Dylan O’Brien broke out well over a decade ago, with his role as Stiles Stilinski in the MTV supernatural drama Teen Wolf. The sarcastic best friend quickly became a fan-favorite character, with critics and fans alike predicting that the young actor was poised to rank among Hollywood’s most promising generation of new stars. More than thirteen years later, that has proven to be true, but not necessarily on the path that some might have expected.
O’Brien has a few blockbusters to his name, leading The Maze Runner trilogy, which grossed more than $900 million worldwide. He was also frequently named as a possible candidate to play Spider-Man in the mid-2010s, though he’s since revealed that he never auditioned for the role. Still, for all of his mainstream appeal, O’Brien’s most indelible movie performances have happened in smaller, offbeat projects like the heartfelt sci-fi dystopia Love and Monsters and the twisty thriller Caddo Lake. The New York native is continuing down that path with a new comedy, which is being hailed as the actor’s best work.
Twinless Marks A Career High For O’Brien
It Has A Perfect Score On Rotten Tomatoes
O’Brien is currently promoting the new comedy Twinless. Written, directed, and produced by James Sweeney, who co-stars opposite O’Brien, the story focuses on two men who develop a friendship after meeting in a support group for twins who have lost their other half. Aisling Franciosi, Lauren Graham, Tasha Smith, Chris Perfetti, François Arnaud, Susan Park, and Cree Cicchino also star in the comedy, which recently debuted at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. It won an award at the 2025 Palm Springs International Film Festival, with Sweeney named as one of the Directors to Watch.
Twinless boasts a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 14 reviews. The score may fluctuate as more reviews are added. However, the score currently breaks down to an 8 out of 10. The comedy marks O’Brien’s highest score on Rotten Tomatoes among critics, with Love and Monsters coming in second with 94%. Bumblebee is third with 91%, albeit O’Brien only has a small voice cameo as the тιтular Transformers character.
What Movies Like Twinless Mean For O’Brien’s Career
He’s Been Careful About The Roles He’s Chosen
In his Twinless review for Screen Rant, Graeme Guttman writes that the comedy highlights O’Brien “like we’ve never seen him before.” Other reviews are similarly full of praise, calling his dual role as twins a career-best performance. While promoting the movie, the actor acknowledged that “I would have a much different career, I think, if I was a ‘yes to everything’ person.”
O’Brien’s upcoming films include the Sam Raimi-directed thriller Send Help, opposite Rachel McAdams, the drama Anniversary, and the acclaimed Ponyboi.
In that same interview with Variety, O’Brien puts it even more plainly and says he’s “egregiously picky.” Though he hasn’t chosen the most talked-about films, compared to his contemporaries, he has nonetheless built up an enviable filmography filled with roles that are consistently enjoyable and excellent when it counts. With projects like Twinless, O’Brien is quietly affirming himself as the multi-faceted and charismatic performer fans recognized him as all those years ago.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes
