The 21-year-old actor opens up to ET about what it was like playing the lead in a horror film.
Dylan Minnette is ready for another "crazy" year ahead.
The actor, best known for his breakout role as Clay Jensen on Netflix's 13 Reasons Why, just celebrated his 21st birthday last month, and can only hope that 2018 will be just as memorable.
"Last year was definitely the beginning of a new chapter for me. I think it's probably the most eventful year of my life so far, and I hope to continue that," Minnette exclusively told ET over the phone. "I'm just trying to take control and make the best use out of my time."
Just five days after filming wrapped on the first season of 13 Reasons Why, the Evansville, Indiana, native packed his bags and drove to Big Bear, California, to start filming The Open House. It's his first lead in a Netflix film, and Minnette couldn't be more ecstatic for his fans to see a very different side of him in the thriller.
"When the opportunity opened up for me to be a part of it, I jumped on the role because I was just so excited," said Minnette, who plays Logan Wallace in the movie, streaming now on Netflix. "I was so happy with how it all came together."
Written and directed by his friends, Matt Angel and Suzanne Coote, Minnette is onscreen for the majority of the movie, acting alongside Piercey Dalton, who plays Logan's mother, Naomi. He says it was "definitely interesting" to work on a film with such a small cast and an even smaller budget.
"I'm really proud of us all, and that's what I liked about the movie," he said, telling ET the entire film only cost about $100,000 to make. "It could have fallen apart at any moment, and I think what we pulled off for that... I'm just so excited that it happened."
"It felt really cool, and it was kind of a different way than I've made other things before," he continued. "There's a lot of depth to it and was fun to act so closely, one-on-one with Piercey. She's so great, such an incredible actress, so it was wonderful to work with her. I'm blown away that this is essentially her first big project… she's such a natural. I hope we see a lot more of her after this."
The horror flick is jam-packed with creepy, unexpected moments, and if you decide to indulge in this film, Minnette can guarantee that you'll never look at contact lenses the same. (SPOILER ALERT: He is not wrong.)
"Watching the crowd for the first time at a screening, nobody reacted well to those scenes," he joked. "I didn't personally get too spooked on set, but something eerie that followed me home was, I stayed in a weird, little hotel in the mountains while filming in a small town. Your mind starts to go insane, just about who to trust. It was definitely creepy up there."
And for fans who have already watched The Open House, Minnette is well aware of all the confusion regarding that insane ending, which is open to interpretation. "I think it's because people expect [the killer] to be one of the people they laid it out to be, but I don't think people were willing to expect it could also just be someone completely random," he explained. "That is a twist that I don't think they exactly reveal until the very end. People either love or hate twist endings, it's just what it is. But I liked it."
Before we ended our chat, we of course had to ask Minnette about season two of 13 Reasons Why. While he couldn't spill much -- the entire cast has been hush! -- he did offer a few interesting teasers.
The second season will feature a time jump, but Minnette says fans won't be left in the dark about what goes on during the gap period. He says viewers will get a sense of everything they need to know about Clay and his peers' lives post-Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford) within the first three episodes.
"You'll learn pretty quickly what happened between the two seasons," he teased. "For Clay, I think that he definitely wants to move on from what happened in season one. Clearly the impact of the loss of Hannah is huge for him."
"Clay definitely has to move on from that, but I don't know how long it can last," he added. "Hannah will always be a part of Clay, no matter what. You'll definitely see more of that in season two, because Clay won't be able to shake the memory of her, I don't think, for a long time."
Minnette says fans can also expect to see a myriad of fresh new faces, including a potential new love interest for his character.
"Hmm, I don't know what I can say about that. No comment," he said, laughing. "But I think the most interesting and compelling stuff in season two is involving the new characters. There are so many characters on the show already, but every character they add is integral to the story. There's definitely some important characters that come into play; it's kinda exciting."
"I really do love a lot of the things they've done with season two, and I hope that it resonates well [with viewers]," he continued. "I don't think you'll be able to predict what the season is at all. I was surprised by a lot of it myself, so I'm looking forward to seeing all the reactions."
As for whether or not executive producer Selena Gomez will ever make a cameo?
"Ahh, I don't know. I've never had that conversation with her," Minnette said. "But who knows. Anything can happen. Never say never!"
Season two of 13 Reasons Why will be available for streaming later this year. Netflix has not yet announced the release date. In the meantime, watch the video below to hear more teasers from Minnette's co-stars.
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