# Dylan O'Brien

Dylan Rhodes O'Brien (born August 26, 1991) is an American actor. His first major role was as Stiles Stilinski in the MTV supernatural series Teen Wolf (2011–2017). He achieved further prominence for his lead role in the science fiction Maze Runner trilogy (2014–2018), which led to more film appearances.
O'Brien played Deepwater Horizon explosion survivor Caleb Holloway in the disaster film Deepwater Horizon (2016), fictional counterterrorist Mitch Rapp in the action thriller American Assassin (2017), and voiced the title character in the Transformers installment Bumblebee (2018). He also played the lead role in the adventure film Love and Monsters (2020) and the horror film Caddo Lake (2024).

## Early life and education

O'Brien was born in New York City, the son of Lisa (née Rhodes), a former actress who ran an acting school, and Patrick O'Brien, a camera operator. He grew up in Springfield Township, New Jersey, until the age of twelve, when he and his family moved to Hermosa Beach, California. He is of Irish, Italian, English, and Spanish descent. After graduating from Mira Costa High School in 2009, he considered pursuing sports broadcasting and possibly working for the New York Mets.
At 14, O'Brien began posting original videos onto his YouTube channel. In his senior high school year, a local producer and director approached him about working for a web series. While working on the series, O'Brien met an actor who connected him with a manager. O'Brien subsequently changed his plans to attend Syracuse University as a sports broadcasting major, to pursue acting.

## Career

Before beginning his acting career, O'Brien produced, directed and starred in a number of short comedy films which he released through his personal YouTube channel, "moviekidd826". He was also the drummer for the independent rock band Slow Kids at Play.
O'Brien's acting break came when he landed one of the main roles in MTV's Teen Wolf, a series loosely based on the 1985 film. He was intended to play Scott, but after reading the script, he wanted to audition for the part of Stiles instead. After four auditions, he was cast, and started playing the role in 2010. He received several Teen Choice Awards and a Young Hollywood Award for his work on the series.
In 2011, O'Brien was introduced to audiences in the entirely improvised independent comedy film High Road. The next year, he starred in the romantic comedy The First Time.
In 2013, while on hiatus from Teen Wolf, he co-starred in the comedy film The Internship; and that summer, filmed The Maze Runner (2014), playing the lead role of Thomas. Yahoo! Movies named him as one of the 15 Breakout Stars to Watch for in 2014. He reprised the role of Thomas in Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, released on September 18, 2015.
In March 2016, O'Brien was seriously injured on set while filming a stunt for Maze Runner: The Death Cure. He was in a harness on top of a moving vehicle when he was unexpectedly pulled off the vehicle and hit by another vehicle. His injuries included facial fractures, a concussion, and brain trauma. He later said that the accident "'broke most of the right side'" of his face; he underwent reconstructive facial surgery. After months of recovery, he eventually began filming other projects, and his March 2017 return to The Death Cure set marked his complete return to health. The film premiered January 26, 2018.
In 2016, he appeared in the disaster thriller-drama Deepwater Horizon, based on the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion. He starred in 2017's American Assassin, an action-thriller where he played titular character Mitch Rapp; and voiced the CGI title character in the Transformers spin-off film Bumblebee in 2018.
In 2019, he guest-starred in the comedy sci-fi anthology series Weird City. In 2020, he starred in the mystery thriller Flashback (filmed in 2018), and the post-apocalyptic road trip film Love and Monsters.
In February 2021, he was cast in The Outfit, for which filming finished in April 2021. In August 2021, he was cast in Not Okay, for which filming finished in September 2021. Also in August, he was cast in Caddo Lake, originally reported by Discussing Film and later confirmed by Deadline Hollywood in October 2021. In October 2021, it was announced he would guest star in season 11 of Curb Your Enthusiasm. On November 12, 2021, O'Brien starred opposite Sadie Sink in Taylor Swift's short film All Too Well. He was credited as a drummer on the track "Snow on the Beach" from Swift's tenth studio album, Midnights (2022).

