Dylan O’Brien and ‘Twinless’ Costar Address Sex Scenes Being Leaked Online

Dylan O’Brien and his Twinless director-costar James Sweeney are speaking out against those who leaked sex scenes from the movie on social media.

“That sucked. I don’t know, it’s nice to finally have the movie out in the world — but stop doing that. It affects us,” O’Brien, 34, told The Hollywood Reporter at the movie’s Los Angeles premiere Tuesday, Sept. 2.

Both THR and Deadline reported in February that Twinless was one of two movies pulled from the Sundance Film Festival‘s streaming website after spoiler-filled sex scenes from the film appeared on social media. At the time, Sundance wrote in a statement that the movie “was a victim of some copyright infringement on various social media platforms.” 

Sweeney, the 35-year-old writer and director who costars with O’Brien in the movie, also told THR on Sept. 2 that having sex scenes from the movie leaked online months before its intended release “was really demoralizing and uncomfortable.”

“The entitlement that people have to put things on the internet when they’re not released and not ready for consumption — that’s not how I wanted the film to be introduced,” he said. “Obviously we hope that it’s a net positive that it invigorates interest and try to look at the bright side that way, but I can’t really personally condone piracy.”

Twinless sees O’Brien take on dual roles as twins Roman and Rocky. The movie follows Roman as he struggles to cope with Rocky’s death; he befriends a man named Dennis (Sweeney) at a support group for people grieving the loss of a twin. 

O’Brien, who received an executive producer credit on the movie for the first time in his career, told THR that he worked with Sweeney for four years to bring the film to fruition after first reading the script. 

“We were trying to get it off the ground and I thought it was really special and was a little confused how it ended up near me,” he said.

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“Roman and Dennis both search for solace and an identity without their other halves and soon become inseparable outside the group,” reads a synopsis for Twinless. “But when Roman meets Dennis’ ebullient co-worker Marcie, all is revealed to be not what it seems, as each man harbors secrets that could unravel everything.”

Twinless, in theaters Sept. 5, won Sundance’s Audience Award in the U.S. dramatic competition in January, and O’Brien won the festival’s special jury award for acting. The movie also stars Aisling Franciosi, Lauren Graham, Tasha Smith, Chris Perfetti, Francois Arnaud and Susan Park.