“It’s a trip.
I’m still awaiting confirmation on whether or not I did.”
He was also disappointed that there wasn’t a role that suited him anywhere in the project.
Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd in ‘Saturday Night;’ Dan Aykroyd.Sony; Getty
“I was like, ‘What a great project.
Sony; Getty
O’Brien couldn’t envision himself matching Aykroyd’s physicality.
Everybody totally looks like their person,'” he says.
Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd in ‘Saturday Night’.Sony
And I was like, ‘No, I just don’t think I’m right.’
And he was like, ‘Just do it.'"
Aykroyd’s shoes remained unfilled after the strike lifted in November.
Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd in ‘Saturday Night’.Sony
Sony
In a way, O’Brien’s turn as Aykroyd is a fulfillment of a forgotten destiny.
“They’re always asking you for things to talk about.
I’m always like, ‘I don’t know!’
I’m like, ‘Oh, f—, there’s my talk show story.'”
Bizarrely, O’Brien can’t say for certain whether or not he’s met Aykroyd in person.
“My dad’s a camera operator,” he says.
That would be the funniest answer for people to be like, ‘Have you finally met him?’
I’m actually like, ‘Yo, it turns out I did in 2003.'"
“It’s a trip.
I’m still awaiting confirmation on whether or not I did.
My dad seems to think he wasn’t working that night.
I feel like I remember it being a dinner table scene where he was working.
My mom also has a different version of the story, so I don’t know.
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The stories didn’t just come from Reitman, though.
“I also absorbed a lot from random people,” O’Brien says.
“I have a friend who goes to the same bar across the street as me.
He’s like, ‘Oh, what have you been up to?’
I told him, ‘I’m playing Dan Aykroyd right now.’
And he’s like, ‘Get out of here.
I went to high school with his daughter.
I really dug that aspect of him.
I came away just thinking he was the coolest guy.”
“He lives his life, doing his own thing,” he explains.
“I feel like I’m the same way.
It gave me the ultimate comfort of knowing that we were similar.
Still, O’Brien is excited to eventually cross paths with Aykroyd.
“I can’t wait to meet him when I do.
It’ll just be a fun, cool little interaction.
He did so much for me without even realizing it.”
Saturday Nightis now playing in theaters.
This interview has been condensed for clarity and length.
