Dylan O’Brien on the sci-fi madness and gator safety of Caddo Lake

Caddo Lake, located on the border of Texas and Louisiana, is a vast and misty swamp, thick with mystery and possibility. Looking at its seemingly endless horizontal abyss, one gets the overwhelming feeling that the lake is full of stories that are hidden from the rest of the world. At least, that’s the feeling we get after watching Caddo LakeThe new film from directors Celine Held and Logan George.

A genre-bending sci-fi thriller, Caddo Lake Star Tin Wolfs Dylan O’Brien and Little womenEliza Scanlen as Paris and Eli, a couple of young people living in the area of ​​the lake. When a young child goes missing, they are both drawn into the mystery, which leads to the discovery of the lake’s shocking secret. To say more would be too much off, but suffice it to say, Caddo LakeStreaming on Max starting October 10, delivers a twisting story full of twists and revelations that turn history on its head. Perhaps, therefore, it is not surprising that M. Night Shyamalan is a producer on the project.

Screen Rant Interviewed Dylan O’Brien about his work on Caddo Lake. He talked about the personal qualities of his character, as well as taking a deep dive into the local community and spending time with its owners. He also shared his love and appreciation for directors Celine Held and Logan George, even before he was asked to act in their movie. Finally, he talked about his concern for the safety of the gators and how he made sure he wouldn’t become dinner for any swamp creatures.

Caddo Lake star Dylan O’Brien immerses himself in the world of Carnac, Texas

“I really immersed myself in this environment, which I really fell in love with and really miss to this day.”

Screen rating: iYou were born in New York, but you’re a Jersey boy, right?

Dylan O’Brien: Yeah, I’m kind of a hybrid of East Coast and West Coast. My family moved from Jersey when I was 12, so I went to high school in SoCal. But yes, I would say that New York is the foundation of my whole family. And I live here now, in my adult life, so yes, I would say I lean towards New York. Oddly enough, I know the least about North Jersey, where technically I grew up, I guess, from somewhere I’ve lived. But yes, I’m from Jersey.

Early in the movie, I had to pause it and check online. “Dylan’s not Southern, right?” Because you are great! You don’t need me to tell you, but you are fantastic in this movie.

Dylan O’Brien: (laughs) Thank you.

It feels like it was written just for you. Was that the case? Or do you have room to make this guy yours after you read it?

Dylan O’Brien: Yeah, I certainly had space, that’s the process. You have to make it filtered through you, and it’s a collaboration. Celine and Logan are incredible collaborators. They are hyper communicative. They are completely open. They are extremely passionate. They are infectious to be around and work for. They have an insatiable energy. You absolutely have to tell them it’s time to go home at the end of each day, which is what you want in your filmmakers, you know?

In terms of Paris, I mean, I have to give them so much credit for inspiring the voice in the initial text. Not literally just the voice, but how I immediately interpreted it. He immediately felt so angry, and I just got him. I saw him, I heard him, you know? It is difficult to explain. But I think connectivity to that only comes when a text is very personally and specifically crafted, and it was clear that they really immersed themselves in this environment. And sure enough, I learned that they fully conceived the script of living down on the lake for three months.

They lived in Karnak. They crafted everything just from being there and the lore and the spirit around the lake and the community, and the script is dripping with that. These are all the same things I used and built off of when I got down there myself. I really got to become friends with the guys in the community, and we’d get out on the lake and ride the boat and drink beer and shoot the sh*t. I mean, we’d hang out for six, seven hours, like talk about anything, you know? I really immersed myself in this environment, which I really fell in love with and really fell in love with to this day. That was all I used.

Dylan O’Brien on the density of Caddo Lake’s script and gator watching

“Look, I’m all about safety,” the actor explained heartily.

As soon as I watched the screener, the first thing I did was I went back and I watched it again because it was just so much…

Dylan O’Brien: There’s so much to track.

