Dylan O’Brien reveals how he prepared for intimate toe-sucking scene in Twinless
O’Brien told Entertainment Weekly about the hotel-room scene in which Dennis gives Roman a foot rub before moving on to sucking his toes
By Callum Wells
Dylan O’Brien has revealed how he prepared for one of the most intimate moments in his latest film, Twinless, admitting he had to “scrub away” before shooting a toe-sucking scene.
In the film, written and directed by James Sweeney, O’Brien plays Roman, a straight man grappling with the death of his gay twin brother, Rocky. Roman meets Dennis, played by Sweeney, at a support group for bereaved twins. The two form a complicated connection that challenges Roman’s understanding of grief, sexuality, and trust.
O’Brien told Entertainment Weekly about the hotel-room scene in which Dennis gives Roman a foot rub before moving on to sucking his toes. To make the moment as comfortable as possible, O’Brien cleaned up beforehand. “We were shooting in a real hotel,” he said. “So, there was a tub, and I went in and scrubbed away.”
“There was a tub, and I went in and scrubbed away” – Dylan O’Brien on filming the toe-sucking scene
The intimate scene takes a darker turn when Dennis reveals several shocking truths – he isn’t a twin, he had been romantically involved with Rocky, and he was present on the night Roman’s twin died. Roman reacts violently, attacking Dennis in a moment that underlines the film’s intense exploration of grief and betrayal.
Sweeney has also addressed the online leak of the sex scene, admitting it caused him some anxiety. He told Them: “On one hand… all press is good press, and you hope [the online discussion] garners goodwill and awareness of the project, and that it incentivises people to show up and see the film, especially for all those perverts.”
At the same time, Sweeney criticised audiences’ sense of “entitlement” for content to be “immediately available to them” and for exploiting the film. “It is an invasion of my privacy and of my bodily autonomy,” he said.
Scheduled to screen at the BFI London Film Festival
“Obviously, I made the film and the scene is in there. It’s going to exist. But it’s supposed to be presented in a specific context.”
Twinless does not yet have an official release date. It is scheduled to screen at the upcoming BFI London Film Festival, and its rights have been sold to Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions.
Read Attitude’s roundup of seven LGBTQ-themed films screening at the annual run of events.