Why Sam From Into The Dark: Tentacles Looks So Familiar
Hulu's latest exclusive show, Into the Dark, is a horror anthology for all seasons. Each episode is themed around a specific holiday. You've got episodes based on your standard holidays such as Halloween and Christmas, as well as more obscure celebrations like Pet Appreciation Week. Since Valentine's Day is just around the corner, Into the Dark has another love-themed episode in the chamber that is bound to make you squirm.
Simply titled Tentacles, Into the Dark's latest episode tells the story of Sam and his new girlfriend (Dana Drori). According to the trailer, the episode will involve strange scars, hallucinations, yellow eyes, and tinnitus. The video is pretty cryptic, even by trailer standards, and raises numerous questions, not the least of which is why the man who plays Sam looks so familiar.
The "romantic" lead in this chilling tale is played by an actor named Casey Deidrick, a low-key veteran of the small screen.
Deidrick got started with 90210
You probably first saw Casey Deidrick on 90210 – not Beverly Hills, 90210 but its 2008 revival, which removed "Beverly Hills" from the title. He played the bit part of Julian in the episode "Of Heartbreaks and Hotels" and never appeared on the show again. Deidrick also joined the cast of Wizards of Waverly Place for a small role around this time. He filled the shoes of Sal in "Don't Rain on Justin's Parade – Earth," and just as he did on 90210, Deidrick never showed up in another episode of the show.
Deidrick's early career is filled with guest spots like these, small parts on notable shows such as Aaron Lux on the Body of Proof episode "Home Invasion" and Chip on the Glee episode "Sweet Dreams." Continuing the running theme of Deidrick's previous roles, these were also one-shot portrayals that never recurred in subsequent episodes. However, despite the small scope of Deidrick's early roles, he demonstrated his acting range, switching between heartfelt drama to quirky comedy as needed.
Casey Deidrick is a soap star
While you might assume Casey Deidrick started off with bit parts because casting directors wanted to test him before handing out anything big, that wasn't exactly true. While he was busy with these small roles in primetime, Deidrick got his big break in one of the biggest daytime shows in television history.
From 2009 to 2013, Deidrick appeared in 874 episodes of Days of Our Lives. He was the first actor to play Chad Michael DiMera, currently filled by Billy Flynn. Deidrick went through a lot of storylines during his tenure as DiMera. The character started off wanting to reconnect with his ex-girlfriend, but as is standard with soap operas, his life went off the rails. He learned about a baby he had with his ex-girlfriend. Then he discovered that his baby was replaced with another one and that his real baby was dead. DiMera also had to watch his mother die, deal with more girlfriends and their stalkers, and turn a coffee shop into a nightclub.
Thanks to his acting talent, Deidrick elevated DiMera to one of Days of Our Lives' most popular characters in the 2000s (via TV Source). More importantly, Deidrick demonstrated that he was up to the task of large leading roles.
Casey Deidrick hacked Eye Candy
Two years after leaving Days of Our Lives, Diedrick starred in an MTV crime thriller based on a book by famed children's author R. L. Stine.
Eye Candy was a short-lived crime show about a hacker, Lindy (Victoria Justice), who ventures into the undiscovered territory of online dating while searching for her missing sister. As Lindy begins to suspect that a man she met is a cyber stalker and murderer (who is also connected to her sister), the local police department reaches the same conclusion and teams up with her to track him down. Lindy works with Detective Tommy Calligan, brought to life by Casey Deidrick, and the two form a romantic relationship.
Despite the acting talents of Justice and Deidrick and relatively strong reviews, Eye Candy was canceled after its first season. While the show wrapped up with Detective Calligan arresting the cyber stalker, it never answered the mystery of Lindy's missing sister.
Deidrick was on In the Dark, not to be confused with Into the Dark
When you started this article and saw that Casey Deidrick plays Sam on Into the Dark: Tentacles, you might have wondered why this is newsworthy since he is already on that show. If so, you probably confused Into the Dark with Deidrick's last project, the CW show In the Dark. An understandable mistake, given the titles' similarities.
While Deidrick doesn't have a leading role on In the Dark, he still plays the important recurring character Max Parish, a food truck owner who helps and forms a growing relationship with the show's protagonist Murphy Mason, played by Perry Mattfield. Like Deidrick, Mattfeld also had a bit part in Wizards of Waverly Place early in her career. Acting is a small world, isn't it?
Since Max Parish is still alive on In the Dark, odds are Casey Deidrick will return to play him in future seasons. Into the Dark: Tentacles, on the other hand, will likely be Deidrick's one and only appearance on the anthology series — but it looks like he'll leave his mark.