16 Sep '17

Back from the brink, ‘American Assassin’s’ Dylan O’Brien is ready to prove he’s an action hero

LA TIMES – For the past year, Dylan O’Brien has been in hiding. He spent most of his time inside his home in Sherman Oaks, wondering if he’d ever be the same person he was before the accident. Not just emotionally, but physically too: After major reconstructive surgery that left him with four metal plates holding one side of his face together, he feared he’d never look the same again.

“It’s a miracle, what they’ve done,” O’Brien says, placing his hand on his cheek. Indeed, the actor’s team of doctors must have done some incredible work, given the fact that he looks almost exactly as he always has — the boyish teen heartthrob who has amassed an army of young female fans since he began working on MTV’s “Teen Wolf” at age 18.

Of course, he’s 26 now, so he’s filled out a bit, and there’s also a hint of patchy scruff on his face. He had enough gravitas to him that the producers of “American Assassin,” which opens nationwide Friday, felt confident casting him as the grizzled action-hero Mitch Rapp — even though the character in Vince Flynn’s bestselling books was widely believed by readers to be in his 40s.

“American Assassin” is the reason O’Brien emerged from his self-imposed exile. He’d signed onto the film just a few weeks before he began work on “Maze Runner: The Death Cure,” the third and final installment in 20th Century Fox’s post-apocalyptic young-adult franchise. He was hoping “Assassin” would mark the beginning of a new period in his career. In 2017, after six seasons, “Teen Wolf” would come to an end, as would the “Maze Runner” series.

“I’ve never looked at myself as this pop candy type,” O’Brien says, peppering his speech with more colorful language. “I felt like I was more real than that, so I would get mad when someone would say [I was a teen heartthrob]. I’d be like, ‘I’m 19! I’m a stoner!’ I really resented that.”

He was so excited to begin work on “Assassin” that he fielded calls from director Michael Cuesta just as production began in Vancouver, Canada, on the final “Maze Runner” film. Together, they discussed how O’Brien would approach the character, a 23-year-old who is recruited by the CIA to hunt down terrorists after he witnesses his girlfriend’s murder at the hands of Muslim radicals.
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16 Sep '17

Dylan O’Brien slays early critics, kills it in ‘American Assassin’ adaptation

USA TODAY – LOS ANGELES — Dylan O’Brien knew there would be online turbulence when he was cast as black ops killer Mitch Rapp in American Assassin.

O’Brien, 26, understands that fans of Vince Flynn’s best-selling novels might not visualize the star of MTV’s Teen Wolf as the guy to take on the lethal hitman, a part that Thor’s Chris Hemsworth turned down for scheduling reasons.

“Maybe people didn’t assume I could step into this role and be believable,” says O’Brien. “All’s fair in filmmaking, but no one knows you like yourself.”

He knew he could defy those expectations, unleashing an angry young killer-in-training in the edgy origin story American Assassin (in theaters Friday), a portrayal fueled by O’Brien’s emotional return from an injury last year on the set of Maze Runner: The Death Cure that nearly ended his career.

He was cast in Assassin while holed up in his L.A. home, feeling angry and depressed as he recovered from a serious head injury suffered when he was thrown from the harness of a moving vehicle during a stunt.

“There’s the physical recovery. And you’re going through a post-traumatic psychological recovery as well,” O’Brien says. “Your mind is so consumed with doubt, you’re just beaten down. And you feel guilt in a really weird way.”

Not only was Maze Runner filming postponed because of the accident (the movie will be out in January), but he had doubts whether he could take on any parts, much less an action role.

“You start experiencing things that are abnormal, you’re just not yourself. What you don’t realize is that you’re reacting to a situation where your brain experienced severe trauma,” says O’Brien. “You’re irritable and isolated and you’re angry. So angry. Because that can give you some power back.”

He realized he could fuel those feelings into the character, who loses his fiancée in a terrorist attack, a trauma that consumes Rapp with a desire for revenge as he trains with a black ops specialist (Michael Keaton).
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15 Sep '17

“American Assassin” Los Angeles Screening

Hi Dylan fans! Sorry for the delay in updates. I’ve been very busy with school and haven’t had all the free time I wish I had. On September 12 (Tuesday), Dylan attended a screening of American Assassin in Los Angeles. He looked so so handsome! You can check out HQ photos from the red carpet as well as the after party. American Assassin hits theaters today! Make sure you go out and see it this weekend!

06 Sep '17

The Cinema Society Hosts A Screening Of CBS Films’ “American Assassin”

Tonight, Dylan attended a screening of his upcoming film American Assassin hosted by The Cinema Society in New York City at the iPic Theater. Dylan looked so handsome, as always! <3 Check out the gallery for HQ photos! Keep checking back tomorrow for more additions.

26 Aug '17

Teen Wolf: Dylan O’Brien, Tyler Hoechlin return in series finale photos

EW – It won’t be long now until Teen Wolf says its final farewell. And even though we know it will be an extended series finale, showrunner Jeff Davis says, “There were so many characters to wrap up. It was incredibly difficult [to write].”

It might not have been an easy process, but Davis is hopeful the ending will feel right. One thing he can promise? “It’s definitely not a cut-to-black [ending] like The Sopranos,” he says. “We tried to craft an ending that feels right for the audience and for the characters.”

More than anything, fans are anticipating the return of a number of characters, including Stiles, Derek, Kate, Jackson, and Ethan (who are now a couple, by the way). “It’s got all the characters back,” Davis says, adding, “Except for the ones who are unfortunately dead.”

Below, check out some exclusive photos from the series finale, including a few of those familiar faces.

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