Maxxie Oliver

Last updated
Maxxie Oliver
Skins character
Maxxie.jpg
Mitch Hewer as Maxxie
First appearance"Tony" (episode 1.01)
Last appearance"Final Goodbyes" (episode 2.10)
Created by Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain
Portrayed by Mitch Hewer
Seasons 1 and 2
Centric episode(s)"Maxxie and Anwar"
(ep 1.06)
"Tony and Maxxie"
(ep 2.01)
In-universe information
Occupation Student
FamilyWalter Oliver (father)
Jackie Oliver (mother)

Maxwell "Maxxie" Oliver is a fictional character in the British television series Skins. He is portrayed by actor Mitch Hewer.

Contents

Characterisation

Maxxie is portrayed as proficient at several styles of dance, including tap dance. He is also shown as being a brilliant artist, [1] seductive, [2] well-liked and well-adjusted. He is hinted to having many promiscuous relationships throughout the series. He is somewhat of a comedian, particularly with best friends Anwar Kharral and Chris Miles. According to a Myspace-style "about me" section on the Skins website, [3] he describes his favorite things as toast, boys, dancing, drawing, Arcade Fire and the Sistine Chapel, and he wants to meet Johnny Depp, Nigel Reo-Coker and Ron from Harry Potter.[ citation needed ]

Like Anwar, Maxxie does not have an episode name to himself, instead being the centric character in "Maxxie & Anwar" and "Tony & Maxxie". Although the episode "Sketch" greatly involves him, as it is about his stalker.

Character history

Series 1

In "Tony", he convinces Anwar and Chris to join him on a "big gay night out", but eventually goes to Abigail Stock's party after the night out wasn't what was expected.

In "Maxxie and Anwar", on a school trip to Russia, Maxxie and his best mate Anwar face issues regarding their status as best friends, with Anwar's faith condemning homosexuality. Maxxie indicates he views Anwar as homophobic and hypocritical – as a Muslim, Anwar dislikes gay people but at the same time has pre-marital sex, takes drugs and drinks alcohol. Maxxie then swaps rooms with Sid, so he is now sharing a room with Tony Stonem, who tries repeatedly to seduce Maxxie to 'try something new' which Maxxie refuses because of Tony's girlfriend Michelle Richardson. After his fight with Anwar (which was somewhat promoted by Tony), he is confronted by a Russian woman, who eventually invites him to her private headquarters to drink vodka after seeing his Neil Diamond t-shirt. He gets very drunk and after he tries to save Anwar from a standoff, he tries one more time to heal their friendship. In his distraught state he gives into temptation with Tony for means of comfort – and informs Tony that he wasn't good. Unknown to them, Michelle has witnessed the entire thing.

In "Michelle", Tony is seen continuing to flirt with Maxxie, and Michelle subsequently dumps Tony. Maxxie is quick to apologise to Michelle for the incident in Russia, and he is upset when she derides him as a "dirty little slut who fucks around with other people's boyfriends". Later, racked with guilt over his friends' breakup, Maxxie states in his psychology lesson that it was his fault that Tony ended up giving him head, to quote 'I lost my head and then he [Tony] gave me head', despite the fact that everything that happened had been pushed for and orchestrated by Tony.

In the series 1 finale, Maxxie calls Anwar to wish him a happy birthday; however, he refuses to attend his party until Anwar tells his parents that Maxxie is gay. Anwar, desperate to see Maxxie, eventually finds him waiting outside, still refusing to go inside. Mr. Kharral eventually arrives outside, spotting Maxxie and the two talk until Anwar tells his father that Maxxie is gay. Mr. Kharral seemingly ignores Anwar until Maxxie restates it himself. Mr. Kharral then explains that there are a lot of things in the world he doesn't understand – particularly homosexuality – but that his faith in Allah means he believes God one day will reveal to him all he does not understand and until then, will treat Maxxie no differently. With that, Maxxie and Anwar's friendship is renewed. Maxxie and Anwar also back up Chris in the brawl later that night and in the end Maxxie happily ends up in an embrace with one of Chris' attackers who has seemingly fallen for him.

