The Outfit: Dylan O'Brien Prepped For Chicago Mobster Role

By Brandon Davis

Dylan O'Brien has built himself a nice resumé of roles which are unique to one another. While many will know him from the MTV series Teen Wolf or the popular Maze Runner movie franchise, he has shown his chops in titles like American Assassin or Deepwater Horizon. Now, he's diving into a character quite different from any others he has played before with Richie Boyle in The Outfit. O'Brien's Richie is an eager mobster burdened with solving problems for his kingpin father, complete with a think Chicago accent to really immerse him into the 1950's era mob flick. 

"I think we all had our own little experiences at first reading it when it was sent to us," O'Brien said of the many twists in The Outfit. He first read the script for the film five years ago. "I believe I read it two falls before the pandemic, which is insane," he explained. 

Becoming Richie Boyle was a new experience for the actor, specifically when it came to nailing down the accent he would add to his performance. "I didn't have a bead on it, going into it," he admitted. "It's not one that I had in my back pocket, necessarily, so it's sort of like a slow process. But I don't know, it just kind of then started evolving, and what... I hadn't really been set on even leaning into an accent until we started rehearsing, I feel like, and I got there. And then it just became like it felt so right, like out of any of the characters, if anything, this guy would definitely be flaunting everything he's got. He has such insecurity, he's such a performative guy, he's got such a mask on, he's trying to project this image of authority and trying to get respect that he knows he hasn't earned, and so it just felt right to be such a flashy f---, you know?"

It seems the cast and crew has a few unexpected advantages that developed as they got further into their work on The Outfit. Zoey Deutch, who co-stars with O'Brien in the Focus Features film, explained how the unique style of filming the movie in chronological order helped everybody develop a rhythm throughout production. "I think it's an advantage in every way, for everybody," Deutch said. "One of the things that's really interesting about making action movies or anything involving blood, if there's any fight scenes or whatever, let's say there's a giant action sequence, and one of the characters, there's blood on his face or whatever. What happens if you shoot the scene that happens after before that, and you don't know exactly how the fight's going to happen, where the blood is. It becomes very annoying and complicated for everybody involved. The director, the special effects people, the actors, the stunt people, it becomes a whole thing."

None of those extra steps and mental notes were necessary for The Outfit. "For instance, in this movie, even though there's no blood on me or him or anyone, I'm not revealing anything...You get to just focus on the scenes and see how things play out," she explained. "You get to really just roll with the punches and enjoy the process of what feels like a play, of making a play."

Are you excited to see O'Brien and Deutch in The Outfit? Share your thoughts in the comment section or send them my way on Instagram! The Outfit will be playing in theaters this weekend.

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