Dylan O'Brien on Being the "Skinny Kid" Leading American Assassin - Exclusive Interview

Dylan O'Brien (The Maze Runner) stops by the Collider studios to talk with Perri Nemiroff about his new movie American Assassin.
When Cold War veteran Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton) takes CIA black ops recruit Mitch Rapp (Dylan O'Brien) under his wing, they receive an assignment to investigate a wave of random attacks on both military and civilian targets. After discovering a pattern of violence, Hurley and Rapp join forces with a lethal Turkish agent to stop a mysterious operative who wants to start a global war. Directed by Michael Cuesta.
Follow Perri: / pnemiroff
Follow us on Twitter: / collidervideo
Follow us on Instagram: / collidervideo
Follow us on Facebook: / colliderdotcom
As the online source for movies, television, breaking news, incisive content, and imminent trends, COLLIDER is a more than essential destination: collider.com
Follow Collider.com on Twitter: / collider
Subscribe to the SCHMOES KNOW channel: / schmoesknow
Collider Programming:
- MOVIE TALK: Weekdays | bit.ly/29BRtOO
- TV TALK: Weekdays | bit.ly/29BR7Yi
- HEROES: Weekdays | bit.ly/29F4Job
- MOVIE TRIVIA SCHMOEDOWN: Tuesdays & Fridays | bit.ly/29C2iRV
- COMIC BOOK SHOPPING: Wednesdays | bit.ly/2spC8Nn
- JEDI COUNCIL: Thursdays | bit.ly/29v5wVi
- COLLIDER NEWS WITH KEN NAPZOK: Weekdays | bit.ly/2t9dNIE
- THIS JUST IN: Weekdays | bit.ly/2x0TXTR
- BEST MOVIES ON NETFLIX RIGHT NOW: Fridays | bit.ly/2txP3gn
- MAILBAG: Weekends | bit.ly/29UsKsd
- BEHIND THE SCENES & BLOOPERS: Saturdays | bit.ly/2kuLuyI
- COLLIDER GAMING: Sundays | bit.ly/2xuiwXn

[@johnsignoy6103]

Hollywood is sleeping on this dude...wicked talented actor and he could literally be in any genre film. One of my favorite young actors

[@hellokitty-rt9gw]

Fr tho he fits any role

[@linag279]

Wckd🥴🥴

[@parisBIEBER]

@@linag279 IKR AHAHAHA

[@scottsm0m3]

i’m a lesbian and my brother-in-law says he thinks i’m straight only for the fact that i love Dylan O’brien. but his acting is just phenomenal. stiles (teen wolf), thomas (maze runner), joel (love and monsters), mitch (america assassin), dave (the first time), stu (weird city s1e1). he’s done so many great roles

[@larafoianesi9497]

FOR REEEEAL

[@itsirispaulina]

So happy that she didn’t pressure him into talking about his accident. She mentioned it but kinda skipped over it. Because everything he get asked about it looks like he shuts down a bit and gets so uncomfortable :/ so love her for not doing that to him

[@oldacc5342]

Iris van der Laan same

[@Sophialochart2010]

Yeah

[@crystaldietz6419]

Yeah, he is a pretty close to the vest kind of guy for all his flailing (much like Stiles - his character) and the accident almost ended his career and he hates talking about that.

[@jada6848]

Dylan is always such a pleasure to watch, on and off screen. He's just so charismatic and his sense of humor is great! Super humble guy, I wish all the best for him. Another great interview Perri!

[@saraamini794]

Interviewer seems really professional It's rare, I liked that

[@charrado]

Dylan was a big part of why I stuck with the Teen Wolf series. Not surprised at all he's doing so well in these movies. Great interview, as always.

[@goldenchachi3713]

That's the reason why I stayed watching it lol heard he hasn't been on the show so I don't know what's going on anymore lol

[@moonalk4969]

yess dylan was the reason i started watching teen wolf and now its one of my favorite shows

[@SillySmoothtCollie]

He is the only reason I watched

[@SareshaTV]

Fleckeri he was the only reason why I decided to watch TW

[@mayrakiara7852]

He is why i started seeing teen wolf, i love him, he is a great actor

[@NateCage]

Hope this guy has a long and successful career!