Yes. The directors even said, “Yes, there are a lot of Easter eggs.” And I was like, no, not Easter eggs, just raw storytelling! Almost every line. Because once the movie tells you what it is, it hits the ground running so hard. You hit the story beats, like, Twilight Zone-style, just as hard as you can. But I don’t think it would have had that momentum if it didn’t wind up, you know, wind up so well in the first, you know, 20 minutes or so.

Dylan O’Brien: I love it. I felt the same way. It’s funny that you said that, because when I read the script the first time, I immediately started back and read it again the second time, knowing that I was in, but I want to read it again and just separate each one. .. I had to chart it out, you know, and make sure I was tracking everything and and make sure I was really getting it. And yes, the second time, I was like, oh, this is brilliant. I’m obsessed with this! And the emotional foundation is in the same movie as the really heightened and exciting genre element. I love it as a viewer and as an actor, and I’m just good about it. So, yes, I felt the same way.

Now, I know you shoot more on the Texas side, so it’s not exactly Bayou territory.

Dylan O’Brien: Caddo Lake straddles Louisiana and Texas. And yes, we were mostly on the Carnac, Texas side.

What said, no gaters?

Dylan O’Brien: Yes. I mean, look, I’m all about safety. And so down to making the movie, I was like, what’s the gator situation? How do we get it? How are we preventing that? I’m like, if I’m going to be waist deep in this f***ing water, (laughs) you know! But really, there are surprisingly few gatekeepers, if any. I think it is very rare to see them there. And, you know, it’s such a great production. A lot of boats are out on the water, a lot of things. Gators don’t want to f*** with any of that, you know. So, yeah, no, never even a sighting. Fortunately.

Caddo Lake stars Dylan O’Brien on the film’s hands-on directors

“When you meet them, they’re just so full of life and color, and they’re so intelligent and passionate and infectious.”

This movie feels like a lost Twilight Zone History. This is the level of pure, joyful storytelling. Tell me a little about the directors. This is a very big trial by fire. Tell me about trusting them and they trust you to be their leading man.

Dylan O’Brien: I’m so curious to hear the other way, why they trust me and believe in me. But, yes, for them, for me believing in them, it’s kind of an intangible thing that you can’t put your finger on, necessarily, until you like to meet such a person. But in terms of regime, it is always such an interesting assessment. They did a feature, and they have a lot of short films that they did. And I saw them all. They’re really seasoned, you know, for not being, like, (raises air quotes) “experienced.” They are hyper experienced!

I learned that as soon as I talked to them, which was generally before the project even came about. I saw their shorts and I was like, who the f*** are these people? Because these are so dynamic and so precise. They are tonally completely different, every one of them. They are fantastic! When you meet them, they’re just so full of life and color, and they’re so intelligent and passionate and infectious. I was just like, when they sent this to me, even before I opened it, I was just like, I’m most likely doing this because I’m obsessed with these people already. So that’s just, at the end of the day, what you have to go with in terms of your gut. I would have signed up to do anything they crafted, really.

When I opened the script, and I opened the test philosophy that they shot down there with their DP, it was just like stunning. It felt so inherently cinematic as a setting. So, with the vibe going in, I was just like completely drawn in. I was really obsessed with the emotional foundation, and I believed the character. I saw him. I believed all the letters. I thought it was just wonderful. It’s always a leap of faith, you know, but that’s what it is every time. At the end of the day, if it’s backed up with your belief in how they like people, and their hearts, and what they put into their work, that’s what you sign up to work for.

More about Caddo Lake (2024)

When an eight-year-old girl mysteriously disappears, a series of past deaths and disappearances begin to connect together, forever changing a broken family history. The inspiration for CADDO LAKE was sparked after filmmakers Celine Held and Logan George found a photograph of the real Caddo Lake online, leading to many visits to the cypress forest that rests on the border of Texas and Louisiana. The film was shot in late 2021 and 2022 in and around Karnack, Texas.

Check back soon for our others Caddo Lake Interview here:

• Eliza Scan

• Celine Held & Logan George

Caddo Lake Arrives October 10 on Max.