"... I was trying to keep up, really that was my hope at the end of the day was
to do them justice; do the story justice, and do Wes justice ..."

Dylan, how do you approach a character who has no memories of who he was?

My favourite thing about it is the discovery. The audience is able to watch a character and discover the things that he never ever knew about himself before in his previous life as he cannot remember, I love that Thomas starts out as the newbie - as the 'Greenie', and the audience kind of experiences that too. Through his perspective obviously and learns as he goes, and then to watch him discover these leadership qualities, the real qualities that he has is a really cool thing. The way you approach it I guess it just honestly, as honest as you can. That is all you have to work with in that sort of situation.

How do you feel about your growth as an actor and taking on such a big project?

Dylan: I feel really comfortable. From day one, I loved the script, I loved the story and I thought it could be something really cool, something interesting and original in this generation of kind of regurgitated projects and sequels and stuff like that. So I am proud to be part of from that point of view. The first thing that I saw too was that these guys [Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Will Poulter] were attached to it, with Kaya as well - with those three I was like, ‘Oh they are really strong actors I like that, that is awesome’. Then meeting Wes, and seeing his whole vision for the film, it was just sort of easy to feel comfortable with all of this cast surrounding me and everyone was so good at what they were doing and bringing to the table that I was confident. The only thing I guess you can say is that I was trying to keep up, really that was my hope at the end of the day could do them justice; do the story justice, and do Wes justice.

Thomas: Looking back through your filmography, you have played a huge list of characters, what was it like playing Newt in this film? Was there any different challenges in a portrayal like this?

The same with any character that comes along really... the fun thing I think about what we do is to mess around playing all sort of people. People that existed, people that exist in a book and fans already have a specific idea of who they are - so you have to work with that. Or you know, people who you can take a completely fresh look at. So sometimes it takes a bit of juggling with all that. But it is all part of the fun really. Newt, I know - or all I was told was that he was the nice guy, he still had the English accent, and he had a bit of a limp. So I just played around with that really - *laughs*

Will: In terms of contrast, how did you feel going from your hilarious role in We're The Millar’s, to this much more serious and dramatic role?

I feel so lucky to have got the chance to do this, because I feel for me it was something quite different, I supposed it is quite a bit of contrast when I compare them. I love actors and admire those who can do a mixture of stuff, all of that versatility, which I don't feel I have, but I wish to aspire to and keep people guessing by choosing a role that is different from the one before and hope that all goes well.

Had you read any of the books before being auditioned or cast?

Will: I think, like Dylan, I kind of started and slightly freaked out when I got half way through reading it because there wasn't total synergy between my character, the script and the book. But that is one of the things that I love about this movie is that it is adapted very well and the best loved features have been translated perfectly. From an acting perspective it was tricky and on and off set we would be like – ‘oh doesn't your character have that thing’ - and then you could be like ‘No, that was just in the book, or are we now confusing it with something that was in not the book?’ So I actually stopped ready it, but finished it afterwards, and then also The Scorch Trials - which is pretty insane!

Will: Gally cares a lot about Glader traditions, he is quite attached to the environment and protecting the Glader community - do you think he had a hand in creating these traditions and what sort of person do you see him as?

Yeah, I think that in light of the fact that he was one of the first boys up, (as I understand it was George, Alby, Newt and then myself) So with that in mind I feel it was naturally part of building that hierarchy and it physically too and he is a builder and that is his role. I also kind of see him as like me - or just a few things that I identify with me, I hope there aren't too many similarities by the way. But one of the things I noticed is there is this kind of OCD quality about him, he is pedantic and likes order and finds comfort in hierarchy and in the following of the rules,. So I think he would be an enforcer of that in many ways and wanted those to follow on with him. I think he also has a power struggle issue, he struggles with the fact that there are people senior to him and Alby senior to him, so he tries to see an opportunity to set up his own kind of revolt. To answer your question yes, I think a lot of that also comes from fear, he is ultimately a coward and he likes that protective bubble, that one day they will need to leave this oasis and leave the maze.

What was it like shooting those scenes between your two characters, Newt and Gally? Because there is so much tension there and it could have went to quite a dark place, did you keep it wrapped up?

