Who is Dylan Arnold, Theo from 'You' Season 3?

you l to r dylan arnold as theo engler in episode 307 of you cr john p fleenornetflix © 2021

(Image credit: JOHN P. FLEENOR/NETFLIX)

published 22 October 2021

Season 3 of the hit Netflix thriller You follows newlyweds Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) and Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti) as they move to Madre Linda, a wealthy San Francisco suburb. Among their neighbors is Theo Engler, a college student whose father, tech mogul Matthew (Scott Speedman), lives next door. Theo ends up bonding with Love and developing feelings for her, which brings up some problems for the homicidal new mom.

Theo has won over fans as the charming boy-next-door, dealing with complicated relationships with both Love and his father. The teen is played by Dylan Arnold, an actor who has a history with both boyfriend roles and horror flicks. Here's everything we know about the rising star.

arrives at the universal pictures' "halloween" premiere at tcl chinese theatre on october 17, 2018 in hollywood, california

He grew up in Seattle and went to college in North Carolina.

The 27-year-old actor was born in February 1994 in Seattle, WA. According to Teen Vogue, Arnold used to run around the yard acting out the Lord of the Rings as a child. He graduated from a boarding school for the arts in Idyllwild, CA, and then studied acting at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

He's starred in horror flicks and romances.

Before landing You, Arnold got his first notable role in the Netflix film Mudbound in 2017, followed by roles in the shows Nashville and The Purge. He also had a role in the After movie series, which was loosely based on a popular Harry Styles fan fiction, as Tessa's uptight high school boyfriend Noah. He also stars alongside Jamie Lee Curtis in the reboot series of the horror franchise Halloween. The sequel Halloween Kills even released in theaters on the same day as You season 3.

He auditioned for two other roles on You before being cast as Theo.

In a Teen Vogue interview, Arnold revealed that he had auditioned for the show every season before the third time was the charm. He went for the part of Forty in season 2, and he even auditioned for Joe. He also had a personal connection at the start of the show; he went to college with Elizabeth Lail, who played Beck in season 1.

When asked why he kept auditioning, he said, "You is one of those shows that is just so well done and so well-executed and and so well-written that it feels like a great opportunity every time it comes around." He continued, "I feel like it’s a show that delivers every time, so of course I’d want to be part of it."

He and Victoria Pedretti had fun with their characters' age difference.

Although Arnold plays a 19-year-old college student, he's actually one year older than Victoria Pedretti, who plays Love. He told Teen Vogue that the pair had fun with their characters' age difference, citing the scene in Episode 6 where Theo holds a boombox playing Lorde's "Supercut" outside of Love's house, saying that he got it from rom-coms "of [her] generation."

"Holding the boombox outside the house is so iconic, so I’m glad I got to experience that. It’s actually funny, because I’m a year older than Victoria [Pedretti], and much older than my character, so those moments where she’s referring to me as a teenager were always really funny because I’m older than she is. But yeah, we had a lot of fun with those scenes, but it’s also very heartbreaking. We figured out a way to make it fun and charming."

Quinci is a Culture Writer who covers all aspects of pop culture, including TV, movies, music, books, and theater. She contributes interviews with talent, as well as SEO content, features, and trend stories. She fell in love with storytelling at a young age, and eventually discovered her love for cultural criticism and amplifying awareness for underrepresented storytellers across the arts. She previously served as a weekend editor for Harper’s Bazaar, where she covered breaking news and live events for the brand’s website, and helped run the brand’s social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Her freelance writing has also appeared in outlets including HuffPost, The A.V. Club, Elle, Vulture, Salon, Teen Vogue, and others. Quinci earned her degree in English and Psychology from The University of New Mexico. She was a 2021 Eugene O’Neill Critics Institute fellow, and she is a member of the Television Critics Association. She is currently based in her hometown of Los Angeles. When she isn't writing or checking Twitter way too often, you can find her studying Korean while watching the latest K-drama, recommending her favorite shows and films to family and friends, or giving a concert performance while sitting in L.A. traffic.