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"Faking It" Post-Mortem: Skyler Maxon On Duke/Shane Romance, Kissing Michael Willett

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Skyler Maxon as Duke on MTV's Faking It

Yes, Skyler Maxon, we’ve noticed you.

From the moment you showed up on MTV’s Faking It as Duke, the MMA fighter/trainer and took to the mat with Shane (Michael Willett) you had our attention.

Duke may be closeted, but in last night’s episode a little more light was shed on the subject. We met Duke’s father, who knows all about his son’s sexuality, but since they both are targeting big money athletic endorsements they’re keeping that aspect of Duke’s life quiet.

We got an exclusive first interview with the charismatic and sexy Maxon to talk about his Faking It character, working with Willett and what fans will see moving forward.

TheBacklot: In taking the role, what appealed to you about Duke?

Skyler Maxon:  I remember going in for the pilot a little more than a year ago so I knew what the show was about. When I was reading the breakdown on this Duke guy, I saw that he had this rugged exterior and this bad ass persona about him. I got into this scene and it was the one you got to see last Tuesday at the dinner where I get outed by Laurel. Later that night at the gym, there’s a really deep scene that Shane and I have and you see that Duke has a softer side that I think everyone has. You have this side of you that nobody knows and I want to take a chance with him.

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How would you describe the attraction between Duke and Shane? They’re clearly as different as can be, especially since Shane is as out as out can be.

SM: That goes back to that old saying that opposites attract. They’re definitely different guys. I think Duke has seen how comfortable Shane is with himself and being allowed to be who he is around his friends and family and part of that is attractive to Duke. I think that appeals to Duke. It encourages Duke to do the same.

We found out in last night’s episode that Duke’s Dad knows everything about Duke’s sexuality. Were you surprised that when you read that script?

SM: Yeah! That was something I didn’t know of very far out. It was short notice when I found that out, I was really surprised that we were going to do that and it was fun to play that. It definitely was interesting to see Shane’s reaction since he doesn’t know that my father is aware of that.

Do you think that Duke’s father has a lot of control over him or is it just a shared interest in his career? Who is pulling the strings?

SM: I think it happens sometimes with athletics where parents get really invested in what their kids are doing and I know in this particular situation Duke’s Dad is kind of a bad ass himself, so I think he’s definitely trying to keep my personal life a secret and really drive this bus and make sure I’m really focused on my career. I think there’s some puppeteering going on and we’ll see how that works out.

Do you think with having Shane sign the non-disclosure agreement that it’s a trust issue, or is it just part of the business for Duke?

SM: I remember when I read that I felt that Duke, if his father had not been around, would he have pressured Shane to sign that? I feel like this isn’t the first time he’s had someone sign that to protect himself but I think he really does start to trust Shane and I think we saw that a lot in this last episode where he was really able to vent to Shane.

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How has it been working with Michael? You guys have to work closely together and not just the love scenes. You have a lot of scenes with each other.

SM: He’s such a blast! I’ll get tweets all the time asking one word to describe Michael and he’s hilarious. I know when I met him during the chemistry read I felt really comfortable with him. He’s a professional and he’s  a lot of fun to work with. The moment I got to work with him on set finally, one of the first things was a training session and we had a stunt coordinator, Marco, who was showing us some of the stunts we’d be doing and Michael is just a funny guy. There’s never a dull moment with Michael and he’s just a pleasure. It’s definitely been a blast working with him.

When I talk to actors about shooting love scenes and getting nearly naked with someone else, some people don’t mind it, some think it’s so uncomfortable. How was that to shoot with Michael?

SM: [laughs] I didn’t want to put a whole lot of thought into it before getting into this project. I wasn’t aware of the alley scene [where Duke reveals he’s gay and goes down on Shane] going into this and I really have to compliment Michael with this because if it had been anyone else I probably would’ve felt more uncomfortable. He’s been such a great guy.

People have asked me how is it playing a gay character being a straight uy, but I didn’t look at it that way when I first got the opportunity. I thought of Duke as a person who was going through a lot in his life. It was more of the personal story that drew me to it. Then involving Michael and how he’s really made me feel on set, it’s just great. He’s so easy going. I know we laughed about the first time we had to kiss but he was always making sure that I was comfortable.

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The show has had you with your shirt off quite a bit so we know you’re in great shape, but what is your food weakness?

SM: You know what? I  tweeted something about the donuts on the set. They always had donuts on set! And it wasn’t just a morning thing on craft services but all day and I definitely got caught! I’m kind of a coffee addict myself so I always love coffee and donuts.

What do you hear from the fans on social media about Duke and about his relationship with Shane?

SM: I was really happy to hear that people seem to like Duke and Shane together. I know as I’ve been watching these episodes and I’m reading some of the things people have to say on social media, I hope I’ve made a difference in somebody’s life. Duke and Shane are really different and he’s not open about who he is yet and he has this rugged, bad ass exterior but inside he is somebody totally different. I’m sure there’s someone out there who is a fan of the show who can relate to what Duke is going through. I’m curious to see where things go with Shane and Duke.

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Did you ever worry that because Duke was in the closet that you’d get some negative reaction from fans?

SM: I remember when the non-disclosure thing came about I was like ‘Wow, hopefully Duke doesn’t become an asshole.’ But I feel like Duke is a good guy and has a good heart and I feel like people can see that and relate to what he’s struggling with because everyone at some point in their life they’ve had to come across those forks in the road where you go ‘How do I do this? How do I express who I really am.’ Timing is everything, I believe for people, and in time we’ll find when that time is for Duke.

Faking It airs Tuesdays at 10:30pm on MTV.

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