Cast of Maze Runner: Actors & Characters Full List

If you’ve ever found yourself pausing the movie to check who plays Thomas’s stubborn right-hand Glader, or wondered why Rosa Salazar’s Brenda looked so familiar, you’re not alone. The Maze Runner trilogy built its world around a mix of fresh faces and familiar ones, with actors cycling in and out across three films released between 2014 and 2018. This breakdown maps every major actor to their character across all three films, sourced from IMDb and Wikipedia credits, so you know exactly who’s who from the Glade to the Last City.

Lead Actor (Thomas): Dylan O’Brien · Teresa Actress: Kaya Scodelario · Director: Wes Ball · First Film Year: 2014 · Key Supporting (Ben): Chris Sheffield

Six recurring performers anchor the trilogy, while each sequel brings in a fresh batch of characters to drive the story forward. Here’s how the cast breaks down across films.

Cast of Maze Runner 2

The Scorch Trials expands the world beyond the maze walls, introducing a wider cast as Thomas and the Gladers face the harsh desert terrain and new allies. Dylan O’Brien returns as Thomas alongside Kaya Scodelario as Teresa, both reprising their roles from the first film (Wikipedia). Several new faces join the fold, including Rosa Salazar as Brenda and Giancarlo Esposito as Jorge.

Main returning actors

• Dylan O’Brien as Thomas
• Kaya Scodelario as Teresa
• Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Newt
• Ki Hong Lee as Minho
• Dexter Darden as Frypan
• Patricia Clarkson as Ava Paige
• Will Poulter as Gally
• Alexander Flores as Winston

New characters introduced

• Rosa Salazar as Brenda
• Giancarlo Esposito as Jorge
• Barry Pepper as Vince
• Aidan Gillen as Janson
• Jacob Lofland as Aris
• Katherine McNamara as Sonya
• Nathalie Emmanuel as Harriet

Cast of Maze Runner 3

The final installment, The Death Cure, wraps up the saga with a larger scale and the return of several actors from earlier films alongside brand-new additions. Dylan O’Brien leads the cast once again as Thomas, with a few changes to the supporting lineup compared to the middle film.

Core cast members

• Dylan O’Brien as Thomas
• Kaya Scodelario as Teresa
• Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Newt
• Ki Hong Lee as Minho
• Dexter Darden as Frypan
• Patricia Clarkson as Ava Paige
• Rosa Salazar as Brenda
• Giancarlo Esposito as Jorge
• Barry Pepper as Vince
• Aidan Gillen as Janson
• Jacob Lofland as Aris
• Katherine McNamara as Sonya
• Nathalie Emmanuel as Harriet

Supporting roles

• Will Poulter as Gally (returns from film 1)
• Walton Goggins as Lawrence (new addition)

The implication: Walton Goggins’s Lawrence is the most notable single-film addition in the trilogy, appearing exclusively in the finale as a major antagonist figure.

Cast of Maze Runner Brenda

Brenda stands out as one of the trilogy’s most prominent new characters, introduced in The Scorch Trials and carrying significant weight through the final film. Rosa Salazar portrays Brenda across both sequels, playing a key alliance character who starts as an antagonist before shifting allegiances.

Actress for Brenda

Rosa Salazar plays Brenda in Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials and Maze Runner: The Death Cure (Wikipedia). Before taking on the Maze Runner films, Salazar had built a reputation for physically demanding roles, including her performance in the short film The Edge of Seventeen and later in Alita: Battle Angel.

Role description

Brenda is a teenager living in the wasteland who initially encounters Thomas and his group as an apparent enemy. Her arc involves a gradual reveal of her backstory and a significant decision that impacts the final film’s outcome. She is one of the few characters in the films who is not a Glader from the original story.

The pattern: Brenda’s outsider status as a non-Glader meant the screenwriters had to create new plot threads for her character rather than drawing from established source material.

Cast of Maze Runner Kaya Scodelario

Kaya Scodelario plays Teresa, the only female Glader introduced in the original story, across all three Maze Runner films (Wikipedia). Her character arc evolves from passive newcomer to a central figure whose choices directly shape the trilogy’s climax.

Her role as Teresa

Teresa arrives in the Glade as the first girl to ever enter, following Thomas’s initial arrival. Throughout the trilogy, she develops from a quiet observer to Thomas’s closest confidante and eventually a controversial figure whose decisions create friction within the group.

Film appearances

Scodelario appears in The Maze Runner (2014), Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015), and Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018). She is one of six actors who appears in all three films, and the sole female performer among that core group.

Cast of Maze Runner Main Character

Thomas is the protagonist of the Maze Runner trilogy, and his journey from confused arrival in the Glade to leader of the resistance spans all three films. The role is played by Dylan O’Brien, an American actor who was relatively early in his career when the first film released in 2014.

Thomas actor

Dylan O’Brien portrays Thomas in all three Maze Runner films (Wikipedia). O’Brien had previously appeared in MTV series Teen Wolf before landing the lead role in the Maze Runner franchise. He performed most of his own stunts during production, including scenes in the actual maze sets.

Other leads

Beyond O’Brien, the core cast includes Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Newt, Ki Hong Lee as Minho, and Patricia Clarkson as the antagonist Ava Paige. These four, along with Scodelario, form the backbone of the trilogy’s acting ensemble across all three films.

“The story follows sixteen-year-old Thomas, portrayed by O’Brien, who awakens in a rusty elevator with no memory of who he is.” — Wikipedia entry (The Maze Runner film page)

“In the books, there is a drastic timeline change. The Right Arm doesn’t appear until halfway through The Death Cure.” — ScreenRant article (ScreenRant)