Dylan O'Brien Reveals The Hollywood Cost Of Skipping Instagram

Hollywood keeps trying to turn follower counts into casting metrics, and Dylan O'Brien keeps saying no thanks. Which, to be fair, makes his next gig even more interesting: he just teamed up with Sam Raimi on a new horror-thriller, and he did it without an Instagram in sight.

First up: the movie

O'Brien co-stars with Rachel McAdams in Raimi's 'Send Help,' the director's first non-IP feature in 17 years. The vibe is throwback Raimi, very Evil Dead-era energy, but wrapped around a survival story: a boss and an employee (O'Brien plays a guy named Brendon) crash-land on a tropical island and have to figure out how to not die and not kill each other. Early reactions have been strong, with praise for O'Brien leaning into a pretty unlikeable character. Raimi also strikes me as the last director to care about anyone's follower count, which feels… refreshing.

O'Brien vs. Instagram (and the people who make the money decisions)

O'Brien's rise from Teen Wolf and the Maze Runner movies could have easily turned into a post-anything, promote-everything career. Instead, he's been picky. That pickiness extends to social media, where he simply isn't on Instagram, and that, apparently, has cost him jobs. He brought it up himself to THR while he was out banging the drum for James Sweeney's twisted black comedy 'Twinless,' and he did not mince words about how the industry treats actors without built-in audiences.

'I can't tell you how many times I've been complained to about not having an Instagram — and that's coming from people who truly have the power to build awareness. It's like it's a slap in the face. It's literally telling me that they're not going to spend the money.'

He also talked about how it gets in his head, because he knows the lack of IG has probably taken him out of the running more than once.

'But it's hard to not have your moments of feeling responsible, even ridiculous moments where you're like, 'Should I have gotten an Instagram?' It's unfair to yourself. There are, I'm sure, casting conversations I'm left out of because of that. It's not like that's actually explicitly said to me during these conversations, but I imagine so just because it seems to be very much a main topic.'

So yeah, it's one thing to silently judge someone for not posting thirst traps. It's another to let social media strategy decide casting.

The 'Twinless' leak mess

Instagram also found a way to complicate things for him during 'Twinless.' When the film hit Sundance's online platform, clips from O'Brien's steamiest scenes leaked early. No one can draw a straight line between those leaks and the film's under-the-radar rollout, but O'Brien thinks it's hard to ignore the connection.

What fans are saying

When this came up on my IG feed, the comments were a chorus. Boiled down, it was this:

• @alexmarn4 called it sad that he's lost roles over not having IG, and questioned why that should disqualify anyone from consideration.
• @vaultv3 framed it as studios chasing free marketing by banking on actors' follower counts.
• @dirwise said they respect actors who stay off social media entirely.
• @lady_jenny_w thought the pressure for him to join is bananas and that he should be left alone.
• @__mynameizno__ argued the system rewards follower totals over talent and that social media has stripped away the old-school mystery around actors, even while acknowledging some people manage it well.
• @zoranpro_films liked knowing less about him, beyond that he's good at his job.
• Plenty of others suggested the classic workaround: hire an assistant to run a bare-minimum account that wakes up for press tours and goes dormant after. Not wrong, but it's his call.
• People also pointed out he's not alone here: Emma Stone, Jessica Chastain, Paul Mescal, and Maya Hawke keep a relatively low profile or skip IG altogether.

Where this lands

If Dylan O'Brien ever shows up on Instagram, it'll be because he decided to, not because a studio memo made him. In the meantime, he'll be busy being difficult to like (on purpose) in 'Send Help' when it hits theaters on January 30, 2026. And no, Brendon can't crowdsource a rescue by asking his followers for a raft.