Dylan O’Brien revealed that he had safety concerns on The Maze Runner: The Death Cure set before an injury put him in the hospital.
“I learned after the accident to not conflate taking care of yourself and looking after yourself,” O’Brien, 33, told Men’s Health in a recently published interview. “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.”
O’Brien starred as Thomas in the film franchise, which premiered with The Maze Runner — based on the book of the same name by James Dashner — in 2014. The following year, he reprised his role for the sequel, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials.
While filming the third movie in 2016, O’Brien was hospitalized with a concussion, facial fracture and brain trauma, among other injuries, following an on-set incident. Production was put on pause, but the actor eventually returned to his role to finish the movie. (Us Weekly has reached out to 20th Century Fox for comment.)
“By all accounts, it was all pretty gotten away with, I would say, as well,” O’Brien told the magazine earlier this month about the “life-changing incident.”
“I’ve approached everything differently, you could say, particularly with regards to standing my ground on set,” he continued. “It’s very commonplace in the culture for young actors to be controlled.”
According to the Teen Wolf alum, he was always encouraged not to “become difficult” or “a pain in the ass.” However, he took away a major learning lesson.
“At the end of the day, in these spaces, you have your own back, and that’s the most you can rely on,” he shared in the Men’s Health interview. “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.”
O’Brien added: “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.”
The actor admitted it’s “a shame” that this experience is always in the back of his mind. (O’Brien took a brief hiatus from Hollywood following his injury before returning for 2017’s American Assassin.)
“There’s nothing wrong with asking questions. There’s nothing wrong with bringing ideas, even if we’re talking creatively. It’s our job to bring ideas. There’s nothing wrong with raising concerns,” he concluded. “It’s a collaborative process. It’s a creative process, but also you’re dealing with big dangerous s— sometimes, too.”
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