Dylan O’Brien recalls life-altering incident on set: ‘I’ve never forgotten’

Dylan O’Brien opened up about the incident that altered the course of his life.

The 33-year-old actor shared that since his near-death experience on the set of Maze Runner, he has learned to stand up for himself.

“It’s taught me that, at the end of the day, in these spaces, you have your own back, and that’s the most you can rely on,” he told Men’s Health on Monday, October 7th. 

“I know the person I am, and the character I bring to set, and the way I treat people and the way that I treat a workspace, and I know I’m not difficult. I know I’m not an a--hole," said the Teen Wolf alum.

During the filming of the final instalment of the movie in Vancouver, the Maze Runner actor performed a stunt that threw him off a vehicle, causing a concussion and facial fracture, among other injuries. The movie was put on hold in 2016 because of the incident and resumed filming the next year.

“I know I was trying to protect myself that day, and so I’ve just never forgotten that," O’Brien said of the unfortunate day. 

He reflected that since the accident he’s “approached everything differently, particularly with regards to standing [his] ground on set.”

O’Brien continued, "It’s very commonplace in the culture for young actors to be controlled, [and] that’s achieved by telling the young performers not to become “difficult” or “a pain in the a--.”

The Bumblebee star gave an advice to the emerging actors, saying, “Don’t let them manipulate you into thinking that is being difficult, because I can look at that day and know I was a 24-year-old kid who was raising concerns about how we were approaching things, and they were not listened to, they were not respected, then what happened, happened."

O’Brien shared that after 13 years into his career, he was able “to build this armour” for himself, but “it’s a shame that it had to be that for [him]".

However, he now recognises that there’s “nothing wrong” in saying, “No, man, I’m going to look after myself, I’m going to take care of myself."