When the pilot aired in 2011, Teen Wolf surprised viewers by completely distancing itself from the beloved, but cheesy ‘80s film of the same name. Much like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the show took the premise of the film that inspired it, but very little lese. In fact, the series has more in common with BtVS than you might think. Both used literal demons as metaphor for figurative ones, had ever expanding mythologies, and were significantly darker than the movies that preceded them. Lasting for six seasons, the series became MTV’s first bonafide hit in terms of scripted shows.
Oft overlooked and underrated, Teen Wolf forged a unique path for itself. The show began as a story about the friendship between two lovable losers trying to fight their way through both high school and supernatural threats. However, over time it evolved into more of an ensemble piece and the problems faced by this “pack” rose to epic proportions.
While it is true that the majority of the cast are pals both on and off screen, that doesn’t mean that that there was no drama when the cameras stopped rolling.
Here are 15 Dark Behind The Scenes Secrets From Teen Wolf.
15. Three cast members were hacked
While it is true that plenty of stars have been affected by the exponentially growing amount of hacks, from Jennifer Lawrence to Krysten Ritter, the cast of Teen Wolf was hit particularly hard. Cody Christian, who plays Theo Raeken, was the first to fall victim to this gross invasion of privacy. Photos of Tyler Posey surfaced not long after, as well compromising pictures of Ryan Kelley, who portrayed Jordan Parrish.
Years earlier, Tyler Hoechlin was actually the first Teen Wolf star to have his personal life made far less personal. However, while those were the actor’s own private photos, the actor had his clothes on, which is a luxury that his three costars were not afforded in the photos of them that were leaked all over the internet.
14. There is already talk of a reboot
We all know that it doesn’t necessarily take long to reboot a franchise. However, there was talk of a Teen Wolf reboot before the final season even aired.
The series finale ended with a time jump that revealed a rather grim future in which Monroe was commanding an army numbering in the thousands. This unsettling development saw Scott and the rest of his pack doing some supernatural recruiting in order to face this threat.
Creator Jeff Davis has toyed with the idea of continuing the series in podcast form. If the show is to find new life on TV though, this next incarnation would most likely be an anthology series with an entirely new cast, as well as a different setting. Considering the cliffhanger Teen Wolf ended on, a continuation in some form or another doesn’t seem too far fetched.
13. Dylan O’Brien was unprepared for his audition
Although Teen Wolf has acted as a launch pad for several of its young stars, none have flown quite so high as Dylan O’Brien.
Scott’s best bud Stiles was an early favorite among fans due to his winning combination of heart and humor. As for O’Brien, the actor has gone on to star in several films, most notably headlining the Maze Runner trilogy. With all of his success, it’s kind of funny that his entire career began with an audition that he was completely unprepared for.
O’Brien showed up to read for the part with resume in hand. However, that resume consisted of nothing, save two links to his YouTube videos. It made no difference though, because Jeff Davis was impressed enough with O’Brien’s line reading to go home and watch them.
12. Werewolf makeup takes over four hours
In any given day, it’s entirely possible that Tyler Posey spent as much time in the makeup chair as he did in front of the cameras. Getting the actor into full werewolf makeup took as much as four and a half hours every single time. There was an entire team responsible for Posey’s transformation.
Plenty of strange and fascinating details go into making Posey look the part of a werewolf.
For one thing, the actor needs to have his real eyebrows glued onto his face, so that the prosthetic ones he has to wear don’t pull them off. He also needs something called a bandit mask, which is made to have the same density as actual human skin. The process includes custom ears and airbrushing as well.
11. Why Scott got his tattoo
Although Scott’s double band tattoo would go on to become the symbol of the McCall Pack, the real reason he got it had nothing to do with a Teen Wolf plot line. Tyler Posey is what you might call a tattoo enthusiast. Apparently, the actor tried for quite some time to keep his arms ink free on account of his acting career. However, his now infamous tattoo had to be written into the show after Posey got it without getting the all clear from his bosses.
As earlier stated, the makeup artists on this series were already incredibly busy and with the breakneck pace of the show’s schedule, there simply wasn’t enough time to keep covering Posey’s armbands. Either shirtless scenes were going to be taken off the table or Scott needed to get a tattoo. Let’s be honest, the former was never going to be an option.
10. The wolf noises used for the show are actually gorillas
You might think, considering the show’s namesake, that the bloodcurdling sounds our favorite monsters make actually came from wolves. Interestingly, that isn’t really the case. It turns out that the noises you hear don’t even come from any creature in that family, but rather, from the last animal that would ever come to mind when you hear the word “werewolf.”
That’s right, the terrifying “wolf” exclamations of any kind actually come from gorillas. Once you know this, you can definitely picture it when Scott lets out a signature growl.
Why gorillas, you ask? We’re not positive, but apparently they’re pretty frightening animals. Plus - and we’re sure this was unintentional - it’s kind of a callback to the original film in which the wolf makeup looks suspiciously simian.
9. The fight scenes have very little prep time
Filming fight scenes is a difficult task during which a great many elements can go wrong. With that in mind, one might assume that even with the backbreaking shooting schedule of a television show that these scenes are well rehearsed. Well, apparently nothing could be further from the truth. It turns out that a dangerously small amount of time went into practicing those fights before they were shot.
According to Max Carver, who played Aiden, the cast was given a half hour at most to go over these scenes ahead of time. In fact, it was not uncommon for them to have as little as ten minutes to learn the choreography.
We’re obviously lucky that our favorite heroes not only made it through the series alive, but also that our beloved actors survived filming Teen Wolf at all!