[@sophiasharkey4844]

This is the most comfortable I’ve seen him talk about the accident because of how she asked it

[@samwinter7369]

I was thinking the same thing

[@clem1257]

He seems like a good kid. Hope he'll have a great career

[@floress_440]

not a kid

[@crugley2287]

he’s like 28

[@lonelyglader8154]

@@crugley2287 28 is young considering how talented he is and all the lead roles he’s in.

[@katelynfoland8948]

He’s 30 💀

[@lonelyglader8154]

Guys they don’t mean he’s a literal child it’s just something people say to someone younger than them😆

[@emilycunningham7170]

glad that she was much more sensitive about the whole accident situation, lots of interviews are like ‘ooooh what happened’ where as she took to approach of saying that it was inspiring but not be like ‘what happened’ :)

[@xxOnePiece210xx]

Its great how genuine the questions were and how interested Perri was in his experience. This felt more like an honest conversation than an interview. Like she said, he's an inspiring personality, and he always adds this extra element to everything he works on. Its obvious how much effort he put into this role. I've been a huge fan for so many years, hope he becomes more successful, he deserves every good thing

[@carmelajulian505]

I hope he doesn't buff up too much like all the others coz he's perfect as he is right now.

[@Sweetheart-vn9oj]

He’s a noodle, like he said, he’s not gna buff up lmao 💀💀

[@lilpoteto6486]

Take a sip every time he says "y'know" :'D

[@lauratroy13]

Alcohol poisoning ahead 😂

[@destinylake9679]

I’d ✨choke✨

[@emansafdar3262]

He says that alottt 😂

[@ashleyestadesorfila2468]

This is one of the best Dylan's interview I have seen... Teen Wolf is not the same without him. As Linden says Dylan and Tyler set the tone for than series so...we need that bromance back :D

[@user-xp3zh4yq2n]

"i'm a noodle" I LOVE HIM😂

[@themacdown88]

Perri did a great job on this interview, she was so natural.

[@sarahdarmanin9103]

he's so pleasing to watch besides he's attractive looks he's character sense of humour and down to earth guy

[@Chrisixoxo00]

I’m never gonna be able to say enough good things about him...it’s so rare to watch actors that are insanely humble and kind off screen. He is a great role model :) And she is for sure a very talented interviewer - very calm and pays attention to what he says! Great video :-)

[@obsessivefangirl5055]

his physicality is way better than Chris Hemsworth

[@sofiabravo1994]

obsessive fangirl don’t compare! They’re both handsome

[@lu_lu0328]

@@sofiabravo1994 she just has a preference. Which I agree with. Hemsworth is good looking yes but she just prefers Dylan. And that’s okay :)

[@benparton1693]

What a cool dude, I hope he has an awesome career man. He was ace in this film

[@hannandersha]

The interview seemed so easy, natural and chill!

[@syahriniretno2155]

This guy is so down to earth, simple and grounded,, and his sense humor is hilarious too , good job Dylan, bring an example of good personality in young actor

[@louise4029]

i love how Perri is like "dude you gotta give yourself some credit tho" at the end because, man, we love you dylan, but sometimes that open self-deprecation is gonna bite you in the ass

[@cristalrodriguez2002]

His wave at the end 😁

[@jonam.2241]

It's so cute😂❤

[@FinelyTaylored]

So happy to see Dylan getting more movie roles! Hope to see him have a long and successful career. Great interview Perri!

[@anikavaidya]

Am I the only one who randomly searches up interviews of him just to hear his voice? Just me? okay...

[@edithcasas5035]

Me too

[@addisonwhite8262]

That’s how I got here 😂

[@beckahbrooks]

His voice is really specific, I like it

[@djchucky666]

Omg same i thought I was alone!

