Written by director/writer Quinn Shephard. The dark comedy It’s not okay follows Danni Sanders (Zoey Deutch), an aspiring writer that just can’t seem to make it happen for herself, so she decides to fake a trip to Paris on Instagram in the hopes that it will bring her some much wanted attention. Danni spins the tragedy to her advantage and she loses her job as an influential blogger.
In this one-on-one interview, Collider will answer all your questions. Dylan O’Brien (who plays Colin, a social media star that Danni tries very hard to catch the attention of) talks about developing this character with Shephard, how his look evolved, what they were aiming for with all the tattoos, the importance of a filmmaker’s vision, working with co-star Deutch on more than one occasion now, and why he never wants to repeat the same thing with the projects that he signs on for.
Collider: It seems that this character could be very vague and developed after actors were cast and when you worked with the director. What was the description of this man? How did you get it to where we are now?
DYLAN O’BRIEN: Just through initial conversation. I can’t remember how he was described or listed in the breakdown, but I read the script and I had a really specific image of him when I was reading it, and one that I felt like I could totally get. I just felt like I got it. I don’t know. And then I talked with Quinn (“writer/director”). [Shephard]We talked about the type of character we wanted to portray and our plans for who it would be. It was a great conversation. We laughed for an hour about the different types of characters. I’ve been really fascinated by this character for so long, so I was excited that’s what she was going for.
If you had seen him in the original image, did you find it to be exactly what you now see?
O’BRIEN: Yeah, it absolutely evolved. It’s such a team effort, particularly with this, with the clothes, the tats, the hair, everything. The process was slow. The voice and physicality were clear to me. The dude was clearly audible. The aesthetic was complete as preproduction began. I would walk around my house talking like him sometimes, and I’d record it on my phone and send it to Quinn.
Did it make you feel like stopping after finishing this task? Did you need to stop playing the character, as he’s so specific?
O’BRIEN: No, not really. O’BRIEN: Maybe just for fun. It would be a fun thing to do. However, it was simple to get up.
What amount of thought was put into each tattoo? Did each tattoo correspond to the character in any way? Any were you able to request?
O’BRIEN: Our key head of makeup literally hand drew all the tattoos herself and just made a bunch of stupid ones. You could not have more shallow tattoos. I just wanted them to be the dumbest tattoos that you could put on yourself, that were the most on-the-nose, so we had a snake, and a yin-yang, and a pot leaf, and just really, really surface-level, meaningless things that he thinks are so sick because he’s such a poser.
Are you modeling him on someone or are they just people you have seen over many years?
O’BRIEN: That’s exactly it. That’s the perfect way of putting it. This was really just years of watching men like him. In so many ways, he’s the worst. It’s more of a fascination of just, “What is it about all these things that fool people?” If you stripped away everything, like how he dresses, how he talks, his chains, his rings, his hair, his tats, I don’t know why those things are so desired by people. It’s an aesthetic that’s just super in right now and has been for a while, or maybe always has been.
Which do you believe this man is? Are we seeing him as he really is? Is he aware of who he really is? Are there people underneath all the lies he tells?
O’BRIEN: I think he’s lost touch with who he even is. This is who he has been for so long that I don’t think it’s either/or, necessarily. Both blend in with each other. It’s not who he is, but it’s also who he’s become, so I don’t even think he remembers how to be who he once was. It’s an existential crisis.
The way this film is handled is so interesting because it could easily just have been a disaster to handle a subject like this, but it’s so well done, which really comes back to the vision of the filmmaker. How did Quinn Shepard respond? Have you worked before with any filmmakers that were as close to you in age?
O’BRIEN: All great thoughts and questions. This movie is extremely risky and difficult to do well. It can cause a lot of division. This could be disastrous. It’s a really delicate tonal balance, and it’s not an easy thing to execute. So, I was so impressed when I saw what Quinn did with the movie, and I think you’re so right. It’s a really strong vision. That’s the only way that something like this can come out the other side, the way it did. How many times have you ever been with a director as close to your age as me? Yes. Quinn and me are separated by four or so years. I’ve also worked with my friend Michael Matthews, who directed a movie I did, Love and Monsters, and I think he’s only a few years older than me. So, there’s been a couple.
Image via Fox Searchlight
At least with something like this, it seems like it would work to your advantage to be so close in age because you’d have the same cultural reference points, which would make a lot of sense when you’re trying to figure out living in the world in this movie.
O’BRIEN: Totally.
Are you familiar with the conversation that you had overheard between two people, in which you compared your social media followers?
O’BRIEN: You hear crazy snippets all the time, especially in New York, just walking around. It’s not something I can remember, at least in terms of following. But I’ve witnessed entire lunches happening next to me where the entire time, the two parties are on their phone, not looking up once, but talking. They’re on their phone, the food comes, they snap it, and then they continue on their phones while they kind of eat. It’s not like they’re not speaking, but they’re constantly on their phones. It’s just such a crux.
Together, Zoey and Zoey are great at this. You were so excellent in it. The Outfit This is a very different dynamic. What do you enjoy about working with her, especially now that you’ve worked with her on such different character dynamics in two different films?
O’BRIEN: What I love about Zoey is that she’s such a clear person. Zoey is direct and doesn’t shy away from being direct. She’s just being assertive. You never don’t know where you stand with Zoey, and I really appreciate people like that because communication is such a key foundation and I feel like people are so often not communicative, or passive aggressive, or whatever. She doesn’t beat around anything, and I love that in a personality. That is what I appreciate in professional settings and as a friend. To me, direct communication is kindness. That’s one of my favorite things about her. She’s incredible in every other facet, too. She’s wonderfully talented, she’s really smart, and she’s a great person.
Image via Fox Searchlight
Back when you started your career, we began doing interviews. Teen Wolf, and you’ve played a very interesting collection of characters since then. You can feel the differences between them when they are laid next to each others. Is that intentional? Is that something that you’ve fought for, or do you just feel like you’ve been really lucky, not being stuck in any one box?
O’BRIEN: Thanks, first of all. That’s so nice. Of course, it’s intentional. There are hundreds of things that I guess I could’ve said “yes” to or done, that would’ve just been total carbon copies of where I started or what I’ve done before, and that’s not something that’s interesting to me to do. It’s funny that you mention laying them all next to each other. It would make me proud to look back on my career and see that I have played many characters. One day, I hope to be a stage actor. They’re all such different versions of each other. They are all so different that I don’t want to repeat the same thing. That’s not exciting or fulfilling to me. So, yeah, it certainly comes with an intention, and that’s cool, thank you so much for saying that.
When you’re reading a script, do you know within a few pages, if it’s something you want to do? Is it you who reads the whole script until the very end, because you are determined to complete the task?
O’BRIEN: It depends. It depends. I’m sure you can figure it out pretty fast. I will usually do all my research and make it through the process. I feel like after a while, you just know if it’s something you’re connecting to or not, or if it’s somebody that you are excited to work with. With the character, it’s such a gut thing. If it’s not there, and you’re not feeling it, you can’t force it. If you’re ever trying to be deliberate or force it, then that’s a sign that it’s not the thing that you should be doing.
It’s not okay Hulu offers streaming of the film.
