Maze Runner' stars dish on Dylan O'Brien's American manliness, and their newfound love of the South

• Twentieth Century Fox
• LOST BOY: Will Poulter plays Gally in The Maze Runner

On paper, it's another winning box office formula: take the storyline of one popular YA novel, add a slew of attractive young actors and the feature film directorial debut of one Wes Ball, and deliver the product to thousands of ravenous teen audiences. The Maze Runner, starring MTV “Teen Wolf” favorite Dylan O'Brien and promising British 20-somethings Will Poulter (We're the Millers) and Kaya Scoledario (an alum of the British teen drama, "Skins") is based on the popular novel of the same name.

The movie follows Thomas (O'Brien), a young man who wakes up with his memory erased and surrounded by boys in the same predicament. Together, they are the Gladers, a colony of boys who live in a strange structure called the Glade, surrounded on all sides by monstrous concrete walls. Who put them there or why, they do not know, but their only way of escape is through a maze that changes every night and is inhabited by an assortment of monsters called Grievers. The boys who are fast and brave enough are deemed Runners, and their one job is to map the Maze and find a way out.

Creative Loafing sat down with stars Scoledario and Poulter on a recent press stop for the film, to discuss the flick, what it was like filming in melting-hot Louisiana, and who among them would actually survive the post-apocalyptic world of The Maze Runner.

How was it filming in the South?
Will Poulter: It was great. I love the South. It was my second time here, and yeah, I loved it. Southern hospitality really, really exists and is something that we've experienced in abundance. People are so friendly, and the food is insane.
Kaya Scoledario: Ugh, so good.
WP: It's just crazy hot! Louisiana was madness. It was 108 degrees one day, just nuts. We filmed from May to July, so it was kind of a hot period. That was actually all part of the challenge of shooting where we shot. It meant our jobs were easier, in a way, because we weren't faking it. It was for real.
KS: I love the South. I think it's one of the most interesting places … definitely the most interesting place I've been in America. I find L.A. weird, a bit boring, but the South … I just love it. You can feel the culture, you can feel the history. Everyone has a story to tell. People are so friendly. I felt so at home.

Is this your first time in Atlanta?
KS: Ah yes. I've been to the airport before laughs. I really like the airport, because there's a smoking lounge. But this is my first time driving through Atlanta. I love it. … I was really excited to see it. Of what we've seen, which isn't a lot, it's so green and lush! And really beautiful, especially coming from Miami to here. It's just two completely different places. And the accent is the best thing ever.

Kaya, what was your experience being the only girl on set?
KS: I mean honestly, I never felt like the only girl on set. We were all friends straight away, and that's special on any job. I loved going to work with my friends. There was never a day where I was like, “Ah, I have to sit next to these guys.” And they didn't treat me like a girl. They treated me with the same respect they gave everyone else. They didn't change how they behaved in front of me, which I really liked. You know, they still made their dick jokes and fart … and that was cool, that's who they are. I love being around them. My friends back home in London … I've got a lot of guy friends. I've worked with a lot of guys. And also, I had loads of girlfriends that would come and visit. I did need girl time, as well.

• http://clatl.com/atlanta/ImageArchives?by=1223504
• DANGER AHEAD: Kaya Scoledario (left) and Dylan O'Brien in The Maze Runner

The character that you're perhaps best known for, Effy from the UK “Skins,” is a lot similar to your character Teresa in that she's strong and mysterious. Do you relate more to Effy or Teresa?
KS: I think for me, the reason I love Effy … when I speak about her, when I think about her, I feel something. She had so much going on up here. She was such an interesting character to play from a mental health point of view, whereas with Teresa, there's no memory, there's no back story. She's just coming into the world again. She's being reborn, and she's building her way up, whereas Effy's issues were always about dealing with her past, or not dealing with her past. It was tough, playing Effy for four years. I don't know if I could really go back there. It was good at the time, because I was going through those things personally. But now in my twenties, I'm ready to explore something different. Effy's always special to me. She's a bit of a head fuck.

Out of the three of you including Dylan, who do you think would be best equipped to actually escape the Glade? And would any of you be one of the Runners whose job it is to find a way out?
WP: Dill Dylan O'Brien. Dill, 100 percent.
KS: Dylan is strong. He's fast as hell. He's, like, an all-American athlete. We're British and we drink beer laughs.
WP: I'm too scared to attempt to escape! I think I would just live in the Glade. I always wanted to be a kind of Lost Boy, and I think that's one of the reasons why I wanted to do this movie. I saw the parallels in it with things like Hook, and I just wanted to be involved in a movie like that. So yeah, I'd just kick it in the Glade.
KS: I'd stay with you for a bit laughs. Let you cook for me a couple times, try to work it out. But I don't like staying in one place for too long. I'm a bit of an explorer and a dreamer, so I think I would venture out on my own to try and find a way out, just out of boredom.