[@jagerbaby8628]

Everyone in the comments calling him “This kid” is getting at me... 1st of all he’s almost 30 2nd it’s Dylan O’Brien.

[@johnlime1469]

He looks young. That's a pretty good thing, I think.

[@struggleskywalker1025]

Also, some of the people commenting that might actually be over 40

[@ermelinda2223]

Well some people commenting could be middle aged.. or whatever. It’s ok haha.

[@user3555]

he seemed so relaxed talking about the incident here, props to the interviewer for being so natural and sensitive

[@kikifire9113]

Best interview yet. Thank you! You asked all the questions I wanted to hear the answers to. So glad someone asked him some original questions instead of the same one over and over. He seemed comfortable, so what ever you did as an interviewer, keep doing it. Great job. Dylan just keeps getting better and better. Looking forward to seeing where he goes next.

[@ashleycole6498]

Love this interviewer. She seemed professional but also very natural and sensitive (especially when she mentioned Dylan's injury)... and there's the fact that she made him giggle so much, my heart is exploding

[@annaangelle231]

most interviewers annoy me but this one doesn't

[@akhilt9583]

Teen Wolf baby

[@cherrybl00m]

he’s honestly the best human in the whole world

[@VannaNar]

This is probably the best interview I've watched thus far. Great job!

[@lydiaschmidt3330]

I like how everybody’s like teen wolf and stiles and I’m over here like Thomas and Maze Runner!

[@vecnadoesntlikegenesis3852]

SAMEEEEE

[@loonatictheworld]

he could be a great Spider-Man if he were younger (yes, I'm still living in 2013)

[@mitch8836]

Zendaya is my wife only problem would be his body. Back to 2013-2014 his body wasn’t good in shape.

[@hollyroxy25]

That's my Stiles 😍, love him, he's got so much talent. Glad to see his career taking off. He's such a fantastic actor, anyone that doubts watch teen Wolf season 3 void stiles.

[@ellebriley6810]

Holly Roxy love void so much !!!! 3B was my favourite season because of void stiles 😍😍😍

[@mikmik8039]

I just realized. He says "you know" a lot. Like, A LOT And omg "I'm a noodle" 😂

[@georgiagcd]

He is a good actor. He needs better scripts

[@beckahbrooks]

Better scripts?!? Have you seen the things he is in?

[@zackkidd30]

Love Dylan O'Brien. He is awesome in Teen Wolf.

[@MissMarisa7Beauty]

Lol “how’d you get the wrap up sign?” I love him.

[@bangtan_sonyeondan8]

I think it's impressive how different he can look like Maze Runner 3 and American Assassin

[@jessicafellows5981]

i hope going into 2021 with his new movie that comes with interviews and press etc means no more talking about the accident. respect this girl for skipping over it but i really hope no one talks about it with his new movie. it was so long ago now, it doesn’t define him, he powered through it and deserves to be able to move on from it and continue his career without it being a topic in every interview.

[@sswf]

when he said "fighting styles" and im like, Stiles..?

[@samuraihei7]

great interview by Perri and great answers by Dylan! I'm glad that he recovered from his injuries. He was great in the movie as Mitch Rapp!

[@abbeywarren]

“I’m a noodle” 😂😂😂😂

[@haileyhudson4157]

This interviewer is GREAT at her job.

[@saraB94]

Great interview, I'm so happy he is getting more opportunities to prove himself.

[@saharaxxxx]

He most be SO sick of talking about the accident!

[@struggleskywalker1025]

Glad she skipped past it and was sensitive about it.

