Styling: Evan Simonitsch
Grooming: Rachel Burney
Fans have been enjoying season 2 of HBO Max’s hit series The Flight Attendant — and Deniz Akdeniz, who plays Max, Annie’s boyfriend/fiancé, is happy to be back on the small screen again, as he originally wasn’t sure if the series would get picked up for another season — and if his character would be back.
“It was a bit of a nail-biter to find out if I was going to be included,” the 32-year-old exclusively tells GRAZIA USA. “It was coming down to the wire, and my manager played a trick on me. When the call came through, they made it sound like it wasn’t going to happen, but it did. When the scripts started coming through, it was beautiful to see how in depth we were going this season — the murder and the mayhem and the chaos were next level, but we also got time to spend with these characters and delve into their relationship.”
“It was kind of exciting to keep this journey going and getting into the characters more. I think it made season 2 a lot more fun,” he adds.
Though Max and Annie have to work out some relationship issues — he proposed, but Annie (Zosia Mamet) didn’t want to accept until they almost died — the handsome hunk was happy that Max “finally” found his voice in their romance. “You see a different side to Annie, where her insecurities are taking the best of her,” he notes. “She was strong and knew where she was heading, but now she is having an-between period – same with Cassie (Kaley Cuoco) as well.”
Styling: Evan Simonitsch
Grooming: Rachel Burney
Since Max is a hacker, the Australia native admits it was fascinating to learn more about the job. “I see it as a super power for him, and it’s interesting that all of these things can be done — and kind of terrifying at the same time because the more I find out about it, the more terrified I am. Like, ‘Wow, I have no privacy whatsoever now because these things are possible – these super powers that Max has are really real,'” he quips, adding that he did an “extensive” amount of homework whenever he got the scripts. “I think it really leads into Max’s curiosity for mysteries – it’s like a puzzle. There is just this genuine curiosity of what they can do and how far they can go and that aligns with Max as a person.”
Nonetheless, Akdeniz says playing “Max is a lot of fun. No matter how bad everything is going, he still is kind of having good time or trying to figure it out. There is just a joy to him, so it’s fun to be on set! It’s something that keeps the moods up and spirits high and it makes every day a lot of fun, especially with the cast that we have.”
Additionally, many Hollywood stars were added to season 2, including Cheryl Hines, Sharon Stone, which was a treat for the actor. “We have a lot of female powerhouses on this show — from Rosie Perez to Sharon Stone to Cheryl Hines, they are amazing actresses. One of the beautiful things about working on this show is that we have so many great talents like this come together in this story and working with people of that caliber, it makes everything a lot easier.”
He adds, “I was lucky enough to have scenes with Cheryl Hines, and I have been watching her for years. She is phenomenal, but you’re just like, ‘She’s another castmate here to have some fun and play around in the scene.'”
Styling: Evan Simonitsch
Grooming: Rachel Burney
The season 2 finale just aired on May 26 — “the climax is well worth it,” he says — but the April Rain alum is hoping he can reunite with Mamet and Cuoco again. “It’s been very easy — me and Zosia from the get-go found this rhythm that really spoke to us and made those characters come to life,” he says of their chemistry. “Kaley does such a great job, and she does it with such grace and every day – everyone is lovely, we truly are one big happy family.”
“Season 3 would be so much fun – it would be lovely to get all together again to do another wild ride,” he says. “I didn’t know how they were going to make a season 2, and the team is just so amazing. They were able to create another great story, so I am sure they will be able to do more fun in season 3. Me and Zosia have been pitching various spin-offs/Christmas specials while we were filming, which may or may not have fallen on deaf ears, but we still pitched them! I am sure they can do much better than what Zosia and I made up in an afternoon between set-ups, but I think a Christmas special would be a lot of fun.”
Only time will tell!
To watch The Flight Attendant, click here.
