When we get to the day of the ice ball, what is it that is making Max suspicious of Daniel’s intentions towards Summer?
Max is filming and he sees Daniel put something in her backpack. Summer hasn’t been eating properly, Daniel’s concerned because of her diabetes and puts a bar in her bag. Max sees him to do that and when he looks through Summer’s bag, which is of course an invasion of her privacy, he also finds the poem which Daniel has written for Summer’s application and takes it the wrong way. Max is really concerned about it because he’s become very protective of Summer, she represents something really positive in his life, at the moment she’s the only person giving him that sort of positive attention. He’s not only very protective of her as an individual but also of what she represents in his life.
Do you think he has got a bit of a crush on her?
I think he has a huge crush on her which has developed because she’s the only person who’s giving him the time of day at the moment, everyone else is quite dismissive of him. His crush is developing on Summer because she believes in him, she sees good in him whereas everyone else just sees a naughty little boy. He sees Summer as this positive female role model and having lost his mum that’s huge and another reason why he’s so protective of this relationship.
Summer is very wholesome and quite pure in Max’s eyes, is this why the thought of what might be happening with Daniel angers Max so much?
He sees Summer as this whiter than white, special person so in Max’s mind for Daniel to be taking advantage of her and taking her away from him is so hurtful. He’s so much older than her and so pure in Max’s mind that even Daniel having conversations with Summer gets to him.
How does Max feel after jumping to the conclusion that Daniel is taking advantage of Summer?
As we’ve seen already this year Max has a lot of misdirected anger due to what’s happened in his life. He tends to act very quickly without thinking and because it’s Daniel, who he’s not shied away from conflict with before, this influences Max’s reaction. There is jealousy there but he’s so frustrated that Summer doesn’t see him like that, why Daniel who’s so much older. Because Max sees the best in Summer he would never assume that it’s her who has feelings for Daniel, he just presumes that she’s being taken advantage of, when the viewer in fact knows that it’s Summer who has the crush and it’s not reciprocated.
Max already has very little respect for Daniel, does his problem with seeing him as a figure of authority influence his reaction?
Max is very rebellious, he has a lot of frustration in his life, every time someone in authority tries to tell him what to do his instinct is to lash out at them. He’s also incredibly stubborn in his reaction towards school after the incident. When Summer tells him to stay away from her, that's soul destroying for Max and he then feels like he’s got nothing to lose. He’s lost Summer and he’s not at all bothered what happens with school. He’s never been excited about school, possibly because he’s struggled with his ADHD and Daniel just represents that figure of authority that Max hates and he lashes out at that. It’s the same with Mrs Crawshaw, she represents the authority that Max hates.
Max has had a really difficult upbringing, do you think he's still struggling with his family set up?
For most of his life Max hasn’t had a stable family, he’s been moved around, he’s suffered the death of two parents, he’s had David come into the picture and then Shona after he lost his mum and that’s confusing for any child. It’s not been easy for Max and I think that’s where this misdirected anger comes from. Anyone in his situation is going to have a lot of frustration and anger and find it hard to process things.
Is that something that drew you to this role, that Max isn’t just your average teenager?
He’s far more complex than your average teenager and that was something that was exciting when I looked at playing him. People say to me ‘he’s a naughty boy Max’ but I think anyone in his situation would be, he’s had a really tough start to his life and there’s a lot of frustration there.
So how happy were you to get the role?
I wish I had a really exciting story to tell of where I was when I got the call but I was just sat in my room on my own. I remember thinking about how different my life was going to be and I just couldn’t believe it. To be part of something that’s so much older than me and to be from Manchester myself is so exciting because it’s iconic, you think of Manchester you think of Oasis, Manchester United, Manchester City and Coronation Street.
What have you done previously, where did you train?
This is my first acting job which is crazy but I have been into acting for literally as long as I can remember. I used to do little shows for my family, when I started school I did school plays, I started at a local drama class when I was 7, I went on to join a local theatre, then when I was 14 I joined Manchester School of Acting which is one of the best things I’ve ever done. They’re so good and I still go there now. It was there where I got picked up by my agent in March of this year and started doing auditions and self tapes. I got asked to tape for Coronation Street, I had an A-level the next day so I made the decision not to revise for the A-level and focus on the tape. I then didn’t hear anything for a month so I presumed I hadn’t got it and then I got called for a screen test which was so exciting. I was so nervous but when I got there it just struck me that everyone was so lovely. I did my screen test with Jack Shepherd then a week later I found out I’d got the role which was amazing. I also somehow got an A in the A-level I didn’t revise for so it all worked out ok in the end!
Are you enjoying working on the show?
Everyone has been so lovely, it’s such a great environment, it became so easy for this to be my first job because everyone has been so welcoming. I’ve been working a lot with Jack and Julia, Helen, Sue, Rob and Harriet and everyone has been so friendly. It’s amazing to be working at a place in your first job where you don’t feel intimidated by all these fantastic actors just totally welcomed in.
How does it feel to be a Platt?
It’s amazing because the family dates back to before I was even born, to be part of such an established family instantly makes you feel like you’re part of the history of the show.
How has it felt taking over from Harry who used to play the role of Max?
When you’re taking over a role you really hope you can do it justice for that person as well, in the way that they’ve done the character justice previously. It’s really important to me and I really hope that I can do Harry justice.
What can we expect from Max in the coming months? Is he going to calm down or is this just the start of his turmoil?
Unfortunately we’re not going to see him calm down, we’re going to see his confusion and his frustration at life, I think we’re going to see more of his trauma coming out. There’ll be more of him lashing out at people until I think people understand what he’s going through. There are moments where he’ll have some reconciliations but for the most part I think he’s going to rebel.
Glenda Young
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