Dylan O'Brien uses intimacy coordinator in 'Two'
(Warning: This story contains mild spoilers for “Twins,” which premiered Thursday at the Sundance Film Festival.
Dylan O'Brien reveled in playing dual roles in “Twins,” a twisted comedy-drama about two friends in a support group with someone who's lost a twin Meet friends. The “Maze Runner” and “Teen Wolf” star portray the same Rocky brothers who die unexpectedly and Roman is left without his other half to cope with unbearable grief.
“The twins were so different on the page. I felt so connected to each one. It was really natural.” O'Brien on type Studio presented by Audible. “For me, it was very physical. Once the process started with costume, hair and makeup and (director) James (Sweeney) and I talked about it in terms of walking, talking and posing, that helped me. ”
“Twins,” which premiered Thursday at the Sundance Film Festival, is the sophomore feature for Sweeney, who wrote and directed the film. He also plays Dennis, a bereaved member of a support group for twins. He and Roman found solace in each other, forming an unlikely brother in the process. Going into detail about the story's twists and turns would spoil the fun, although part of the journey involves the two main characters getting hot and heavy in the bedroom. Sweeney joked that directing herself in a sex scene was “awesome.”
“That's only part of the story,” Sweeney said. “It's uncomfortable; the director's side of my brain and the actor side of my brain. The director is like, 'This is what needs to be done,' and the actor is like, 'Fuck you.' That's always in the back of my mind.” Fighting war.”
Sweeney hired an intimacy coordinator to make sure everything ran smoothly on the day. The filmmaker said: “Dylan and I have a comfortable rapport with each other.
O'Brien also appreciated the inclusion of an intimacy coordinator, describing the filming process as “smooth sailing” after everyone talked about the logistics of the set.
“That always helps because it forces the main topic in the room to be 'How are we going to deal with this?' Comfort, boundaries, let's all get started,” he said.
Sweeney admits that as a relative newcomer to Hollywood, he worried about embodying a character whose decisions were becoming increasingly difficult for audiences to get behind.
“It was a fear, especially being someone that people weren't familiar with, that people were going to hate me. But I just wanted to make movies,” Sweeney said. “I try to reach out and bring empathy and hope that people can see the worst in the character as well.”
Lauren Graham, who plays the twins' grieving mother, pushed back against the notion that Sweeney's Dennis would be considered impossible. “I think he's very sympathetic,” she said. “That's why the audience keeps going. Because we get it.”
Even though Sweeney isn't actually a twin, he thinks '90s kids grew up on the Real (Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Tia and Tamera Mowry) and Cinematic (the convincing Lindsey Lohan) varieties. There's even a scene in “Twins” where someone watches the 1995 Olsen Twins movie “It Takes Two.”
“For people of my generation, growing up with the Olsens, 'The Parent Trap' and 'Sister,' it seeps into your subconscious,” Sweeney said. “The idea, it's not even Doppelgänger , but the other half, is the idea of a soulmate that attracts you and sees you in an increasingly lonely digital landscape.”