Dylan O'Brien's Best Performance Yet Proves He's The Next Robert Pattinson

At the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, "The Maze Runner" franchise star Dylan O'Brien made quite a splash with dual performances in a darkly comedic exploration of grief and loneliness called "Twinless." Not only did O'Brien win the US Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting, but the film also took home the Audience Award in the U.S. Dramatic section of Sundance. That's because this is the best performance of O'Brien's career, and filmmaker James Sweeney pulls off an impressive balancing act both as a filmmaker and a captivating performer himself. 

"Twinless" follows Dylan O'Brien as Roman, who is mourning the death of his twin brother Rocky (also O'Brien). Roman is a bit of a dim bulb without much of a personality, and he has a short fuse exacerbated by his grief. But most of the time, he's also a nice, quiet guy. Meanwhile, Rocky was the more outgoing brother, and he wasn't shy about hooking up with guys and enjoying his life. After deciding to stay in his brother's apartment for a while after the funeral, Roman joins a bereavement group for twins who have lost their sibling. It's there that Roman meets Dennis, a quirky and initially shy gay man who is also grieving the loss of his twin brother. Despite having completely different vibes and almost zero common ground, the two strike up a delightful friendship where they enjoy grocery shopping, eating sandwiches, and dressing up like Sims characters for Halloween.

But Dennis is hiding a secret. Actually, he's hiding two secrets, and they're bound to be bombshells for Roman if he ever found them out.

The result is a darkly funny yet emotional movie about grief and trauma, and it's a showcase for both O'Brien as a versatile actor who has matured significantly since his "Maze Runner" days, as well as Sweeney, who has given him the perfect opportunity to showcase his range, even if it's in two roles that aren't as showy as you might think.

In the past few years, Dylan O'Brien has been taking on quite an eclectic assembly of roles, following in the footsteps of fellow young adult breakout star Robert Pattinson. Just as Pattinson found massive fame after taking the role of the vampire Edward in the "Twilight" film franchise, O'Brien's fame came from leading "The Maze Runner" trilogy, one of the better adaptations to come out of the young adult craze that followed the success of Harry Potter, "Twilight," and "The Hunger Games." 

But after the young adult craze was over and the blockbuster "Maze Runner" franchise was done, O'Brien wasn't necessarily a bankable star. That allowed him to fly a little more under the radar with films like the underrated "Love & Monsters," one of the better movies to get released at home during the height of the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, not to mention taking notable roles in low key releases like "The Outfit" and the Sundance-selected "Ponyboi" and parodying himself in shows like "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "The Other Two." 

Without the weight of a blockbuster franchise holding him down, O'Brien has been able to take on more intriguing characters (though maybe not quite as weird or varied as Pattinson's career since "Twilight") without much pomp and circumstance, making it easier to disappear into the kind of indies and understated movies that Pattinson keeps jumping into when he's not putting on the cape and cowl for "The Batman" or working with director Christopher Nolan.

However, in the past year, O'Brien is essentially demanding our attention. Not only did he deliver a superb performance as "Saturday Night Live" cast member Dan Aykroyd in Jason Reitman's outstanding "Saturday Night," emulating the actor (as seen above) without doing a hacky impersonation of the actor's unique speaking cadence, but now we have "Twinless," where he executes an award-worthy performance that proves we need to be giving O'Brien more of our time. 

First of all, O'Brien's performance as Roman is fantastic on its own. While the character does have loud, angry outbursts at his mother, which seems to be a staple of their relationship that resonates from his younger years, it's the more quiet, reflective moments where the actor deserves the most praise. The pain in his eyes is palpable, suffering from the loss of his twin brother but also still holding onto some bitterness from the later, estranged stage of their relationship, where he felt left behind by his more personable and outgoing brother. The gears in his mind are always turning, reflecting on the time he once had with his brother and thinking about how he's going to live on without him.

But O'Brien's turn as Rocky makes his portrayal of Roman shine even more. Rocky is gay, affable, and charming, though he can still be a bit of a jerk at times, especially when referring to his brother. He sports a mustache, and O'Brien carries Rocky with just enough swagger and confidence to clearly define him from Roman without overdoing it. 

Of course, the best part of O'Brien's performance still lies within Roman, especially when a certain revelation is made that fires up anger, sadness, grief, and a feeling of almost unfathomable betrayal all at once. We won't spoil it here, but just know that Dylan O'Brien's performance in this movie is nothing short of superb, and I hope that we keep seeing more of this caliber of work from him. 

If you want to hear more about "Twinless," as well as the other movies we saw during the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, check out the latest episode of the /Film Daily podcast right here:

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