Max Evans - Reception

Reception

Although in the original story Max Evans was supposed to be a blond guy with incredible blue eyes Jason Behr, who is dark-haired and mysterious instead, got the role however and he was the first choice between many other actors that could have played the role. According to one of the confirmed rumors about the actors that could have played Max's role, Heath Ledger was one of them but Fox went with Jason instead. David Nutter explained why Behr won the part:

"Jason is one of the most naturally gifted actors I've ever worked with. We talked a lot about this character during the show's easily stages. Even in the audition process we talked about him and he totally got the guy. he understood Max's humility, he understood that that was Max's strength. There's also a wonderful calmness, maturity and wisdom about the guy that i thought was very important. All three aliens needed to wisdom that was something other than what you would expect in a young person, and he was perfect at that" —David Nutter, Executive Producer, from "Crash Into Me" by Robyn Burnett

Melinda Metz, the original books' writer stated more than once that she really liked the choice and she believed that Jason Behr was the right actor for Max and she herself never really saw the character like the model her book publisher gave to her for the physical description of Max.

"I though he was an amazing choice for Max. He really does have that intensity — just the way he looks at Liz —and you feel the longing. I always felt that Max was the cautious, responsible and a good person, but with all this bubbling underneath. I think he really conveys that, which is hard to do, because it's all internal." —Melinda Metz, Original Books Writer

Thanks to his portrayal of Max Evans Jason Behr also won an award in the "Standout Performance by a Young Actor" category at the Young Hollywood Awards in the year 2002. He also got nominated for two years consecutively (2000 and 2001) both at the Teen Choice Awards (in the category TV - Choice Actor) and at the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA (Saturn Award).