Since wrapping up his role as a lycanthropic high school student in MTV’s popular thriller Teen Wolf, which ended its six-year run last fall, Tyler Posey has gone from being a teen idol to a leading man. And while his latest starring role in the Blumhouse-produced horror flick Truth or Dare opposite Pretty Little Liars alum Lucy Hale may be an anxiety-inducing play on the titular middle-school game, Posey says the film represents a newfound maturity level for him as an actor.
“It was definitely refreshing, acting wise,” he says. “My character on Teen Wolf dealt with every sort of demonic character possible, so there were no surprises and he just became conditioned. But Lucas, my character in Truth or Dare, this is first time experiencing this sort of insanity, so I wanted him to be grounded and to portray how a normal person would act in this situation.”
The situation, as it were, is no ordinary game of Truth or Dare. The film follows a group of college students, including ringleaders Olivia (Lucy Hale) and Lucas (Tyler Posey), heading to Mexico and indulging host of spring break-y group activities. After drinking and rollicking, the group meets a stranger who initiates a game of Truth or Dare, which, thanks to an evil force introduced by the stranger, quickly escalates into a life-or-death roulette; any player who fails to divulge a truth or execute a dare meets a violent death.
Tyler Posey and Lucy Hale (photo: still from Truth or Dare © Universal)
As heightened as the premise may be, the cast, somewhat accidentally, prepared by dabbling in a bit of method acting. As a kind of bonding exercise, the cast took an overnight trip to Rosarito, Mexico, documenting the experience on their phones for what would become the film’s opening sequence. “We didn’t know what we were going to use it for or if it would work, but they ended up using everything,” says Posey. “It was our first time rehearsing or being in character. And then we improvised. It worked so naturally and we really hit it off as a cast and were friends almost immediately.”
Life imitating art didn’t end there for the cast, which also includes Sophia Ali (Faking It) and Nolan Gerard Funk (Glee); despite Truth or Dare’s cautionary script, the cast opted to play a round of IRL Truth or Dare. “We had to try a game of Truth or Dare, so at the end of the night we all got in the hotel Jacuzzi after it was closed,” says Posey. “It didn’t get too crazy—no one stripped. Sophia danced on a table. I jumped into a pool.” And while the actors’ game may not have awakened any ancient curses, it did, like the movie, involve a shifty stranger. “There was some random dude in the Jacuzzi with us who had the biggest smile on his face,” Posey recalls. “He thought we were going to sell him weed or something. It was a weird moment.”
To test fate yourself, see Truth or Dare on its superstitious opening date, April 13—a.k.a. Friday the 13th.
Main image: Tyler Posey (photo: still from Truth or Dare © Universal)
