It’s been almost a decade since Dylan O’Brien nearly died on the set of Maze Runner: The Death Cure after a tragic accident. The actor was reportedly in a harness on top of a moving vehicle when he was unexpectedly pulled off and hit by another vehicle. Production was shut down while O’Brien recovered, and it took an entire year before he was able to return to finish the film. O’Brien spoke about the accident with Men’s Health, revealing that he had raised safety concerns before the accident but was ignored.
“It was a life-changing incident. I’ve approached everything differently, you could say, particularly with regards to standing my ground on set,” he said. “It’s very commonplace in the culture for young actors to be controlled, and the way they strive to do that is by always being like, Oh, don’t become difficult. Don’t be a pain in the ass. Or Are you complaining, are you being difficult? Things like that.“
O’Brien continued, “I learned after the accident to not conflate taking care of yourself and looking after yourself. 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. And then what happened happened. And by all accounts, it was all pretty gotten away with, I would say, as well.“
“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,” O’Brien said. “I just turned 33. I’ve been doing this for 15 years. 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 asshole. I know I was trying to protect myself that day, and so I’ve just never forgotten that. That’s always rung true as being the thing to hold with me.“
Speaking of The Maze Runner, it was revealed earlier this year that 20th Century Studios was looking to bring the franchise back. Instead of a reboot or direct sequel, the producers are hoping to make the project a “continuation of the story [but] also return to the elements which made the first movie connect with its audience.“Jack Paglen (Transcendence) was in talks to write the script for the new film.
Dylan O’Brien is playing Dan Aykroyd on Saturday Night, which is slated for a wide release on October 11th. He also stars in Caddo Lake, which will debut on Max on October 10th.