Dylan O’Brien Opens Up About Severe ‘Maze Runner’ Accident & Why He Took A Break From Acting
After Dylan O’Brien starred in The Maze Runner in 2014, he quickly stole many fans’ hearts all around the world.
Lillie Gissen
After Dylan O’Brien starred in The Maze Runner in 2014, he quickly stole many fans’ hearts all around the world. The swoon-worthy actor also went on to act in Teen Wolf, and we all could not get enough of him! But in 2018 (after the third Maze Runner movie came out), he decided to take a break from acting and practically fell off the grid — until now, that is. Yep, O’Brien is back and better than ever, and he has finally opened up about why he decided to step out of the spotlight for a little while.
Why Did Dylan O’Brien Stop Acting?
It turns out, the star suffered from a severe injury on set of the third and final Maze Runner movie, which put production on hold for almost a year. While filming the action-packed flick, he got run over by a car and suffered from a concussion, a facial fracture and brain trauma. The 29-year-old explained in a brand new interview that he “broke most of the right side” of his face, and that after that, he thought he would “never” return to acting.
“That was a really hard comeback for me,” O’Brien admitted, while reflecting on his return to the industry. “I’ve kept this really, like, private for a long time. I’ve definitely spoken on it before, but it was a really hard journey back for me.”
The Teen Wolf alum, who is now starring in the brand new film Love and Monsters, explained that when he was younger, he felt like he could do anything.
“Everyone is an expert in what they do on a set. So, especially when you’re younger, like I was, I think I was about 24 when my accident happened, I was just game. I was game,” he explained. “I loved what I did. I loved being on set, it was my favorite place in the world. I loved my crew. My crews are my families, my life, my worlds. I put my trust into them and I think that was a piece of what made it so hard, having that so viciously and scarily broken one time. There was a moment where I thought I’d never step foot on a set again.”
How Did The Accident Effect Dylan O’Brien?
He admitted to Deadline that he went through a rough period after the accident.
“I happened to be in this place of life, I was going through a lot,” he told them. “I was entering a new chapter in my life and career simultaneously … I felt like I was going through a quarter-life crisis. I had been allowing myself to be in this pretty f**ked up, lost place.”
And when asked if his problems stemmed from the injury, he added, “That was definitely one of the pieces. It was a concoction of s**t. I had a rough and long road back from that, probably more than people realize. It was a very private and personal thing for me. I was going through that s**t for long time. A lot of things in my life were changing and were difficult at that time. A lot of things in my career were changing too. I was fighting it for a while, and freaking out that I felt so f**king broken. I had to accept that and sink into it.”
What Did Dylan O’Brien Do During His Break?
During his break, O’Brien strengthened his relationships.
“I had friends that were so dear to me that I had felt that I had neglected for years. All of a sudden, it was very important to me to nurture those relationships and not lose them,” he said. “I think that it absolutely completely rewires and restructures the way you see your life and what you deem important.”
How Is Dylan O’Brien Doing Now?
But now, he’s turned the accident into something positive! He continued, “I’m thankful for it in ways. It has definitely changed me in so many ways and made me who I am today. Whenever I’m put in a rig, I’m vetting every piece of that rig. Just really, like, dialed in and close with the stunt team that you’re working with rather than just sort of blindly putting your trust in other people’s hands.”
So what is he up to now? Well, besides Love and Monsters, O’Brien also has another new movie called The Education of Fredrick Fitzell that just came out. Plus, it was recently announced that he was cast in the upcoming flicks Infinite and The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A True Story of Friendship Stronger Than War.
Oh, and get this, you guys — O’Brien is totally down to reprise his role as Stiles Stilinski for a Teen Wolf reboot!
“I would jump at the chance to do any kind of thing. We’ll come back together for something at some point,” he said.
Yes, please!
What Are Dylan O’Brien’s New Movies About?
According to Variety, Infinite is about “a secret society of people who possess total recall of their past lives. A troubled young man haunted by memories of two past lives stumbles upon the centuries-old society and decides to join their ranks.” As for The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A True Story of Friendship Stronger Than War, Deadline reports that it’s a true story about John “Chickie” Donohue, “who in 1967 left New York to track down and share a few beers with his childhood buddies in the Army — while they were fighting in Vietnam.”
We are so glad he’s back and doing better than ever.