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2011 | Charlie Brown: Blockhead's Revenge | Charlie Brown | Short film |
| 2011 | High Road | Jimmy | |
| 2012 | The First Time | Dave Hodgman | |
| 2013 | The Internship | Stuart Twombly | |
| 2014 | The Maze Runner | Thomas | |
| 2015 | Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials | Thomas | |
| 2016 | Deepwater Horizon | Caleb Holloway | |
| 2017 | American Assassin | Mitch Rapp | |
| 2018 | Bumblebee | Bumblebee (voice) | |
| 2018 | Maze Runner: The Death Cure | Thomas | |
| 2020 | Flashback | Fredrick Fitzell | |
| 2020 | Love and Monsters | Joel Dawson | |
| 2021 | Infinite | Heinrich Treadway | |
| 2021 | All Too Well: The Short Film | Him | Short film |
| 2022 | The Outfit | Richie Boyle | |
| 2022 | Not Okay | Colin | |
| 2023 | Maximum Truth | Simon | |
| 2024 | Ponyboi | Vinnie | |
| 2024 | Saturday Night | Dan Aykroyd | |
| 2024 | Caddo Lake | Paris Lang | |
| 2025 | Twinless | Roman / Rocky | |
| 2026 | Send Help † | TBA | Filming |
| TBA | Anniversary † | TBA | Post-production |
Key :
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2011–2017 | Teen Wolf | Stiles Stilinski | Main role |
| 2013 | First Dates with Toby Harris | Peter | Web series short; episode: "Roommates" |
| 2013 | New Girl | The Guy | Episode: "Virgins" |
| 2019 | Weird City | Stu Maxsome | Episode: "The One" |
| 2020 | Amazing Stories | Sam Taylor | Episode: "The Cellar" |
| 2021 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Himself | Episode: "Angel Muffin" |
| 2023 | The Other Two | Himself | Episode: "Cary Becomes Somewhat of a Name" |
| 2024 | Fantasmas | Dustin | Episode: "The Little Ones" |

## Awards and nominations

| Award | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| Giffoni Film Festival | 2014 | Experience Award | – | Honored |
| Melty Future Awards | 2015 | Prix International Masculin | — | Won |
| MTV Movie Awards | 2015 | Best Hero | The Maze Runner | Won |
| MTV Movie Awards | 2015 | Best Fight (shared with Will Poulter) | The Maze Runner | Won |
| MTV Movie Awards | 2015 | Best Scared-As-S**t Performance | The Maze Runner | Nominated |
| MTV Movie Awards | 2015 | Breakthrough Performance | The Maze Runner | Won |
| NewNowNext Awards | 2014 | Best New Film Actor | The Maze Runner | Nominated |
| Sundance Film Festival | 2025 | U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting | Twinless | Won |
| Teen Choice Awards | 2014 | Choice TV Villain | Teen Wolf | Won |
| Teen Choice Awards | 2015 | Choice Movie Actor: Action/Adventure | The Maze Runner | Nominated |
| Teen Choice Awards | 2015 | Choice Movie Chemistry (shared with Thomas Brodie-Sangster) | The Maze Runner | Nominated |
| Teen Choice Awards | 2015 | Choice TV: Scene Stealer | Teen Wolf | Won |
| Teen Choice Awards | 2016 | Choice AnTEENcipated Movie Actor | Deepwater Horizon | Won |
| Teen Choice Awards | 2016 | Choice Movie Actor: Action/Adventure | Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials | Won |
| Teen Choice Awards | 2016 | Choice Movie Chemistry (shared with Thomas Brodie-Sangster) | Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials | Won |
| Teen Choice Awards | 2016 | Choice Summer TV Actor | Teen Wolf | Won |
| Teen Choice Awards | 2017 | Choice Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actor | Teen Wolf | Won |
| Teen Choice Awards | 2017 | Choice TV Ship (shared with Holland Roden) | Teen Wolf | Nominated |
| Teen Choice Awards | 2018 | Choice Action Movie Actor | Maze Runner: The Death Cure | Nominated |
| Teen Choice Awards | 2018 | Choice Movie Ship (shared with Kaya Scodelario) | Maze Runner: The Death Cure | Nominated |
| Variety & Golden Globe's Breakthrough Artist Awards | 2024 | Breakthrough Award | Ponyboi | Honored |
| Young Hollywood Awards | 2013 | Best Ensemble (shared with Tyler Posey, Crystal Reed, Holland Roden and Tyler Hoechlin) | Teen Wolf | Won |
| Young Hollywood Awards | 2014 | Breakthrough Actor | — | Won |