Dustin Milligan is a rare find in Hollywood. The 26-year-old has the chiseled looks of a leading man, the sense of humor of a witty hipster, and the earnestness of our neighbors up North. For Milligan, fame came calling -- along with legions of teen fangirls -- when he starred in the  The CW's "90210" reboot as adorable jock Ethan.

After his departure in 2009, he appeared in a half-dozen movies, including the Mike Judge comedy "Extract."

But "Shark Night 3D" is a turning point -- his first leading role in a Hollywood movie. Milligan plays Nick, a Tulane undergrad who goes on a weekend trip to a friend's lakehouse in order to get closer to his beautiful crush, Sara (Sara Paxton). And then of course come the man-eating sharks.

We talked to the patriotic Northerner about his love of all things Canadian and his disdain for  penis-chewing sea monsters.

Why do you think young movie audiences are so drawn to horror movies?

It's absolute escapism. I mean, for a teen to go see "The Social Network," that's something they know about  and is an interesting story, but it's not going to make them poop their pants in absolute terror and fear like our movie will. That's what I think is exciting about it. You go in, sit down and are watching a crazy shark movie, and the 3-D adds that extra jump factor. There's a shark jumping out on the screen at you. That's one of the reasons we don't screen it for critics. It's not something we expect to get critical acclaim from; it's just pure fun and entertainment.

In the trailer, it seems the black actor is the first one to get bitten. Is that a wink-wink to the theory that black actors in horror movies are always the first to die?

That's one of the two things that people keep saying about the movie. The first thing is "I have an idea, why don't they just stay out of the water?" People think they're being so smart. And the second thing is related to the black guy dying first. But he actually doesn't die first. He's injured, and that's why we have to get in the water, so he isn't the first to die. It's one of things where we realize if we want our friend to live, we have to get in the water, where the sharks are. Sinqua, who's the actor that gets maimed, is too good of an actor to just get killed off right away.

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See, I thought it was a meta reference to that theory, making a joke out of it.

There are a few winks to the audience, but it's not as campy and self aware as some other 3-D underwater fishy-shark movies. There's no boobs flying in your face everywhere, and there's no small  piranha burping up a penis.

You just spoiled 'Piranha 3D' for us.

Well, it is a critical plot point that a piranha burps up a penis, but don't worry about it, you should still check it out.

So without the penis would you say it's not as funny as those other movies?

It's definitely funny in parts, and the shark scenes are nuts, but we're taking it seriously enough that you're still scared and genuinely jumping in your seat instead of laughing at how ridiculous it all is.

Mac or PC?

That's tricky, because PC s are what I grew up on, but Mac is what I enjoy now. I think because Mac makes me think about McDonald's and Macintosh Apples, which are two of my favorite things, I have to go with Mac.

New York or L.A.?

I have to say New York. It's the Big City. Ever since I was a little kid, I always dreamed of being a Big City kid, because I grew up in a very small town up north in Canada. I have to say I just love the city lights at night.

"Harry Potter" or "Twilight"?

"Harry Potter" all the way.

And this has nothing to do with the fact that you auditioned for Edward in "Twilight?

I feel really bad that story ever got publicized. I mean, yeah I auditioned for it, but so did a thousand other guys. I audition for a crap ton of stuff, so it was nothing.

But regardless of not being in "Twilight," you're a big "Harry Potter" fan?

You can't deny the quality of the "Harry Potter" movies is  much, much higher than what I've seen of the "Twilight" movies, although I've heard those get better as they get along. The "Harry Potter" actors are so good, and I really do admire that entire series, because they took something that could have been silly and cheesy and made it something that had real dramatic weight and depth.

Also Check out: Our 'Shark Night 3D' Giveaway Doesn't Bite

Beer or wine?

That's too hard to say. When I go back home and want to hang out with my buddies, I have beer. But when I'm trying to get a lady to kiss me on the mouth, I drink wine.

Twitter or Facebook?

Twitter. 100 percent. Actually 140 percent, one for each character.

Bieber or Timberlake?

I'll say Bieber, because he's from Canada, but I really do respect and admire Timberlake's music. I know Timberlake's busting into the acting thing too, and man can the guy can move, but still, official answer: Bieber.

Since you're such a patriot, what's the best part of being Canadian in America?

It's when you find someone else from Canada, and the very first thing you say as you realize it is "Where are you from?" There's a great community here; everyone kind of knows someone you know from Canada. It's that friendliness, the openness, the eagerness to chat and learn about each other,  it doesn't matter where you are in the entire world, it's there.

Canadians can get very testy if you accidentally call a Canadian star American. Why is that, eh?

I don't want to start a war, but there's a fierce pride. Despite the fact that most of our pop culture is just borrowed from you, and that our entertainment emulates yours, there's a distinct difference between Americans and Canadians. We all know what it is -- being nice.

And you all know French and English!

Oh, well, yes, we know French instead of Spanish, but I think it is something that we take pride in the fact that we're not American. We're different. As much as we love our neighbors to the South, we are our own people! It's like Canada is the little brother to the United States and one day they are going to show the world they're just as cool as their successful big brother.

OK, Mr. Canada. Your person Top 5 Canadian entertainers. Go.

This is in no particular order, okay? Just off the top of my head: Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, William Shatner, Seth Rogen. Ryan Reynolds is great too, but I don't know about top five.

No women?

The thing about Canadian women is that they seem less likely to bring up that they're Canadian. You here less about Canadian actresses than actors, I don't know why.

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What can we see you in next?

I'm going to be at the Toronto Film Festival with a new movie, "Sisters & Brothers," that I shot with my  good friend Cory Montieth of "Glee" fame. We play two brothers who've had different versions of success in Hollywood. We're sort of estranged and are meeting for this one day to catch up. It's entirely improvised, we made the whole thing up. We're not the main focus of the film, though, there are three or four different story lines. Ours we shot in one day, and I'm really excited about it. It's a cool departure for both of us as actors.

So again, it all comes down to keeping the Canadian brotherhood alive?

Cory and I go way back. We've been buds for a long time, were roommates in Vancouver, and came up together. The relationship we have in this film was already there in one way or another to draw on, so it was a lot of fun to play brothers.

Well, maybe you'll be the next Judd Apatow and Adam Sandler, also former roommates who both made it really big.

I think if all goes right, and enough people go see "Shark Night," I will be able to do that way in the future -- look back on our early days in Hollywood together.

Watch a Clip from 'Shark Night 3D'