FALLING SKIES: Maxim Knight On Family, Aliens, & Starting Over

TNT’s highly anticipated summer sci-fi series Falling Skies premieres June 19th, and one of its young actors is already making a big name for himself. Maxim Knight may only be 11 years old, but to date he has co-starred in 15 films and guest-starred in numerous television shows. Being an avid thespian since the age of 7, Maxim has worked diligently to score the best roles around. He was thrilled to get the opportunity to play Matt Mason on Falling Skies.

Playing the youngest son of Noah Wyle’s character, Tom Mason, it is Maxim’s role to embody all that the human survivors are fighting for, the hope of humanity, the children, particularly since innocence lost is a delicate subject that is addressed carefully in the show. In fact, Maxim described his character Matt as an “old soul.” He views Matt’s role as giving is father and his brothers a reason to fight.

“He represents ‘hope’ — Matt gives his father the inspiration to fight,” says Maxim. In a world where everything seems lost, where alien invaders have destroyed their lives and are hunting them to the ends of the Earth, hope is all they have left. So Maxim knows he plays a vital part on the show and it makes him proud.

In addition, working on Falling Skies has been a really great experience for Maxim. It felt like a family and he made some great friends because of it, including Connor Jessup, who plays Matt’s brother Ben on the show. For Maxim, that was the best part of working on Falling Skies – hanging out with everyone. He had a wonderful time and loved every minute of it. Naturally, he is looking forward to returning to his Falling Skies family and working with them again if TNT picks up the series for a second season.

Sharing a bit about his co-stars, Noah Wyle who plays his father and Drew Roy who plays his brother on Falling Skies, Maxim said he loved how Noah kept the set a really happy place for everyone and he loved seeing how gracious Drew Roy was with his Hannah Montana fans who showed up to watch them film. Both Noah and Drew set a great example for the young actor and he appreciated the chance to work with them.

Maxim also noted that one of the cooler aspects of Falling Skies is the Skitters, the creepy, multi-legged aliens that have taken over the planet. For Maxim, he loved how scary and realistic the Skitters appeared. While there is some CGI used, the Skitters are actual costumed cast and very life-like, so Maxim already found the Skitters scary even before the CGI effects were added. He loved that the creatures came across so real and would love to work more on screen with the Skitters next season.

As far as what Maxim wants fans to know about Falling Skies, he thought it was important to consider the show from the viewpoint: “What would you do if Earth was destroyed and had to start over? What would you do?” If you look at it that way, it is easier to relate to what Matt, his father, and his brothers are going through. Maxim also shared that besides the great special effects and scary aliens, there will be a wide range of emotions illustrated by the different circumstances of the survivors: joy, empathy, devastation, romance, etc.; so he believes the show will appeal to a variety of viewers.

Being a bit of an “old soul” himself, when asked what would be the one thing he would probably take in the event of an alien invasion or apocalypse, Maxim said he would his family photos. “Memories are the most precious thing.”

Not slowing down for one second, while on break between Falling Skies season one and two, Maxim has taken the time to hone his creative acting chops, which includes a guest appearance on the new series Wilfred which stars Elijah Wood and Jason Gann. It was an extraordinary experience since Maxim looks up to both actors and it was a really fun and different role for him.

However, for now, Maxim is counting the days until he can hopefully return to working on Falling Skies. He is anxious to jump into the thick of it and hopefully get to be a part of the action if and when the second season is ordered, particularly as a number of the children in the show have are being recruited to help fight in the resistance. However, he insightfully noted that while his character Matt may think he is old enough to use a gun, he actually isn’t. So Maxim is curious how that will inherent tension will work out — and he would love to do more scenes with the Skitters.

Maxim humorously added that one of the biggest challenges he foresees returning to the role of Matt is, “I had to remember what it was like to be 8, and how innocent and naïve my thoughts and actions had to be – because I was 8 THREE WHOLE YEARS AGO!” So to be 11 portraying and 8 year old is indeed a bit harder than he expected.

Finally, Maxim encourages everyone to check out Falling Skies when it debuts on June 19th on TNT with its 2-hour premiere (our review posts June 13) and to keep tuning in to see the incredible story that plays out. He also invites fans to watch for his fun upcoming appearance on Wilfred, which is likely to surprise a few people.

Maxim Knight – an actor whose career you should be watching. He is an “old soul” and going places!