Coronation Street’s Corey star reveals he auditioned for a different character…but who was it? If at first you don’t succeed…
Actor Maximus Evans is currently making waves as Coronation Street’s Corey Brent; the twisted teen responsible for the attack on Nina Lucas and Seb Franklin that caused the latter to lose his life.
But the 19 year old star has revealed that he originally auditioned for a different part on the soap.
Evans reveals: “It’s come very full circle. I auditioned for Corrie a couple of times throughout the years, and I actually got very close to playing Seb.
“I actually screen tested for Seb when that first came up. I was saying this to Harry (Visinoni, who played Seb) and we thought it was quite funny that it’s really full circle.”
He adds:“It was around two years ago I had the audition for Corey. At first, I didn’t know how to think about it because I wasn’t in high school at the time and didn’t feel like I was a student, and the character was younger.
"And I am quite a tall lad - I’m six foot one - so I thought, in my mind, that I might look a bit silly in a school uniform!”
In recent episodes, Corey went to the police with his father, Stefan, and made a statement about the attack, implicating Imran Habeeb and Toyah Battersby’s troubled foster daughter, Kelly Neelan.
Kelly had been present when the attack took place and had slapped Nina across the face earlier in the evening. But she hadn’t delivered any of the kicks or punches that landed Seb and Nina in hospital.
Corey’s words, combined with the fact that Seb’s blood had been found on Kelly’s clothes, led the police to later charge Kelly with murder and GBH.
Says Evans, who previously starred on CBBC show Creeped Out and also had a role in ITV crime drama, The Bay, “With Corey, he can identify in his mind who is below him, in terms of vulnerability, and Kelly is a great example of that.
“And then there’s characters like Summer; we see him trying to manipulate her.
“There’s that fight or flight when you’re guilty of something, and with Corey, you can see that he is trying to stand his ground as long as he can, and blackmail those people around him.”
Asked if he thinks Corey believes he can literally get away with murder, due to his privileged background, he adds, “Unfortunately, yes. There’s definitely that sense of power in him, because of his family and the upbringing he has had.
“We definitely see it in Corey and we 100% see it in Stefan; there’s no wonder Corey is the way he is.
"He is obviously influenced by his dad who, in some ways, is as bad as him.”
Coronation Street continues on ITV (see our TV Guide for full listings).
