Entertainment
Gossip Girl star Thomas Doherty says playing sexually fluid Max Wolfe ‘challenged who I actually am’
Actor Thomas Doherty plays the suave Max Wolfe (Picture: BBC/Warner Bros)
Thomas Doherty described the ‘liberating’ experience he had playing Max Wolfe on Gossip Girl.
The teen drama, which originally ran from 2007 to 2012, focuses on a clique of super rich kids at an elite school whose relationships are tested by the arrival of the mysterious online presence known as Gossip Girl’, who seems to know everything about them.
Max, who is part of the central group, is sexually fluid and viewers will see his chemistry with and attraction to both men and women across the first six episodes when they air in the UK later this month.
The Scottish actor revealed that through playing the suave character he changed his own ideas not only about sexuality as a whole, but his beliefs about himself as a person.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk and other press about his experiences stepping into Max’s shoes, he said: ‘The word I would use is liberating. It definitely opened my eyes and changed my preconceived notion of what sexuality was, and what sexual identity and sexual preference was.
‘I feel like it does get spoon fed to you when you’re younger, what you are or what you should be, or what you’re gonna be. What’s right, what’s wrong.
‘It’s a spectrum of course, and for Max it is a big spectrum and that was really fun to play and explore.
‘When you play a character like that it’s not just a challenge to play the character it also challenges the actor in what they believe and who they think they actually are. I loved the process and I continue to love it. It keeps expanding my mind and educating me.’
Despite Max’s cool demeanour, the actor hinted that fans shouldn’t take his confidence at face value.
The actor described playing Max as an ‘education’ on sexuality (Picture: BBC/Warner Bros)
‘He has a mask, a protective shield and I think we all have one of them,’ Thomas said.
‘I know I definitely could relate. The moments where that mask wasn’t there and you saw another side of him, then the mask would go back on, I was intrigued playing that dynamic.’
The Scottish actor felt ‘lucky’ to miss out on social media at school (Picture: Getty)
The actor reflected on his own time at school and noted that he felt fortunate not to have to deal with the pressures of social media like the teens of today do.
He said: ‘I was lucky that I just missed social media.
‘Young people nowadays aren’t actually that young, they’re quite old. When I was 17 I was cringe. They’re cooler than me!’
Gossip Girl is available to stream on BBC iPlayer from August 25, while episode one will air on BBC One at 10.35pm.
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