Dylan O’Brien Bio
Dylan Rhodes O’Brien is an American actor whose career spans television, film, and voice work. He first rose to prominence as Stiles Stilinski in the MTV supernatural series Teen Wolf, a role that ran from 2011 to 2017. He later became a leading film actor through the science fiction Maze Runner trilogy and has since built a varied résumé across drama, action, and animation.
Over the following decade, O’Brien expanded into major studio films such as Deepwater Horizon and Bumblebee, as well as the post-apocalyptic adventure Love and Monsters. He is recognized for taking on physically demanding roles and for transitioning successfully between television and feature films.
Early Life and Background
Dylan Rhodes O’Brien was born on August 26, 1991, in New York City, New York. He is the son of Lisa Rhodes, a former actress who ran an acting school, and Patrick O’Brien, a camera operator. O’Brien is of Irish, Italian, English, and Spanish descent.
O’Brien grew up in Springfield Township, New Jersey, until the age of twelve, when he and his family moved to Hermosa Beach, California. After graduating from Mira Costa High School in 2009, he considered a future in sports broadcasting and possibly working for the New York Mets.
At the age of fourteen, O’Brien began posting original comedy videos to his personal YouTube channel. In his senior year of high school, a local producer and director approached him about working for a web series, an experience that introduced him to professional filmmaking.
Path to Acting
While working on that early web series, O’Brien met an actor who connected him with a manager. Encouraged by this opportunity, he changed his plans to attend Syracuse University as a sports broadcasting major and instead chose to pursue acting full-time.
Before his professional career took off, O’Brien produced, directed, and starred in a number of short comedy films that he released through his YouTube channel. He was also the drummer for the independent rock band Slow Kids at Play, which gave him additional experience performing in front of audiences.
His big break arrived when he auditioned for MTV’s Teen Wolf, a series loosely based on the 1985 film of the same name. Although he was initially considered for the role of Scott, O’Brien pushed to read for the part of Stiles instead. After four auditions, he was cast and began playing the role in 2010, launching his professional acting career.
Dylan O’Brien Career
Early Career (2011–2013)
Dylan Rhodes O’Brien’s first major role was Stiles Stilinski on the MTV supernatural series Teen Wolf, which ran from 2011 to 2017. His performance earned him several Teen Choice Awards and a Young Hollywood Award, signaling his arrival as a young television star.
In 2011, he appeared in the entirely improvised independent comedy film High Road. The following 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.
Breakthrough (2014–2018)
That same summer of 2013, O’Brien filmed The Maze Runner, released in 2014, in which he played the lead role of Thomas. Yahoo! Movies named him as one of the fifteen Breakout Stars to Watch for in 2014, marking his transition to feature films.
He reprised the role of Thomas in Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, released on September 18, 2015. In March 2016, while filming a stunt for Maze Runner: The Death Cure, O’Brien was seriously injured on set. He was in a harness on top of a moving vehicle when he was pulled off and hit by another vehicle, suffering facial fractures, a concussion, and brain trauma. After months of recovery and reconstructive facial surgery, he returned to the set of The Death Cure in March 2017. The film premiered on January 26, 2018.
In 2016, he appeared in the disaster thriller-drama Deepwater Horizon, portraying real-life explosion survivor Caleb Holloway. The following year, he starred as the titular character Mitch Rapp in the action-thriller American Assassin. In 2018, he voiced the title character in the Transformers spin-off film Bumblebee.
Notable Works and Milestones
O’Brien’s signature work remains his lead role as Thomas across the Maze Runner trilogy, which established him as a young leading man in science fiction film. He has also built a reputation for genre versatility, moving between disaster drama, action thrillers, voice acting, and post-apocalyptic adventure in projects such as Deepwater Horizon, American Assassin, Bumblebee, and Love and Monsters.
Dylan O’Brien Award Nominations
Throughout his career, Dylan Rhodes O’Brien has earned recognition from youth-focused awards bodies for his television and film work. He received Teen Choice Awards nominations during his run on Teen Wolf, reflecting the show’s popularity with younger audiences.
Dylan O’Brien Awards Won
Dylan Rhodes O’Brien has won several Teen Choice Awards and a Young Hollywood Award for his role as Stiles Stilinski on the MTV series Teen Wolf. These early wins helped establish him as a recognized talent in Hollywood during the 2010s.
Dylan O’Brien Family
Dylan Rhodes O’Brien is the son of Patrick O’Brien, a camera operator, and Lisa Rhodes, a former actress who also ran an acting school. His mother’s background in acting and training helped shape his early exposure to performance. O’Brien has Irish, Italian, English, and Spanish ancestry.
Personal Life
O’Brien grew up in Springfield Township, New Jersey, before his family relocated to Hermosa Beach, California, when he was twelve years old. He has continued to pursue creative projects outside of acting, including drumming for the independent rock band Slow Kids at Play. In 2021, O’Brien co-starred opposite Sadie Sink in Taylor Swift’s short film All Too Well and was credited as a drummer on the track “Snow on the Beach” from Swift’s tenth studio album, Midnights.
