Inside Out may have brought on all the feels, this short mostly just brings on all the laughs. By the end of this short film, I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard! It will definitely be entertaining for kids, but it has a lot in there for the grown-ups. It’s not inappropriate, it just relates the mind of an adult so well and in such a funny way that every adult will appreciate it, whether they have kids or not.

Last week I shared my interview with the voices of Inside Out’s Bing Bong {Richard Kind} and Sadness {Phyllis Smith}. That same day, I had the amazing opportunity to interview the voice that brings them all together- Riley- as well as her dad!

Riley is played by Kaitlyn Dias, a newcomer to the industry who originally was just going to be the “scratch voice”. {A scratch voice is a temporary voice used during production, before the actual actor is cast and brought in to perform.} The crew of Inside Out liked her as Riley so much that they decided to keep her on!

Riley’s dad, on the other hand, is played by seasoned actor Kyle MacLachlan. He has a lot of experience as an actor but not as much experience in kids’ films or as a voice actor, so it was a new experience for him as well. Read on to find out how Kaitlyn felt about her big role, their favorite emotions, and what message they want parents to get from Inside Out!

So, there’s been some online polls about Disney dads, and apparently your character is the Number One Hottest Disney Dad. Do you have a statement about this?

Kyle: Well, that’s pretty good. You know, I’ll reign for a couple more weeks and then someone, of course, will knock me off from first. It’s all about the mustache when it comes down to it. I wish I could grow one.

What drew you to this script? What made you want to do Inside Out?

Kaitlyn: Well, when they first brought me on, I didn’t get to see the full script. Even after I’d signed a nondisclosure agreement, because they still were working on the full script, because they brought me on as the scratch voice.

So, how amazing was it to stay on for the full feature film and now for the short after being one of those initial scratch voices?

Kaitlyn: It really blew my mind. I was 11 at the time and I’m just like, “I’m gonna be a part of a Disney film!” At first I was like, “No one’s gonna see me, but still it’s gonna be cool.”

And then, and then when I got the news that I was gonna be on the full feature film, I was like, “Whoaaaa.”

Were you able to really relate with Riley and the script and bring a lot of maybe what you’ve gone through when you were younger?

Kaitlyn: I knew what it felt like to have to move away from friends a little bit. Although I didn’t physically move, I changed schools in elementary school. So, I left a lot of my friends and went to a different school for a little bit, but I eventually went back,because the academics were better at the original school I went to. So, my mom wanted me there.

Was, was this your first time voice acting?

Kaitlyn: It was.

Kyle: I’d done a couple of things, nothing of this scale though. This was a first time for me, too.

So, what drew you to this movie?

Kyle: Well, when Pixar calls- it’s hard to say no. The early conversations that I had with Jonas and Pete were really intriguing. I was just curious as to how they were going to tell this story, and that evolved over the course of the year and a half that I was involved. It didn’t change a whole lot from what they brought to me but there were subtle changes and shifts. The collaboration felt really natural and good.

Did the work on this movie change your perspective on emotions and how you view them?

Kaitlyn: A little bit, yes. The concept of it definitely gets inside your head, especially after watching it. It was just like, “Oh, Joy must be at the controls now.” It sort of gets into the way you think about your own thoughts.

Kyle: Very true. That was true also in speaking with Kalum, my son, about it. He would begin to say, “Oh, my Anger side.” So he would recognize the emotion obviously and identify with it, and be able to discern who was sort of guiding his attitude at the time.

Who’s your favorite emotion, and why?

Kaitlyn: I’m gonna have to go with Anger, because he has hilarious facial expressions. Plus the fact that he explodes and you make s’mores off of him.

Kyle: I like Joy. I tend to be in Joy mode most of the time, I think.

Now that you’ve done voice acting, do you want to do more in the future?

Kyle: Yes, it’s really nice. You can go in your pajamas.  Just walk in, you know. You don’t have to comb your hair. They like you to brush your teeth though, because you’re working with a microphone.

What were your approaches for the voices themselves?

Kaitlyn: Well, since it was over a long period of time for me- I was working on it for four years- of course, my voice changed a little bit. So, over time I had to actually make my voice a little bit higher to make it sound younger, because I’m 16 now and Riley’s 11. So, it’s a bit of a time difference.

What do you think is the most important message for parents to take away from the film?

Kyle: When I saw the film, I found it incredibly emotional, surprisingly emotional. And I was seriously moved a couple times. You know, as an adult, you’re revisiting territory that you aren’t going to be able to experience except in a movie like this. You don’t wanna go back into those worlds because they’re very painful.

And you recognize that in order for your child or whoever to grow, there are painful things they’re going to have to go through. And I think the acceptance of that and realizing that ultimately the thing that’s going to make it easier is just to have to be present as a family and to be there. Sometimes you don’t have any answers. You just have to go through and you just have to experience it. And then the resiliency of the human spirit will carry you.

Kaitlyn: I think I’d just say to the parents watching this, make sure that you can try and make sure that you can recognize when your own child’s going through this so that you can make sure that you’re there for them and make sure that they know that you are supporting them.

Inside Out is available now on Digital, Blu-ray & DVD!

Love Inside Out? Don’t miss this deleted scene, my interview with the Director & Producer, interview with Bing Bong & Sadness, these Inside Out party ideas or these free Inside Out coloring pages!

Who did you most relate to in Inside Out?