Dylan Efron has major golden retriever energy. Some fans suspected it from watching him on The Traitors, and after meeting him, I can confirm — he’s the kind, joyful companion you want by your side. What started as an unusually cloudy afternoon in Southern California quickly turned into a perfectly sunny day in Manhattan Beach when Dylan and his dog, Booey (a half-German Shepherd, half-mixed breed), jumped out of the massive gray Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van he bought with his older brother, Zac Efron, in 2017 for camping.
Dylan immediately introduced himself to everyone on set just after Booey had given each person a proper sniff. When it was time to chat, Dylan rotated the passenger seat inside the van so I had a place to get comfortable, while his pup lounged next to him on the bed in the back. His positive demeanor must come from all the sunlight and fresh air Dylan gets regularly.
As his Instagram bio reads, the 33-year-old from San Luis Obispo, California, is “happiest outside.” With a growing YouTube channel focused on traveling and outdoor sports, he needed a quick logline to introduce himself to followers — something simpler than listing off all his credits. The multi-hyphenate is a producer (Netflix’s travel documentary Down to Earth with Zac Efron), production coordinator (Ready Player One, A Star Is Born), triathlete (ranking in the top 1% for the Ironman series in his age group), and now, one of the winners of The Traitors Season 3. “It’s about as heartwarming of an ending as you can ask for,” Dylan says of making it to the end and splitting the $204,300 prize money with fellow Faithfuls Gabby Windey (The Bachelorette), Dolores Catania (Real Housewives of New Jersey), and Lord Ivar Mountbatten (a member of the extended royal family).
In the finale, Dylan calls the Emmy-winning Peacock series “a crash course in becoming a better person.” While he appeared in Down to Earth with his brother, this was his first foray into a reality competition show. “I’ve been asked to do a bunch of reality TV in the past, but that’s pretty much just based on who my brother is.”
If you checked out my Instagram, you know I like a thirst trap. Now, the fans are just adding them for me.
In addition to winning the grand prize, he deserves the most likable title. After the final roundtable, Big Brother’s Britney Haynes claimed she couldn’t compete with the blue-eyed Faithful because “he’s too fricking lovable” — and the audience caught on to his vibe, too. The charming athlete with undeniable rizz (also known as this season’s “castle daddy”) has been loving the outpour of support from fans. “I really tried to just be my authentic self, so the fact that people are warm toward it gives me even more confidence to put myself out there,” he says.
Dylan is especially fond of the thirst tweets and fan edits on TikTok. “If you checked out my Instagram, you know I like a thirst trap,” he jokes. “Now, the fans are just adding them for me.” And for those who have been buzzing — and asking DeuxMoi — about his relationship status, Dylan is in a “private, but not secret” relationship with his long-term girlfriend. “I’m very happy,” he says.
Being the most crush-worthy Traitors contestant — or as Andy Cohen put it, “breakout babyface Traitor hunter of the season” — may be what he’s most known for at the moment, but Dylan doesn’t want to be attached to a title. “The generation I grew up in, we were very much following a path. We graduate high school, we graduate college, we get a job out of college, and then, your job becomes your identity.”
My brother guessed before the show even aired that I was going to win.
In high school, he was a “sports kid,” who spent most of his time outside. As he’s gotten older, he’s moved on from traditional sports, like tennis and volleyball, to more extreme activities (think highlining and speed flying.) “All the little kid rebellions in me are still coming out,” he says, “so I can’t say I would label myself by my job anymore. It’s more of my passions and who I am.”
In 2020, Dylan and Zac worked on Down to Earth with Zac Efron together. Despite being best friends with his celebrity brother, though, Dylan is carving out his own space in Hollywood. The Traitors has allowed him to step into the spotlight — and Zac seems to be Dylan’s No. 1 fan. “My brother guessed before the show even aired that I was going to win,” he says. “He was like, ‘Oh, you’re going to take this.’” While Zac may have been right, Dylan has had to keep his mouth shut about the finale for months. “It’s been tough,” he says, but thankfully, his friends and family haven’t asked him to spoil anything — and what a surprise ending they got.
Dylan played one of the best games in The Traitors’ history (despite what Bob the Drag Queen may think) — and a lot of that has to do with the strong relationships he formed on both sides of the roundtable. Having alliances with Traitors like Survivor’s Carolyn Wiger and Rob “Boston Rob” Mariano, along with Big Brother’s Danielle Reyes, helped keep him safe long enough to vote them all out — but there are no hard feelings now. As he puts it, “It’s stupid to fight outside the show.” After walking home with over $50,000 (which he spent on a three-bedroom apartment in California), Dylan remains friends with the entire Season 3 cast — even controversial Tom Sandoval of Vanderpump Rules. (“For how much shit Tom gets, he handles it with a strong chin.”)
