When ponyboi Shooting boss Don Sean shared photos From the set of the film on Instagram with Dylan O’Brien in 2022, the images quickly went viral. Fans shared their reactions on social media to the actor’s transformation for the film, which included a close fade, eyebrow slits, multiple chains, and shaved facial hair with a chin strap. It was a marked departure from his trademark shaggy hair and beard.
while talking to The Hollywood Reporter At the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, O’Brien and co-star River Gallo (who also wrote the film) detailed how the look was created.
O’Brien noted that creating the character’s hair and costume was a collaborative effort between him, Gallo and director Esteban Arango. While Gallo wanted the actor to opt for a look inspired by Jersey Shore star Pauly D to fit the film’s Jersey setting, O’Brien envisioned his character would have short hair.
“We asked this barber to give me a really cool cut that brought everything together,” the actor explained. Then he turned to Gallo and recalled: “Do you remember that day in the trailer? We were doing like the goatee and you said, ‘Leave the chin strap.’ I was like, ‘Sure.’ And then you fought for the mask and kept it, thank goodness, because I love it.”
Another of Gallo’s ideas for O’Brien’s appearance stuck. “River literally texted me a tattoo idea from the beginning when I first joined and I was like, ‘I love it,’ and I’m going to leave it as a surprise,” said the teen wolf alum.
Once the look was discovered, O’Brien was able to fully understand who his character was.
“It just came up and really informed me. I mean, those things helped me a lot, especially with something that was a change for me, for sure, and not who I am in any way,” she explained. “I definitely felt like he knew exactly… he knew this guy. I knew kids like that. He knew exactly what he wanted to do. But all those things really evolve as you start, the process comes together and the tattoos and the hair and the clothes, my shape, appear. “I never could have taken on the role the way I ended up without all those pieces in the process.”
Watch the full interview in the video above.