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Dylan O'Brien
Dylan O'Brien in 2017 by Gage Skidmore.jpg
O'Brien in 2017
Born
Dylan Rhodes O'Brien

(1991-08-26) August 26, 1991 (age 33)
Occupation Actor
Years active 2011–present

Dylan Rhodes O'Brien, born on August 26, 1991, is an American actor. He became well-known for playing Stiles Stilinski in the TV show Teen Wolf from 2011 to 2017. He also starred as the main character in the science fiction movies of the Maze Runner trilogy (2014–2018). These roles helped him get many more parts in movies.

Dylan O'Brien played Caleb Holloway, a survivor of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, in the movie Deepwater Horizon (2016). He was also the hero Mitch Rapp in the action movie American Assassin (2017). He even voiced the main robot in the Transformers movie Bumblebee (2018). More recently, he starred in the adventure film Love and Monsters (2020) and the horror film Caddo Lake (2024).

Dylan O'Brien's Early Life

Dylan O'Brien was born in New York City. His mom, Lisa, used to be an actress and ran an acting school. His dad, Patrick, worked as a camera operator. Dylan grew up in Springfield Township, New Jersey, until he was twelve. Then, his family moved to Hermosa Beach, California. He has a mix of Irish, Italian, English, and Spanish family background. After finishing Mira Costa High School in 2009, he thought about becoming a sports broadcaster. He even considered working for the New York Mets baseball team.

When he was 14, Dylan started making and sharing his own videos on YouTube. In his last year of high school, a local producer asked him to work on a web series. While working on this series, Dylan met an actor who helped him find a manager. Because of this, Dylan decided to become an actor instead of going to Syracuse University to study sports broadcasting.

Acting Career Highlights

Before he became a professional actor, Dylan O'Brien made many short comedy films. He directed, produced, and starred in these films, sharing them on his YouTube channel. He was also the drummer for a rock band called Slow Kids at Play.

Dylan O'Brien
Dylan O'Brien at the 37th Saturn Awards in 2011

Dylan got his big acting chance when he was cast in MTV's Teen Wolf. This TV show was inspired by the 1985 movie of the same name. He was first considered for the role of Scott. However, after reading the script, he really wanted to audition for the part of Stiles. After four auditions, he got the role and started filming in 2010. He won several Teen Choice Awards and a Young Hollywood Award for his work on Teen Wolf.

In 2011, Dylan appeared in an independent comedy film called High Road. The next year, he starred in the romantic comedy The First Time.

In 2013, during a break from Teen Wolf, he acted in the comedy movie The Internship. That summer, he filmed The Maze Runner (2014), where he played the main character, Thomas. Yahoo! Movies even named him one of the top 15 new stars to watch in 2014. He played Thomas again in Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, which came out in September 2015.

In March 2016, Dylan was seriously hurt while filming a stunt for Maze Runner: The Death Cure. He was in a harness on top of a moving vehicle when he was pulled off and hit by another vehicle. He had facial fractures, a concussion, and brain trauma. He later said that the accident "broke most of the right side" of his face. He had surgery to fix his face. After many months of getting better, he started filming other projects. By March 2017, he was back on the set of The Death Cure, fully recovered. The movie was released in January 2018.

In 2016, he was in the disaster movie Deepwater Horizon, which was based on a real event from 2010. In 2017, he starred in American Assassin, an action movie where he played the main character, Mitch Rapp. He also voiced the main robot in the Transformers spin-off movie Bumblebee in 2018.

In 2019, he was a guest star in the comedy sci-fi TV show Weird City. In 2020, he starred in the mystery movie Flashback (filmed in 2018). He also played the main role in the adventure film Love and Monsters.

In February 2021, he was cast in The Outfit, and filming finished in April 2021. In August 2021, he was cast in Not Okay, which finished filming in September 2021. Also in August, he was cast in Caddo Lake. In October 2021, it was announced he would be a guest star in season 11 of Curb Your Enthusiasm. On November 12, 2021, Dylan O'Brien starred with Sadie Sink in Taylor Swift's short film All Too Well. He was also a drummer on the song "Snow on the Beach" from Taylor Swift's album Midnights (2022).

Film and Television Roles

Dylan O'Brien 2014 Comic Con (cropped)
Dylan O'Brien at Comic-Con in 2014

Movies

Year Title Role
2011 Charlie Brown: Blockhead's Revenge Charlie Brown
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)
Maze Runner: The Death Cure Thomas
2020 Flashback Fredrick Fitzell
Love and Monsters Joel Dawson
2021 Infinite Heinrich Treadway
All Too Well: The Short Film Him
2022 The Outfit Richie Boyle
Not Okay Colin
2023 Maximum Truth Simon
2024 Ponyboi Vinnie
Saturday Night Dan Aykroyd
Caddo Lake Paris Lang
2025 Twinless Roman / Rocky
2026 Send Help Not yet released TBA
TBA Anniversary Not yet released TBA

Television Shows

Year Title Role Notes
2011–2017 Teen Wolf Stiles Stilinski Main role
2013 First Dates with Toby Harris Peter Web series short
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 Recognitions

Award Year Category Nominated work Result
Giffoni Film Festival 2014 Experience Award Honored
Gotham TV Awards 2025 Outstanding Performance in an Original Film Caddo Lake Nominated
Melty Future Awards 2015 International Male Prize Won
MTV Movie Awards 2015 Best Hero The Maze Runner Won
Best Fight (shared with Will Poulter) The Maze Runner Won
Best Scared-As-St Performance The Maze Runner Nominated
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
2015 Choice Movie Actor: Action/Adventure The Maze Runner Nominated
Choice Movie Chemistry (shared with Thomas Brodie-Sangster) The Maze Runner Nominated
Choice TV: Scene Stealer Teen Wolf Won
2016 Choice AnTEENcipated Movie Actor Deepwater Horizon Won
Choice Movie Actor: Action/Adventure Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials Won
Choice Movie Chemistry (shared with Thomas Brodie-Sangster) Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials Won
Choice Summer TV Actor Teen Wolf Won
2017 Choice Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actor Teen Wolf Won
Choice TV Ship (shared with Holland Roden) Teen Wolf Nominated
2018 Choice Action Movie Actor Maze Runner: The Death Cure Nominated
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
2014 Breakthrough Actor Won

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Dylan O'Brien para niños

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