[@claraesho6133]

" I'm a noodle " 😂😂❤️❤️

[@saragca_chloee]

Great interviewer. I loved how she mentioned the accident a little bit in a way that wasn't to uncomfortable for Dylan. I love Dylan so much and I love this interview because idk, it's different from other interviews, he seems genuine, honest, and professional ( lets be honest, a lot of Dylan's interview are a little more crazy lol😂 ). This was very interesting to watch. Now Dylan NEEDS to be in more films. He is SO underrated. He can play in so many different genres. Its crazy how he got little to no acting " training" before starting his career. I LOVE THIS MAN

[@eveh1458]

"I'm a noodle" "i'M a FuLl MaN💪" I love him so much 😂

[@SymphonyBrahms]

I saw the movie today. The movie is great and Dylan is FANTASTIC! He is a great actor!

[@alyssamcdaniel1834]

Dylan: "I'm a full man."... Yes baby you are yes you are😍

[@luzitea1178]

great interview, good questions, really enjoyable.

[@DarthMagusMT]

Sony should've gotten him for the young Drake in the Uncharted movie.

[@TothanCrawk]

Thank you for being respectful and actually not triggering him like just about everyone else did at the time.

[@jonam.2241]

You know😂❤ Gosh I'm so proud of him and it's such a big difference between Stiles in Season 1 and Mitch in American Assassin. Dylan ist able to play such different roles and characters. Just no words. I love him ❤

[@mack_s_2001]

Dylan’s wave at the end. Haha soooooo cute!

[@1omarella]

From Stiles to Mark Whalberg😍😍😍

[@alexakvick8504]

I hate how you can tell he gets sad when other interviewers bring up the accident but he seemed so much more comfortable here

[@melissadcls288]

It was a really good interview with really interesting questions, thank you ! And of course my boy is amazing but everybody knows it already

[@julianna3706]

Whoever stumbles upon this vid, I went into a deep dive on Dylan’s sisters Instagram account and she said in her comments that Dylan apparently hated this movie and glad it didn’t do well cuz he dreaded making a sequel, especially with all the Muslim stereotypes and islamophobia.

[@vecnadoesntlikegenesis3852]

thx because i liked the movie but i was wondering why there wasn’t a sequel. but it did make muslins seem like bad people. not all are bad. the movie was focused on the terrorist people. but it was a little biased.

[@leratolaka5586]

I honestly wish more people would acknowledge this man ... he is honestly so talented

[@jonnybbb45]

This was a great interview perri and I want to see Dylan o brien for nightwing

[@nothingstraight1]

Movie was great! Loved it and loved him in it! He totally owned the character and I fell in love with another version of Dylan all over again.

[@Brook11223]

Roger Yuan is the go to guy when it comes physical and fight training.

[@cathygalliher6387]

Is anyone going to notice the cute wave at the end that Dylan did?! No okay😂 Love Dylan O’Brein so much😂😁❤️

[@amandalindley2231]

Great interview cant wait for the film

[@KhaivienThach]

Great job, Perri!

[@dalenaena887]

That was a really god interview, props to the interviewer...

[@martumensaify]

CEO of "you know". I love this man, he's super genuine and he grew up so much in so little, so proud of him 💪🏼

[@diplayball]

His a great actor I just wish he was still on Teen Wolf. I know his growing as a actor. It just you can tell that Teen Wolf is suffering because his not there in most of the last season.

[@Nachoboy128]

Soo Kute I think he's coming back soon

[@TheMixedOnes]

Eh it's been suffering for a while now even before his role got reduced, glad he and Hoechlin are coming back for the grand finale though

[@bree9081]

its unwatchable without him

[@HealthySelfNThrive]

I know I feel like I am missing someone special, I think he will return before the season ends

[@Abzify1]

I think part of the problem is that when you watch season 1, all the 'kids' are new or newish actors (at least haven't done too much that's recognisable) and were the main cast so any bad acting they're all the same. In the more recent series you've got the 'older kids' have been acting for over 5 years and the 'younger kids' are then only done one or two things or none and so you can clearly see the difference between the acting which makes the bad acting feel worse than it is.

[@aimee1505]

The amount of times he said 'you know' 😂😂

[@CoushattaL]

It'ss pretty funny but reminds me of how I tend to say 'like' a lot. And I'll catch myself and mentally make myself not say it and then I'll start stalling and looking like a crazy person trying not to say it. I understand the struggle 😂

[@darceymackay1552]

I literally can’t say one thing bad about this entire video!