Dylan’s “intimidating” standoff against Bob the Drag Queen during Episode 4’s roundtable didn’t stop the two from getting close after their stay at the castle. Dylan says he and Bob have plans to bring his drag persona, Miss Guided, to life. He’s leaving the look up to the RuPaul’s Drag Race winner, who gave him that name when he brought up suspicions of Bob being a Traitor — which, in actuality, was a well-guided guess.
I don’t regret it because it was the right strategy, but it sucked and just broke my heart.
Dylan wasn’t the only Efron who took shots during that heated discussion. While attempting to point the finger at Dylan instead, Bob implied that Zac is not a great actor. Fans were quick to come to The Greatest Showman and High School Musical star’s defense, which Dylan says were his favorite social media reactions to the show. “I love how everyone rallied and supported my brother’s acting,” he says. “That was cute.” However, Dylan didn’t take the comment to heart. “Everyone, including Bob the Drag Queen, knows it was a clever one-liner.”
It was those roundtable fights that changed Dylan’s initial strategy. “My game plan was going to be more similar to Sam Asghari’s and be quiet and just make good relationships with people,” he says, but it was hard to stay tight-lipped when his friends were under attack. Seeing Bachelor Nation’s Wells Adams go early was particularly difficult for Dylan who made a fast friend, but voting with the herd and banishing Summer House’s Ciara Miller was a moment he felt terrible about. “I was 99% sure that Ciara was a Faithful, but at that point, it was like I couldn’t fight the system,” he says. I don’t regret it because it was the right strategy, but it sucked and just broke my heart.”
Seeing all four Faithfuls make it to the end together may be surprising for fans, but Dylan had been setting his big game plan into motion long before the finale. While the TV edits showed Dylan on the fence about Reyes and suspicious of Windey, he knew what was going on after the murder in plain sight in Episode 8. “That was the moment for me when I knew Gabby was a Faithful,” he says. “There’s zero chance she would murder her best friend, Chrishell Stause, in plain sight. You have to be a sick strategist. That’s something Danielle might do, but not Gabby.” (Dylan believes if Windey truly was a Traitor, she would have taken him out sooner.) In the end, the “Barbie and Ken” duo finally joined forces for the last challenge. “My game was tied to Gabby’s, and I was super happy to be able to work with her.”
If you wondered why none of the Traitors considered Dylan a threat or tried to recruit him when the time came, that was all part of his clever strategy, too. “I was fairly certain Danielle would recruit me or Britney, but at that point, I didn’t really want to be recruited anymore,” he says. “So I had a talk with Danielle saying I don’t trust Britney.” Since Reyes was loyal to her fellow former Big Brother contestant, she recruited Haynes instead, who betrayed her in the finale. Dylan says a similar situation of backstabbing would have occurred had his bestie, Boston Rob, stayed in long enough.
“People like to think that I was playing with Boston Rob knowing he was a Traitor,” he says. “I did not know he was a Traitor, but I knew I wanted to play the game with him and make it to the end with him because he is loyal to his people.” Unlike some contestants who came into The Traitors unfamiliar with the game and cast — *cough* Real Housewives of Dubai’s Chanel Ayan not knowing Survivor is a show *cough* — Dylan did his research. “I told everyone on the cast I watched The Traitors U.S. Season 2, but I didn’t tell them I watched both the UK versions and the Australian version,” he admits.
Looking ahead, the outgoing athlete is open to another reality show. In fact, Dylan says he’s down to make a guest appearance on Summer House with fellow Miller. (“It would be a blast. They look like they know how to have fun.”) Aside from a cameo, Dylan says a scripted project is also on the table. “If the right role comes for acting, I would love to learn that and dive into something new.”
He isn’t going to rush into anything too soon, though. He says The Traitors Season 3 opportunity came at the perfect time in his life. “This is a beautiful case of waiting until the time’s right, and not forcing myself into a situation,” he says. As someone who truly thrives in nature, Dylan is ready to hit the road again. And after a stressful season cooped up in a Scottish castle, this golden retriever is long overdue for some time outside.
The post Dylan Efron On His ‘Traitors’ Win, Bob The Drag Queen, & Thirst Traps appeared first on Elite Daily.
