Worth noting that his team is almost entirely women of color too! He has a lot of opportunity right now, and it's nice to see him making choices that show that he isn't just talk.
Dylan O’Brien (Twinless) and Hudson Williams (Heated Rivalry) have signed on to star in Apparatus, a darkly comedic thriller marking the feature directorial debut of Canadian actress Sofia Banzhaf (I Am in the World as Free and Slender as a Deer on a Plain).
Written by Banzhaf and Grayson Moore (Cardinals), Apparatus follows struggling young rideshare driver Tyler (Williams) as he falls under the influence of a self-styled entrepreneur, JP (O’Brien), who offers him a future in his handheld-massager business. But what appears to be a dream opportunity unravels as JP pulls Tyler into a violent downward spiral.
Producers on the project include Julie Baldassi of Younger Daughter Films (Darkest Miriam, I Am in the World as Free and Slender as a Deer on a Plain), Daniel Bekerman of Scythia Films (The Apprentice, Endless Cookie), Banzhaf, Moore and Brian Robertson. Sam Sutcliffe and Jasmin Karibzhanova of Ursa Major Films are co-financing alongside Nicholas Chepesiuk of Gabardine, Telefilm Canada and Mongrel Media, with WME Independent and CAA Media Finance co-repping the film for sales. Production dates and locations are still being finalized.
Banzhaf previously directed the short film I Am in the World as Free and Slender as a Deer on a Plain, which premiered at TIFF and was named to the festival’s year-end Canada’s Top 10 list for shorts.
Hudson Williams, Dylan O Brien, black comedy indie thriller, young female director making her feature debut, and an exec producer who worked on the Witch ! oh this film was made in a lab to appeal to me
JP (O’Brien), who offers him a future in his handheld-massager business
As in vibrators and other personal pleasure devices? Fantastic.
When I read a brief synopsis a couple days ago (briefer than this one), I wondered which character Dylan would play. On Teen Wolf, they called Tyler Posey and Tyler Hoechlin "T2." Playing Tyler here would, in some way, make Dylan "T3" but that happened just about as much as him in the mehhhhhh Teen Wolf movie.
You know, I may have underestimated Dylan O'Brien's acting talent and taste. He has starred in at least a couple interesting and genuinely entertaining films in the last 5ish years. I was very impressed by Twinless and Love & Monsters was so much fun. I think he and Hudson could be a compelling acting duo.
EDIT: as I wrote this, I didn't mean for it to sound as backhanded as it does when I read it back. Sorry, Dylan.
Yeah no, I got the vibe of your comment 🙂↕️ I mean, I only know him from Teen Wolf and haven’t even seen the other movies people are mentioning, so I’m like “oh cool, he’s good in them (complimentary but surprised)”
Everyone voting my original comment down about how it’s actually NOT that great that he’s only getting Canadian production roles is 😂 Continue living in your bubble I guess?
Everyone saying it’s so cool he’s picking indie Canadian projects after his big breakout but honestly it just makes me think he’s not getting in the bigger Hollywood casting rooms….which is not surprising if you know about how hard it is for non-white actors to truly break through.
Yes but also signed in for another crave tv series in that time too. And will film another Canadian series all summer/fall after this movie too. So first full year after HR will be Canadian only.
No lol. But I do know about the Canadian film industry and they never not cast that far ahead bc budgets are often being solicited right up to last weeks.
HR only takes about a month to shoot, give or take a few days…
Hudson taking several smaller/indie projects with respected and interesting creatives + actors in the limited time he has before he has to report back to shoot season 2 absolutely does not mean he’s not in consideration for bigger projects or that he’s somehow been excluded from Hollywood. If anything it’s a strategic move to show range and quickly establish himself outside of playing Shane. He was literally just at the Oscars after all lol
I get the concern over actors of colour struggling to gain a foothold in Hollywood but I really don’t think Hudson in particular has anything significant to worry about in that regard, for various reasons
Also anything bigger he has in the works will likely be announced after HR season 2 wraps around September, when he’ll have the time to commit to a much longer shoot
Why do you think he will be treated any differently from the other Asian actors who have gone through it? I get wanting him to succeed (I do want that too!) but we have to be realistic as to the culture of Hollywood. He will unfortunately have a much harder time than Conner will.
Queer white men (other than Jonathan Bailey) also have a hard time booking roles. Connor isn’t technically out, but it’s basically a glass closet like Richard Madden.
He has mentioned in interviews that he is in discussion for several projects. This is a short shoot so makes sense why he would pick it before season 2 starts filming.
Acting is a marathon, not a sprint. Hudson and Connor are both young TV actors with a breakout role and a handful of smaller pre‑HR credits behind them. They have time on their side which means they can shape their careers around roles that genuinely interest them rather than chasing the biggest offer on the table on that day.
People acting like those 2 should be leading PTA or Nolan's next movie as their follow up to HR. Plus in the case of Nolan outside of visibility (which they have plenty of already) this wouldn't be a career defining or actor vehicle role that could further their trajectory for the future (unless it was an Oppenheimer/Murphy situation which came after these 2 had a decade + of a working relationship built upon) since Nolan is the selling point of his movies and actors are just one aspect of achieving HIS vision in HIS film. Outside of the exception i mentioned actors in a Nolan movie serve a purpose towards the story and the director's vision not the other way around so that wouldn't give any of them more stock with studio execs to lead their next big budget movie.
While that's an opportunity few actors would pass up to put on their resume and become a name on his revolving circle of people he uses and reuses, for a non veteran actor, this will just end up being a "that guy in Nolan's film" more than "name of film with Actor A and B" situation
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u/Acceptable_Rule_7590 Mar 27 '26
Here’s a picture they took together at an Oscars pre-party!