Series 2

The series two premiere episode, which is focused on Tony, introduces Maxxie's parents: Jackie (Fiona Allen) and Walter Oliver (Bill Bailey), revealing Maxxie's surname, that he has a dog called Taz and the situation with his parents. After Tony's accident in series one and his subsequent brain trauma, Maxxie, Jal Fazer and Chris are the only friends who are still there for him. His mother, who used to work as Tony's nanny, is taking on that role again. Like Maxxie, his father and even his dog dance in their spare time, although Maxxie struggles to convince his dad to let him drop his A Levels and audition for musicals in London. Though Maxxie generally comes from a stable home with loving parents, he remains subject to homophobic abuse from "chavs" on the council estate where he lives. It later turns out that one of the chavs – Dale – is in fact gay after tackling Maxxie to the ground and kissing him at a later opportunity. Maxxie resists at first but eventually gives in and they end up sleeping together. When Maxxie returns home the next morning, he sees a distraught Tony and comforts him. Eventually in the episode, after Walter has had much time to reflect on his relationship with his son, they agree that he will at least continue his A Levels, even if he does not join his father as a builder afterwards as Walter would prefer. At a couple of points (including having pictures taken on him), Maxxie becomes suspicious of stalking, setting up the next episode.

In "Sketch", Maxxie is stalked by Sketch, a young Welsh student who cares for her ailing mother in the flat opposite Maxxie's. Sketch takes pictures of Maxxie and pins them up on a board of her room, leaves Maxxie several gifts in his locker, leaving him to wonder who they're from, makes herself appear more masculine (such as wearing male clothing and flattening her chest with a sash) to appear attractive to him, and watches him practice a performance with Michelle in a musical.

Following this, in the Unseen Skins episode "A Cycological Romance", Monday: Maxxie meets a new love interest: James (played by Sean Verey), who is also gay and a cyclist. Maxxie seems very interested, leaving him a note on his bicycle. Sketch steals this note, later slashing Maxxie's tires. Tuesday: Maxxie is forced to take the bus, and so leaving a window for Sketch to approach James warning him off on the grounds that she was his ex-girlfriend and he stalks her (both lies). Wednesday: James tells Maxxie to leave him alone, only to work out Sketch was lying. The next morning (Thursday), James finds his tires slashed and is also forced to get the bus, meeting Maxxie on board. They talk and work out that this is all Sketch's work; they decide to start again. Sketch is seen outside looking in with a face of melancholy, as the two exchange names. In the television episode "Jal", Maxxie proudly introduces James to everyone at college. Sketch seems to look jealous at the pairing whilst Anwar looks uneasy.

In his last episode, Maxxie and James move to London together, also being joined by Anwar, who abandons Sketch at the bus stop.

Post-Series 2

In the fourth Skins Short, which was made alongside series 4, Thomas and JJ are applying for a job at the cinema, where the latter is seen wearing Maxxie's Superman costume, a reference to the fancy-dress party scene in Sketch's episode and is later seen wearing Sketch's costume.

U.S. adaption

Maxxie was the only character from the original UK version who didn't appear in the American adaptation. He was replaced by Tea Marvelli, a self-proclaimed lesbian. The series' decision to Tony's sexual fluidity and attraction to Maxxie with Tea's sexual confusion and attraction to Tony, was criticised for replacing self-confident bisexual and gay characters with a heteronormative story about teenage sexual confusion.

Related Research Articles

<i>Skins</i> (British TV series) British television series (2007–2013)

Skins is a British teen comedy drama television series that follows the lives of a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of sixth form. Its controversial story-lines have explored issues like dysfunctional families, mental illness, adolescent sexuality, gender, substance abuse, death, and bullying.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Stonem</span> Character in Skins

Anthony Stonem is a fictional character from the British television series Skins. He is the protagonist of the first two series. Portrayed by Nicholas Hoult, the character was created by Bryan Elsley; Tony was the series' central character in its first and second series, from 2007 to 2008. The character is considered an antihero, as many of his actions are questionable and antagonistic due to his manipulative tendencies. However, this changes in the second series after he becomes a victim of a subdural haematoma, affecting his personality and memories. Hoult, along with the other starring actors of the first two series, departed the show after its second series. The character was subsequently alluded to in episodes of the third and fourth series, which centred on Tony's sister Effy, played by Kaya Scodelario. In the 2011 North American adaptation of the show, Tony is played by actor James Newman, and the character's surname is changed to Schneider.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cassie Ainsworth</span> Fictional character from Skins

Cassandra "Cassie" Ainsworth is a fictional character in the television series Skins, portrayed by Hannah Murray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jal Fazer</span> Fictional character from Skins

Jalander "Jal" Fazer is a fictional character in the television series Skins portrayed by Larissa Wilson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sid Jenkins</span> Fictional character from Skins

