Dylan O'Brien Speaks On Straight Actors Playing Gay Roles

4 days ago 3

Dylan O’Brien is diving headfirst into the tricky conversation around whether straight actors should take LGBTQ+ movie and TV roles. It’s a topic he had to wrestle with recently when filming his 2025 dramedy Twinless, in which he plays a pair of twins: one straight, and one gay. According to O’Brien, he was comfortable playing the gay twin Rocky because of the insight he received from his director and co-star, James Sweeney.

“Permission goes a long way,” O’Brien told Dazed. “James is a gay man, and coming from a place I could trust. ... It was nice to have his insight, support, and calibration. He’d be like, ‘Go crazy on this one. We can dial it back if it doesn’t feel real.’”

O’Brien added that he and Sweeney agreed on why some gay roles can work with a straight actor, and others just don’t. “We ...

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