Life could have turned out differently for actor Dylan Flashner. He wanted to become a professional wrestler, envisioning himself as part of WWE’s developmental brand NXT.
“I really just had a passion for it,” Flashner said. “It was a lot harder than I thought it was watching on TV, obviously, but I did it for about six months. I was about to have my first match and I had a severe concussion. I wasn’t able to have the match.”
In another timeline, it could have been Flashner headlining WrestleMania, standing across from Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, or Roman Reigns. However, his current reality didn’t turn out too bad after all. Since 2020, he’s accumulated prestigious IMDb credits that most actors couldn’t even dream of attaining over two lifetimes. He has starred in productions such as The Comeback Trail alongside Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, and Tommy Lee Jones; The Card Counter with Oscar Isaac and Tye Sheridan; and Bandit with Josh Duhamel, Mel Gibson, and Elisha Cuthbert.
What’s the secret to this burst of good fortune? “I don’t really know,” Flashner said. “I thank the guy upstairs for that one. But I think it’s just been consistent work. I give a lot, and I think that’s been taken really well in the industry.”
Flashner also credited his team for all the hard work it does in his career, while admitting he still gets pinch-me moments at times. “I think the big pinch-me moment was acting with Mel [Gibson],” he said. “We were doing a scene in Hot Seat, and he was right across from me. I just remember having to remind myself in the middle of the scene, like, ‘Hey, you need to zone back in because this is ridiculous.’ It really felt like a movie. Morgan Freeman was another interesting one where I had to kind of pinch myself that I was working with him. With each of those big-time actors, you have a quick moment that doesn’t feel like real life. It feels like an alternative universe.”
Flashner stands on the shoulders of giants, studying what they do differently and what he can learn from them. “For me, it’s the fact that they’re so good on set when the camera’s not rolling,” he said. “They’re so good at being aware of what other people are doing and being kind to other people. I think the misconception with big-time actors is they’re unaware and not paying attention to what’s going on, talking to people, or working the set. The biggest takeaway I’ve gotten is knowing everyone’s name and paying attention.”
Flashner pointed to 2022’s Bandit as the film that turned him into “a professional actor” and changed his career trajectory. “I worked with Josh Duhamel pretty closely, and he gave me a lot of great pointers and great tips,” he said. “For me, that was a turning point in my career.”
In 2026, Flashner appeared as Dr. Morrissey in The Cure, a psychological horror starring David Dastmalchian, Ashley Greene, and Samantha Cochran. Without spoiling the film’s plot, there’s a hook to it that makes it stand out from the pack. Unsurprisingly, this is what drew Flashner to the project.
“I like subject matter that’s different in this day and age,” he said. “I think we’re oversaturated with the same exact thing over and over again. For me, it felt like a different horror film. It felt like the old-school horror films from the ’90s. In terms of my role, it was different for me to play an actual doctor. I had never done that in my career. The complication of that kind of thing, but also being a character that cares deeply about other people relates to me too. So, yeah, I just felt like it was the right movie at the right time.”
Flashner heaped major praise on his co-stars from The Cure. “They’re so good at what they do,” he said. “And they make you believe that they are the character that they’re playing. Watching them work was such a treat. David’s just so good with his facial expressions – he’s just on point with that. And Ashley just makes you believe that she is this conniving woman who is evil in a way. So yeah, they’re great. I worked with Sydney Taylor quite a bit, and I thought she was extremely talented as well.”
In terms of upcoming films, Flashner has two very different projects on the horizon: Sacred Evil and Vegas: A Love Story. “Sacred Evil is an interesting one,” he said. “We filmed that one in Santa Clarita, California. Sacred Evil is a horror film that takes you on a track with five college kids. They stumble upon an old town and they’re trying to find out a secret. That was a fun one for me. I played the bad guy in the film, so it was a lot different than what I’m used to. And I think the twist was really interesting.
“Vegas: A Love Story was a complete flip. I played the bad guy in that one too, but it’s more of a love story than it is a horror film, or anything like that. I had great experiences on both. I have to say: Vegas: A Love Story was one of my favorite sets I’ve ever been on in my entire life. Everyone was so great at what they did and so on top of their stuff. And I just had so much fun playing alongside Paul Dano. I think he’s one of the most talented actors I’ve ever worked with.”
Speaking of Dano, did Flashner do what the Internet expects and get information out of the actor about anything related to The Batman? “He didn’t spill too many beans.” Flashner laughed. “I really tried to work that one. He would just say how illustrious the set was and everything was figured out. He had a story that the movie was shot during COVID time, I believe, and they had to shut down for six months. That was the big story I got out of him. But he’s so humble and he’s not very braggadocious.”