Sidney "Sid" Jenkins is a fictional character in the television series Skins portrayed by Mike Bailey. In the first series, Sid is portrayed as a nice guy stereotype, an unlucky virgin who is nervous around girls, and has low self-esteem. Tony Stonem is his role model, whom he frequently looks up to. However, by the second series, Sid is more dependable and following Tony's accident, becomes more confident in his own skin, leading him to have sexual relationships with both Cassie Ainsworth and Michelle Richardson, as well as standing up for himself more often.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michelle Richardson</span> Fictional character from Skins

Michelle Richardson is a fictional character in both the teen drama British series and U.S. remake of Skins. She is played by April Pearson in the British version and by Rachel Thevenard in the American version.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anwar Kharral</span> Fictional character from Skins

Anwar Kharral is a fictional character in the television series Skins portrayed by Dev Patel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Miles (Skins)</span> Fictional character from Skins

Christopher "Chris" Miles is a fictional character in the British teen drama Skins, portrayed by Joe Dempsie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Effy Stonem</span> Fictional character from Skins

Elizabeth "Effy" Stonem is a fictional character in the television series Skins, played by Kaya Scodelario. She appears in all of the first four series, as well as the seventh series, and appears in the most episodes (27). Kaya Scodelario was included in Entertainment Weekly's 2009 "Summer Must List", being named "Bad Girl" for her portrayal of Effy. She was included in AfterEllen.com's Top 50 Favorite Female TV Characters.

Sketch (<i>Skins</i> character) Fictional character from Skins

Lucy Sketch is a fictional character in British teen drama series Skins. She is portrayed by Aimee-Ffion Edwards.

"Tony" is the first episode of British drama series Skins. It was written by Bryan Elsley and directed by Paul Gay. It is told from the point of view of main character Tony Stonem. It aired on E4 on 25 January 2007.

"Jal" is the third episode of the first series of the British teen drama Skins. It was written by Bryan Elsley and directed by Adam Smith. It premiered on E4 on 8 February 2007. It is told from the point of view of main character Jal Fazer.

"Sid" is the fifth episode of the first series of the British teen drama Skins. It was written by Jamie Brittain and directed by Minkie Spiro. It aired on E4 on 22 February 2007. It is told from the point of view of main character Sid Jenkins.

"Maxxie and Anwar" is the sixth episode of the first series of the British teen drama Skins. It was written by Simon Amstell and Ben Schiffer and was directed by Chris Clough. It first aired on E4 on 1 March 2007. It is told from the points of view of main characters Maxxie Oliver and Anwar Kharral.

"Effy" is the eighth and penultimate episode of the first series of the British teen drama Skins. It was written by Jack Thorne and directed by Adam Smith. It aired on E4 on 15 March 2007. It is told from the point of view of recurring character Effy Stonem and her brother, main character Tony Stonem.

"Everyone" is the ninth and final episode of the first series of the British teen drama Skins. It was written by Bryan Elsley and directed by Adam Smith. It first aired on E4 in the UK on 22 March 2007. Contrarily to the season's other episodes, it does not focus particularly on one character but on the group as a whole, a first for the show.

<i>Skins</i> (American TV series) American television series

Skins is an American/Canadian teen comedy-drama television series that premiered on January 17, 2011, on MTV in the United States. It is a remake of the original UK show of the same name, and follows the lives of a group of teenagers in Toronto, Canada, through their final two years of high school. As with the UK series, the American version features a cast of amateur actors and young writers.

<i>Skins</i> series 1 1st series of the British television show Skins

Skins is a British teen drama created by father-and-son television writers Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain for Company Pictures. The first series began airing on E4 on 25 January 2007 and ended on 22 March 2007. This series sees the introduction of a new cast; it follows the lives of the first generation of sixth form students Tony Stonem, Michelle Richardson, Sid Jenkins, Cassie Ainsworth, Chris Miles, Jal Fazer, Maxxie Oliver and Anwar Kharral.

<i>Skins</i> series 2 2nd series of the British television show Skins

Skins is a British teen drama created by father-and-son television writers Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain for Company Pictures. The second series began airing on E4 on 11 February 2008 and ended on 14 April 2008. Like the previous series, this series follows the lives of the first generation, which consists of Tony Stonem, Michelle Richardson, Sid Jenkins, Cassie Ainsworth, Chris Miles, Jal Fazer, Maxxie Oliver and Anwar Kharral.

References

  1. "Maxxie and Anwar". Skins. E4.
  2. "A Friend in Need". Unseen Skins. E4.
  3. Channel 4 - Skins - Us - Maxxie