[@Brook11223]

When I saw some of the promos for it especially with the training scenes it felt like The Hunted (2003) with Benecio Del Toro and Tommy Lee Jones.

[@saraortegon3519]

I love Dylan, but its so funny listening how many times he said “u know” 😂😂😂

[@ThePennyArcade]

This guy is a really good actor, I like him. He just needs a good role, or a solid movie to be in.

[@beckahbrooks]

Boy have you seen what he is in?

[@Julie-kv5lu]

The fact that he thinks he is a noodle is kinda sad, he is perfect.

[@johnlime1469]

I think it's a comment on the difficulties he felt on set trying to maintain his physicality. Honestly, I think it's more honorable to not see him as perfect, but someone who's willing to just go for it no matter the cost to portray a role.

[@cristalrodriguez2002]

A full man lol oh Dylan lol

[@youresomhin7944]

i just love how the way he laughs. just LOVE HIM SO MUCH

[@rennnyka]

He seems realy cool. Love the interview.

[@HeyNimbus]

*He should be Nightwing in DCU*

[@Nachoboy128]

Cusquenha after seeing the trailers for this movie I was thinking more of Jason Todd/Red Hood

[@HeyNimbus]

Hmm, don't think so. He's very charismatic and has a sense of humor that looks more like Dick Grayson. For the Red Hood, I would think of someone from Alexander Ludwig's profile.

[@brunoman17]

He would be a very good Nightwing in my opinion.

[@two-face1041]

Cusquenha he's already trained under Batman lol

[@LP3Customs]

I guess I'm not the only one who thought that

[@acacm12]

Great interview .

[@sharon421]

Take a shot everytime he says "Um"

[@katieb.024]

Im late to this cause im re watching But it honestly makes me so mad when someone brings up the accident It makes me suck in a quick breath and get all tense

[@jennityni5990]

when the woman said it hits theaters on friday.. IT HIT THEM EVERYWHERE EXCEPT IN FINLAND

[@exileuphoria9720]

Jen eq in italy come out the 23 of novembre... help us

[@ririannevg]

Also not in the Netherlands yet. Have to wait till october tenth

[@angelhwa]

dyl deserves so much more recognition 🥺🥺

[@wayne3078]

He looks a little like a young Keanu Reeves

[@morgamkriese6473]

Not even close.

[@miraclehuntley8257]

Wayne Prezzler don’t disrespect him like that

[@anonymousd.a.n.]

Dylan look nothing like that Keanu Reeves!! Dylan look far better than Keanu!!

[@mack_s_2001]

Also that wave at the end. Lol. So cute.

[@maeve5023]

HIS WAVE AT THE END OMG DJDJD

[@mikodancer]

"again, i'm a noodle." sent me lmaooo

[@jellybeans5081]

I'm excited for Maze Runner 3 :D

[@moonalk4969]

Teen wolf ended today and im trying not to cry but im crying, loved the show and will certainly miss the cast ! espically stiles !! "my friends, my pack"- Scott mcall

[@rody2652]

Dylan : i- Me : yes daddy?

[@profile4856]

I’m in love with blue eyes but Dylan’s changed me😂🤦🏼‍♀️

[@watermelon..baby12]

My question is what the hell happened with the elevator ending........????

[@hakanardadincli2063]

I dont know for some reason I feel like he could play a live action Zuko in an incredible way. He has that dark long hair goin, really good actor that can definitely bring life the tragic emotional and complex journey of Zuko and definitely looks young and is lean like zuko was.

[@moonie0813]

This lady knows how to do her job. I loved this interview. He got more comfortable as the interview went on.

[@hellokitty-rt9gw]

Dude he was amazing as Mitch ❤️🔥

[@katierobl4124]

Gosh, he's so freaking adorable! Love this boy. 😍😭❤️ & he's so talented!!