8. Colton Haynes has struggled with mental health issues
Best known for his roles as Jackson on Teen Wolf and Roy Harper on Arrow, Colton Haynes’s post-fame path hasn’t been an easy one. He actually had to take a break from acting for a while on account of his ongoing struggles with depression and anxiety. Haynes has stated that his mental health has been a near constant battle since 5th grade.
2014 was a particularly low point for the actor, who spent most of his time isolated and trapped in a cycle of substance abuse. Luckily, by 2016 Haynes had a rather dramatic shift in perspective, due in large part to his decision to come out to the public. The actor had been closeted for years by those ostensibly interested in furthering his career.
Now open about who he is and happily married, Haynes has moved onto a new phase of his life, both personally and professionally.
7. Ian Bohan vs Arden Cho
Following the tragic 2015 terrorist attack that claimed hundreds of lives in Paris, Arden Cho had been tweeting her support. The next day she posted a photo of herself on the set of Teen Wolf to Instagram. Shortly after, she was shaded by fellow costar Ian Bohen, who played Peter Hale.
The actor said some unkind words, the gist of which was that it wasn’t the time for smiling selfies. Cho took the high road in response, basically referring Bohen to her earlier tweets. Still, she was uncomfortable enough to add a supportive caption to her previously unrelated selfie.
It didn’t take fans long to come to Cho’s defense, slamming Bohen for attacking her. Bohen eventually deleted his original comments, asking that people “please stop hating on each other.”
6. That wasn’t the only offensive tweet from Bohen
Sometimes it seems as though it might be easier to admire our favorite stars if we didn’t have access to their social media accounts. After reading about an attack, Bohen was moved to tweet the following: “Hey Parents. Teach your boys how to treat women properly, and your girls how to be ladies. The s*** I’m reading in the news makes me sick.” This understandably led to a slew of angry comments.
The actor later wrote an overly long Tumblr post in defense of what he meant versus what he said, but it didn’t exactly help his case. Never mind that Bohen should’ve realized what this tweet implied before posting it. However, rather than apologizing for the offensive nature of his comment, he chose instead to wax poetic on the definition of the word “lady.” Clearly, he didn’t actually understand the problem.
5. The reason for Allison’s fate
Teen Wolf has claimed a lot of victims, but most of them did not leave the series of their own volition. Although fans were crushed by the death of Allison Argent, it was the actress who played the character that wanted to leave, rather than the showrunners. There was no malice between Crystal Reed and the show that made her a star. She simply felt that it was time to move on.
For one thing, the age difference between Reed and Allison had begun to weigh on her - she was twenty-nine playing a seventeen year old. For another, the actress wanted to explore other avenues of movies and TV. Reed went to Jeff Davis and told him of her concerns. He understood and chose to write an unforgettable exit for her.
4. Charlie Carver has experienced harassment in Hollywood
In the wake of the Weinstein scandal, an unprecedented number of stars have broken the silence about their own experiences with sexual harassment or assault. Charlie Carver, who portrayed Ethan, also came forward with hopes to “open up a discussion about men and power dynamics.” The actor stated that he was no stranger to these experiences and that he can empathize with the countless other victims out there.
Carver explained that the only way that he was able to process his emotions was by speaking to others who had been through the same thing. Shedding light on these traumatic events is the only real way to combat them. We can only hope that as the Me Too movement continues to grow that more and more victims will realize that the blame does not lie with them.
3. Colton Haynes’ troubling Halloween costumes
Fans of Colton Haynes might be able to consider the actor’s first inappropriate Halloween costume a misunderstanding, but his next outfit didn’t exactly exonerate him. While the actor has had some incredible costumes - Ursula from The Little Mermaid comes to mind - he has also made some far more offensive choices.
In 2011, Haynes dressed up as Kanye West, which might not be a big deal, had he not made blackface a part of his “costume”. The very next year the actor was seen in a Ghandi getup that included painting his face brown. These decisions left many fans enraged and although Haynes has apologized for his past transgressions, he seemed genuinely surprised that people were upset about them.
While apologizing was a step in the right direction, it’s unclear why Haynes wouldn’t have realized that these costumes were offensive before he chose to wear them.
2. Dylan O’Brien almost quit acting after a serious accident
Starring in The Maze Runner trilogy certainly wasn’t all fun and games for Dylan O’Brien. During the filming of The Death Cure, which was the franchises’s final installment, he was in an incredibly serious accident.
O’Brien got hurt during a stunt and the head injury he sustained was so severe that production was halted for months while he recovered. Following this, the actor had serious doubts about whether or not he wanted to continue acting at all.
Eventually, O’Brien came out the other side of this painful experience and even stronger for surviving it. He not only chose to continue on in the profession that he loves, but also insisted that the movie’s director use the very same take that resulted in his injury.
1. Tyler Posey auditioned for Jacob Black
There are plenty of actors and actresses who almost landed roles in the Twilight franchise, but how many of them can boast that they lost out on playing one werewolf only to portray another? That’s right, before getting the role of Scott McCall, Tyler Posey lost out to Taylor Lautner for the part of the Twilight’s resident lycanthrope, Jacob Black.
Interestingly, both actors grew up in the same town, so they often saw one another at auditions. The two became friends and it wasn’t until Posey ran into Lautner months later that he learned that he definitely had not gotten the part. Still, Posey harbors no ill will toward Lautner. According to him, if you’re going to be an actor, you need to learn how to be okay with rejection.
Do you know any other dark secrets from behind the scenes of Teen Wolf? Let us know in the comments!
