Dylan O’Brien Recalls “Really Bad” Audition for ‘Frozen 2’

Dylan O’Brien is looking back at his audition for Frozen 2, which didn’t necessarily go as planned.

The Saturday Night actor recently made an appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers, where the host asked him about his failed audition for the 2019 animated sequel, which saw Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel return as sisters Anna and Elsa, respectively.

O’Brien said he didn’t go into the audition with high hopes of landing the role “because I knew that I probably wasn’t going to get it.” The actor didn’t disclose which character he auditioned for.

“They’re looking for multitalented, multi-hyphenate people who can act and sing,” he told Seth Meyers of the musical film. “And I didn’t check, to be honest, probably either.”

The Teen Wolf alum acknowledged that he “can’t sing,” but decided to audition because he doesn’t “always feel like a real actor.” However, Meyers wondered how long it took the casting director to also realize singing wasn’t one of O’Brien’s top talents.

“This poor woman,” the actor said. “I remember, actually — this is a specific detail — she asked me, painfully, if I could get to the chorus because she needed to see if I had a certain range.” O’Brien admitted he was “swimming in the first verse a little bit,” but eventually “went higher,” per the woman’s request, and “it was really bad.”

“I knew. She knew. It’s okay,” he quipped, but Meyers asked in response, “Did she know you knew?”

“I think so, because when she said to me, ‘Okay, okay’… She said two ‘okays.’ I’ll never forget it,” The Maze Runner actor recalled. “And then she said, ‘Thank you for coming in. I think we’d probably need a bit of a stronger singer,’ and I was already just nodding, going, ‘Yeah, I know.’ I was like, ‘Thanks for having me.’”

O’Brien added that overall, the audition was a positive experience. “I honestly only remember it fondly,” he said, before playfully telling Meyers, “And then I’m glad that’s what they chose for you to ask me about.” 

“We wanted you to have closure. Don’t you see, Dylan?” the host quipped, to which the actor responded, “It’s made me comfortable, actually. I’m serious!”