’13 Reasons Why’ Star Dylan Minnette Reveals Why He Quit Acting

Dylan Minnette is taking a break from acting following his breakout role on the successful Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. The 27-year-old opened up about stepping away from the camera during the Thursday, May 23, episode of the Zach Sang Show podcast, revealing that he’s turned his focus to music after losing his passion for acting.

“I was on 13 Reasons Why and it was really popular and definitely reached a peak in what I’ve had in acting,” Minnette explained on the podcast. “But it also started to feel like a bit of a job. I was in a very fortunate position, it was always fun for me, always really inspiring, but then it was just starting to feel like just a job.”

After playing the lead role of Clay Jensen in four seasons of the popular Netflix series, which also starred Tommy Dorfman, Katherine Langford, Christian Navarro, Alisha Boe, Brandon Flynn and Kate Walsh, Minnette went on to appear in the 2022 Hulu drama The Dropout as well as that year’s Scream movie.

Now, however, Minnette is putting his energy into his alt-rock band, Wallows, in which he sings and plays guitar alongside bandmates Cole Preston and Braeden Lemasters. The trio formed their group in 2011 and has gone on to release three albums and play venues like the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2022. 

During Thursday’s podcast, Minnette said he wants to take Wallows “all the way as far as we can.” He explained, “I feel like I’m in a position now where I can just kind of like do that for a while and get this the farthest it can be. The only way that’s gonna happen is if I put my 100% time and energy into it and take it very seriously and show the world that we all take this very seriously.”

Music is what inspires Minnette for now, but he isn’t turning his back on acting for good. “I do feel like I have something to give, and that’s probably acting. … I feel like I’m starting to feel inspiration for that again,” he revealed. “At some point, when we’ve fulfilled our Wallows duties and we’re all ready to take a break as a band, that’s when I’ll have the perfect inspiration to do something.”