Safety on movie sets should always be a top concern, but sometimes corners are cut. Just askDylan O’Brien, who had his very own brush with death during an accident on the set of 2018’sMaze Runner: The Death Curewhile he was performing a stunt. The actor is reflecting on the moment now, and, today, he would prioritize his safety first and trust his instincts when it comes to any concerns he has about doing something that might be dangerous.
During a chat withMen’s Health, O’Brien looked back on the accident and said that it now makes him tackle these situations differently, especially if he has concerns about his own safety. The actor was 24 years old at the time of the incident, and he felt, as a younger actor, it was his place to push back on having concerns about doing a potentially dangerous stunt.
“It was a life-changing incident. I’ve approached everything differently, you could say, particularly with regards to standing my ground on set. It’s very commonplace in the culture for young actors to be controlled, and the way they strive to do that is by always being like, ‘Oh, don’t become difficult. Don’t be a pain in the ass. Or are you complaining, are you being difficult?’ Things like that.”
Dylan O’Brien’s Accident Delayed The Maze Runner Sequel for a Year
The accident on theMaze Runnerset was quite serious. While shooting the film in Vancouver, the actor engaged in a stunt that had him in a harness on top of a moving vehicle. The stunt went wrong when he was unexpectedly pulled from the vehicle and was struck by another car. The actor suffered a concussion, a facial fracture, and several lacerations, which led to production being shut down so the actor could recover. It was originally reported that production could resume in a few weeks until it was revealed that his injuries were far more serious. The accident happened on July 25, 2025, and the filming didn’t resume until June 11, 2025.
Why the Maze Runner Trilogy Deserves a Prequel Movie
The Maze Runner trilogy concluded five years ago, but fans really want to see how the dystopian world came to be in a prequel film.
Despite the seriousness of the accident, O’Brien learned from the experience, especially to not be manipulated into assuming you’ll be called difficult or hard to work with if you don’t feel right about something on set. The actor said:
“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. And by all accounts, it was all pretty gotten away with, I would say, as well.”
The Death Curewas the final installment of theMaze Runnerfilm series, based on the young adult fantasy novels by James Dashner.Wes Balldirected all three movies in the franchise, which grossed a combined $949 million globally on a $157 million combined budget. Despite their success, it sounds like O’Brien makes himself a priority these days and also says that in any of these situations,“you have your own back, and that’s the most you’re able to rely on.”
Maze Runner: Death Cure
