Yahoo Lifestyle Dylan O’Brien, ‘Twinless’ Director James Sweeney on ‘Helpful’ Intimacy Coordinators and the Influence of the Olsen Twins
[Warning: This story contains mild spoilers for “Twinless,” which premiered on Thursday at Sundance Film Festival.]
Dylan O’Brien reveled in the process of playing dual roles in “Twinless,” a twisted comedic drama about two friends who meet in a support group for people who lost a twin. The “Maze Runner” and “Teen Wolf” star portrays identical brothers Rocky, who unexpectedly dies, and Roman, who is left to navigate the unbearable grief without his other half.
More from Variety
“The twins were so distinct on the page. I felt such a different connectivity to each of them. That came really naturally,” O’Brien says at the Variety Studio presented by Audible. “For me, it’s very physical. Once the process kicks into full gear with costumes, hair and makeup and the things that [director] James [Sweeney] and I discussed in terms of walk, talk and posture, that helps me.”
“Twinless,” which premiered Thursday at Sundance Film Festival, is the sophomore feature of Sweeney, who wrote and directed the film. He also stars as Dennis, a fellow bereaved member of the support group for twinless twins. He and Roman find solace in each other, forming an unlikely bromance in the process. To say more about the story’s twists and turns would spoil the fun, though part of the journey involves two of the main characters getting hot and heavy in the bedroom. Sweeney jokes that directing himself in a sex scene was “wonderful.”
“It’s just part of the story,” Sweeney says. “It’s uncomfortable; there’s the director 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.’ It’s the war I’m always battling in my head.”
Sweeney hired an intimacy coordinator to make sure everything ran smoothly on the day. “Dylan and I had a comfortable rapport with each other,” the filmmaker says, “but it never hurts to have another set of eyes on the day.”
O’Brien also appreciated the inclusion of the intimacy coordinator, describing the process of filming as “smooth sailing” after everyone talked through the scene’s logistics.
“It’s always helpful because it forces the main topic of the room to be, ‘How are we going to approach this?’ Comforts, boundaries, let’s all get it out to start,” he says.
Sweeney admits that, as a relative newcomer to Hollywood, he was concerned about embodying a character whose decisions become harder and harder for the audience to get behind.
“It was a fear, especially being someone that people won’t be familiar with, that people will hate me. But I just wanted to make the movie,” Sweeney says. “I was trying to thread that line and bring empathy and hope that people can see the worst parts of themselves in the character, too.”
Lauren Graham, who plays the grieving mother of the twins, counters the notion that Sweeney’s Dennis will be perceived as unlikeable. “I think he’s incredibly sympathetic,” she says. “That’s why the audience goes along for the ride. Because we get it.”
Though Sweeney isn’t actually a twin, he believes that fellow ’90s kids were raised on famous twins of the real (Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Tia and Tamera Mowry) and cinematic (a convincing Lindsey Lohan) variety. There’s even a scene in “Twinless” where someone watches — and perfectly quotes — the 1995 Olsen twins movie “It Takes Two.”
“For my generation, growing up with the Olsens, ‘Parent Trap’ and ‘Sister Sister,’ it permeates through your subconscious,” Sweeney says. “This idea of, not even a doppelgänger, but another half, is what attracts me to twins. It’s like a soul mate; this one person who completely gets you and sees you. In an increasingly lonely digital landscape, we’re all searching for that.”
Best of Variety
'Blue Velvet,' 'Chinatown' and 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' Arrive on 4K in June
'House of the Dragon': Every Character and What You Need to Know About the 'Game of Thrones' Prequel
Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
