"90210's" Tristan Wilds Talks All Things Dixon!

We just got off the phone with very cute "90210" actor Tristan Wilds who keeps winning us over as adopted teen Dixon who is dealing with his identity crisis, still trying to truly fit in in Bev Hills and getting in trouble with Navid (Michael Steger).  

During the call, Tristan confided to us that he's working on some music to release to the fans and is finishing up a key part in the cool George Star Wars, Lucas' actioner about the famed African-American WW II combat fliers the Tuskegee Airmen.  

Picture Tristan kicking back on a break from the show calling from his home in NYC. We just remembered that he co-starred with Dakota Fanning in a film and hadta ask......

TeenTelevision: First off, Dakota Fanning is really in the news now due to The Runaways. She was your Secret Life of Bees costar but she has really grown up quickly lately. What was working with her like? She was probably 13 or 14 then?

Tristan: I haven't gotten to see (The Runaways) yet.  I think she was 14 and she was cool, really very professional. You could see that she was still a kid at heart and I loved that about her but when it comes down to work, it's time for work and she's very focused. I appreciated that so much.

TeenTelevision: On to wazzup on "90210". I think that plan Navid had to get Jasper kicked out of school backfired on you guys or am I wrong?  

Tristan: (laughs) We planted the stuff. I helped him (Navid) get the locker combination but he got caught, was arrested. Jasper switched the stuff from his locker back into Navid's.  

TeenTelevision: Sneaky Jasper! So we assume you guys are not through trying to get rid of him though?

Tristan: There's definitely going to be animosity between us and Jasper for the whole season.  But what happens to Jasper, you guys are gonna have to wait and see.

TeenTelevision: How has Dixon changed since early in the series?

Tristan: In the beginning, he was just a nice, little sweet kid trying to fit into Beverly Hills, get used to his surroundings.

TeenTelevision: Like the "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" only Bev Hills?

Tristan: (laughs) Yeah.  He was just trying to get used to everything around him. I guess he was a lot more accommodating. Now, he's trying to find out who he is as a person and find out more about his life before he was with the Wilsons.

TeenTelevision: What do you wish the showrunners and writers would let Dixon do at some point?

Tristan: Every time I would think of something, it would pop up in a script. I would love to see him really try to go find who his dad is.  He's met his mom and has a relationship with the mom so I would love to see him try to find his dad. We'll see.

TeenTelevision: Who do you hang out with most from the show off-set? Michael?

Tristan: Usually it's Michael (Steger). Sometimes Matt (Lanter). I hang out with Shenae (Grimes) every now and then.  I see Jessica (Lowndes) I see her a lot.  she lives really, really close to me. I see my old castmate Dustin (Milligan). I always hang out with him. We really are one big family.

TeenTelevision: What was the most fun episode for you to film so far?

Tristan: I think the very first episode where we started surfing. I'd never surfed before. I'm a New York boy.  I'm used to trains, buses, taxis. I'm not used to things that float in the water with me on them! (laugh). They gave us like two or three training lessons.  I got pretty good at it but we got in that water and it was something completely different.

TeenTelevision; Do you still surf for fun then?

Tristan: Oh yeah. It's really a relaxing experience to get a chance to be in the water with nothing around and just floating.  It just calms me.

TeenTelevision: What is a typical day on set like for you.. the make-up trailer then what?

Tristan: Right, I go to the make-up trailer and we chit chat about this and that (for the day's shoot). In and out of there and I go into my trailer and read my lines over and over to get them right in my head. I read them the night before, then when I get to work , I read them again to make sure they are in my mind.  Then I go to set and we rehearse it real fast and they set up the lights. Then it's time for 'action'.

TeenTelevision: How are you personally like Dixon and how very different?

Tristan: I guess, just like Dixon, I kind of find some trouble every now and then. Nothing ever really bad but there's some trouble found. Very different from him? I think I try to steer clear of girl problems... well, I try (he laughs).

There's definitely a few but I try so hard to stay away from girl problems. I'm not hooked up. I'm single but, if I can help it, I'm gonna try to stay away from the girl problems (good luck, dude!)

TeenTelevision: What issue do you wish the show would take on? There are strong stories on drug issues, hooking up etc.... what else?

Tristan: I think they'll take this on next season; how hard it is to figure out a career choice. When I was in high school, all of my friends were trying to figure out what they wanted to do when they grew up....or they weren't thinking about it at all.

TeenTelevision: That's a good issue. What has been your weirdest fan encounter so far?

Tristan: I was at a mall one time.  It was just funny, these two girls came up to me screaming (in high-pitched girly voice) 'Oh my God, you're Dixon, you're Dixon!' And I started screaming right back 'Oh my god, yes I am! Yes I am".  Just funny.

TeenTelevision: You've been in a couple of music videos. Now you are working on your first album. Tell us about that. What is your sound like?

Tristan: I'm working on a little bit of music; something for the fans. Hopefully very soon.  I'm trying to figure out what I should let you guys hear first. It's definitely R&B but it's like if you had a blender it's a little mix of R&B, chop up a little bit of hip-hop in there, sprinkle a little pop in there and throw in a couple of dashes of soul. That feels good.

TeenTelevision: When does Red Tails, the film about the Tuskegee Airmen come out? Who do you play in that and did you need to research that famous all African/American WW II group of combat fliers?

Tristan: It comes out hopefully by the end of the year. We're doing re-shoots on it right now. Everything is looking amazing. George Lucas (director/producer) did an amazing job. We definitely had to do a bunch of research before we even stepped foot on set . We had to go through boot camp. It was crazy.

They took us up in one of the old planes. That was probably one of the most amazing things I've ever done. Everybody in the movie is very young. All of them were young; some as young as 17 or 18. The oldest they were was probably 25 or 26.

TeenTelevision: Can't wait to see that one!