Thomas: There was, but there is also a big mutual respect between each other. I very much respect Gally's opinion and Newt likes to hear what everyone has to say, he is an open person and sees everyone for who they are and how they can be best fitted into this establishment that they have going. He sees people as how they can help, and how he can help. So I don't think he completely shuns Gally away, but he does appreciate that he has a different way of dealing with things. I think that as things progress and things go a bit nuts from revolting, we just stick with this guy [Thomas, Dylan's character].

Will: I think that if you are going to put it in political terms, which by the way here is a fun fact - I am shit at politics. You two [Thomas and Newt] come across as more democratic, and consider everybody views and strive for a bit more collaborative running of the Glade. Yet I feel that once there is a threat to the idea of staying in the Glade forever then I become a kind of a dictator in a way and tell people that this is what is going on now and lead that kind of revolt situation. Wes always said there are two sides to the same coin, which is a really good kind of allegory and to describe this relationship [Thomas - Gally], and it really nearly kicks off and there is serious tension, so that was really fun too.

A lot of CGI throughout, how did you find filming like that?

Dylan: Well whenever we had to do things like that, Wes was so animated as he talks to you about all the things. He describes what is out there, in such a way that you want to crack up. But it helps a lot, he is so detailed. He could be like 'IT’S COMING AT YOU, PEEW PEEW AHH! ... But you could understand what is happening exactly, and then also we just had a great balance of having real worlds that we were shooting in. Like the Glade, they build that entire thing geographically. The entire thing that you see in the film is exactly like that. Nothing is cheated, that is the world that we shot in every day and actually had the door there to go into the maze, the box in the ground, we actually had a tree house, and they even grew a cornfield! - It felt very real and then the visual effects are just the icing on the cake. I think that was really important to Wes, to have this real environment to feel like we were part of and really in and disappear into. He was just going to take care of the visual effects in the end and he had a really way of articulating what it is going to be, he could literally paint a picture for you, and he drew sketches, which look incredible! At one point we were in a parking lot on the end of the highway in Louisiana, we had a blue-screen along the wall and these orange poles that me and Ki Hong Lee (Minho) were running along. At a point I just cut through, and Wes turns it into this [what you see on screen].

Will: You could use the word visionary and genius lightly, but they do genuinely apply to Wes Ball. We all feel really lucky to get to work with him at this stage of his career, so that we can say we worked with Wes Ball on his first feature film. That is genuinely how we feel.

Was there any humourous stories that you could share of what happened on set?

Dylan: It was like being at summer camp with ten of your best friends in a way. One of my favourite memories ever is that we all had BB guns, but I decided to go out and get an M16 …

Will: Another fun fact! ... It was the size of a sofa! It was the biggest gun that I have ever seen in my life, and without telling us and split into teams, we were all running around with pistols and stuff. But Dylan comes out in the hallway - kind of like a drug-free Scarface - and sprays the hallway, I was like 'Eeeeeh!' - getting lots of M16 BB bullets in my back was a good prank, and to keep somehow it a secret was the best. Did you keep it under your bed?

Dylan: It was so hard for me to keep it from telling anybody. Slowly, but surely Thomas came into my room and I was like *whispers* 'I got to show you something' ... so I did, but was like, you cannot tell anyone, I am going to whoop it out when we play tonight. Alex [Flores] was like come here quick, so they both had to be on my team for that reason. But it came to it, and poor Alex had to go onto your team knowing that I had this big gun and he was like - 'Okay, let’s go!' ... But a security guard literally came up at one point, and it was the sweetest thing as it was little two in the morning and we are running around this hotel shooting with our air-soft-guns. But we were the only ones in the hotel so it was fine. But the security guard comes up as there must have been some kind of complaint that happened. We were immediately like ‘oh no, we are really sorry’ - like we were in trouble. But he was like 'Y'all rehearsing, that's okay, do you think you could keep it down? How long are y'all supposed to be doing this for?' .... Shocked, we were like ... 'An hour or so?' ...

Will: He was so kind! He said 'I can organise like a place that y'all can play, like a conference room?' - But we said that no, this is better for the film and stuff ... So he walks away and we say 'Okay, let’s take it from the top!' - Haha. But that was a great moment, so fun.