Max Evans - Jason Behr About His Character

Jason Behr About His Character

When Jason Behr first read the script he realized that Max wasn't one of those jerks he played before:

"When I first read the script I immediately understood what they were going for - the mystery, the suspense, the relationships, the unrequited love story. I related to Max's search for the truth about himself, about life, about his place in this world, which I think everybody goes through." —Jason Behr, Behring It All, "Crash Into Me" by Robyn Burnett

Jason was drawn to the story as soon as he read the script and he explained why:

"I think it was everything. The script was rich with metaphor and irony that kept it a little light, but it was also very honest about relationship and about emotion, and just -- it was one of those things that had a bunch of different elements and a good story. It was very hard to say no to something like that. Themes like teen alienation and the search for self and your place in the world, I think that everybody can kind of associate with. —Jason Behr, Jason Behr on AOL Live!

Regarding Max's personality Behr found enjoyable the fact that his character actually has undergone a true evolution throughout the show:

"I think he's evolved in several ways,' says Behr. 'In the beginning, he was the conscience of the groupthe thinker, the one who, before taking any action, thought of the different consequences of what they decided to do. Given their situation, every move they make is imperative to their survival and secret. So he was like the rockthe conscience, the one who tried to get everyone to do the right thing. I think he learned over the course of this year that he can't always take positions and always tell people what the right or wrong thing to do is. He has learned not to be as controlling as he was before, and allow people to make mistakes on their own and learn from them. The only problem with that is he's still kind of struggling with that attitude, because some of the mistakes other people might make could have serious consequences for everyone. Michael, for instance, wants so badly to find a way home, but to the other characters Roswell is home. He'll do whatever it takes and whatever it costs to do this. It's very hard for Max to get through to him and make Michael understand what he's doing could be dangerous for everyone involved. Yet everyone on the show has choices they have to make, but at what cost? So it's a real delicate thing where Max is still learning." —Jason Behr, The Behr Necessities

As for the theme of the show (the aliens) Behr also believes in extraterrestrial life as a possibility that we should consider:

"I try and remain open-minded about it,' Behr replies. 'If people thought one way only and didn't allow themselves to expand their views and be open-minded about the possibility of things, we'd be having this conversation with two tin cups and a really long string. We would be stuck in the Dark Ages. We would not evolve. There are people out there who will tell you that there is no way there will ever be contact with alien life. Maybe they're right, but maybe they're wrong. There were people for many years who said there would be no way we could recreate human tissue, and now they can grow a new ear. If you told my grandfather that some day we would be able to walk on the moon, he would have laughed at you and probably called you crazy. There are certain schools of thought that only believe one thing. And if they don't remain open-minded about possibilities beyond what they know, then they're going to be lost. If anything, the show has done that for me. I always was open-minded, but dealing with this material has opened my mind up even more to the possibilities" —Jason Behr, The Behr Necessities