How Dylan O’Brien Became Dan Aykroyd for Saturday Night

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As a seasoned movie critic with a penchant for dissecting performances that truly resonate, I must say Dylan O’Brien has outdone himself in his latest roles – a feat as impressive as catching a gator with bare hands (or so I imagine).

Prior to the debut of “Caddo Lake,” a suspenseful thriller produced by M. Night Shyamalan that is now available for streaming on Max, we had the opportunity to chat with Dylan O’Brien. In this intricate and engaging film, O’Brien delivers an impressive performance as Paris, a struggling lake worker who finds himself in a web of mystery after a young girl disappears in a swampy town. Just as “Caddo Lake” hits Max, another of O’Brien’s films, “Saturday Night,” is also releasing. This movie is a dramatization of the 90 minutes leading up to the first episode of Saturday Night Live 50 years ago, and in this production, O’Brien takes on the role of Dan Aykroyd. In our conversation, he shared insights into how he approached portraying the legendary performer on screen.

As a devoted cinephile, I can tell you that when it came to portraying Dan Aykroyd in our film, my aim was to capture the essential elements of his character without veering too far into caricature. For me, those key aspects were his remarkable intelligence and his uncanny precision.

He’s incredibly factual, curious, and eloquent during improvisation. He never stumbles or makes mistakes. It seems as though he’s naturally confident without any insecurities. Watching him and observing his interviews, I picked up on these qualities and decided to go with my impressions.

Working With ‘Hyper-Enthusiastic’ Directors & Wrangling Gators

Besides Paris, there’s another unique character O’Brien effectively portrays in his latest film, “Caddo Lake”. This mystery thriller was written and directed by the filmmaking team of Celine Held and Logan George. Unlike Paris, humor isn’t a factor here, but intensity definitely is, as O’Brien delivers it with skill. When asked about his experience, he acknowledged the writers: “I definitely want to give credit to Celine and Logan for how they crafted the script. From the moment I read it, I had a clear image of Paris in my mind, so hats off to them for creating such a well-rounded and authentic character, not just for my role but across the entire cast.

O’Brien went on to discuss the directors of “Caddo Lake” who taught him the talents similar to Paris’s character, all while they were working by the serene lake.

“They’re so passionate, and they’re hyper-enthusiastic. And you know, they were constantly meeting people every day in pre-production. They were texting me, being like,
‘You gotta go wrangle gators with this guy!’
and, ‘[Paris] is an amazing character!’ and, ‘You gotta go meet [these locals]… They’re kind of crazy in the best way!’ But from that, I met a guy by the name of Chaz Warren, who initially took me out on the lake and kind of taught me to drive the boat.”

That experience resulted in some of the most tense and even spooky moments of the new thriller Caddo Lake,now streaming on Max (you can watch it here). Meanwhile, Saturday Night is now in theaters.

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2024-10-13 17:33