'Twinless' Director James Sweeney on Casting Dylan O'Brien as a Gay Twin, Leaked Spoilers, and Losing Days Playing 'The Sims'

"Writer/director James Sweeney's "Twinless" took the 2025 Sundance Film Festival by storm. This mordant delight - about two young men who befriend one another in a support group for people who've lost a twin - whipped the Eccles theater into a frenzy with its cuttingly dark laughs and unexpected plot twists. Sweeney's second feature, in which he stars opposite Dylan O'Brien who plays twins Rocky and Roman, also made headlines when sex scenes involving the two actors were leaked online by social media users"

"O'Brien's dual roles as both flamboyantly gay charm bomb Rocky - who is flattened in a car accident early in the film - and the grieving and straight Roman comprise a career-topping performance. Meanwhile, the sardonic and calculating Dennis (Sweeney), who, based on a pre-accident romantic encounter with Rocky, seems to have a twink fetish, ingratiates himself into Roman's life with a master plan."

""Twinless" is Sweeney's second feature after 2019 Outfest premiere "Straight Up," which had a release from Strand, and starred Sweeney as a young gay man with OCD and prone to panic attacks when it comes to intimacy. Out filmmaker Sweeney reveals with "Twinless" (Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions) sophisticated insight into the self-loathing and loneliness that tend to accompany being gay in 2025, or any year."

Twinless follows two young men who befriend one another in a support group for people who have lost a twin. Dylan O'Brien portrays twins Rocky and Roman, with Rocky killed early in a car accident and Roman left grieving. James Sweeney stars as Dennis, a sardonic, calculating man who ingratiates himself into Roman's life after a pre-accident encounter with Rocky. The film blends cutting dark humor with unexpected plot twists and explores self-loathing and loneliness within contemporary gay experience. Sex scenes between the actors leaked online during Sundance. Aisling Franciosi and Lauren Graham co-star. The film premiered at Sundance and opens widely in theaters.

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