When it launched in 2007, Skins was one of the most talked-about, controversial shows on British telly. Featuring sex, drugs and…more sex and drugs, these high school kids really caused a stir. Some have faded out of the public eye since, but a selection have gone on to be huge!
Nicholas Hoult
Hoult had already found fame pre-Skins thanks to his About a Boy child-star role alongside Hugh Grant, but he was the resident lothario Tony Stonem in the first generation of the show…until he got hit by a bus at the end of the opening series finale. Since then, he has gone on to appear in three X-Men movies, A Single Man and Kill Your Friends. We saw him like we’d never seen him before in George Miller’s excellent adventure hit Mad Max: Fury Road.
Kaya Scodelario
Tony Stonem’s little sister Effy was the programme’s only generation-spanning character, moving from a nearly silent supporting role to the star of the second batch of misfits. Scodelario can now be found in the Maze Runner films or clashing swords with Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow in the latest Pirates of the Caribbean flick.
Dev Patel
Dev Patel appeared as the affable Anwar in the first two seasons, and has had the most high-profile career since with a string of mainstream leading performances. As well as starring in Chappie, The Road Within and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, he was award nominated for Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, and won a BAFTA in 2016 for his supporting role in Lion.
Daniel Kaluuya
You might not instantly recognise BAFTA Rising Star winner Daniel Kaluuya from Skins, but he appeared occasionally as party-boy Posh Kenneth, and also wrote several episodes of the show. Following minor roles in Black Mirror and Sicario, he’s now enjoying a massive year in the mainstream after starring in Jordan Peele’s Oscar nominated horror satire Get Out as well as the latest Marvel movie Black Panther.
Jack O’Connell
Cook is arguably the programme’s most memorable character, bounding in as a ‘Jack the lad’ wide-boy to cause mayhem in the third and fourth seasons. O’Connell had minor roles in This is England and Harry Brown before his Skins success spring-boarded his career. He has since gone from strength to strength, appearing in The Liability, Starred Up, ’71, Unbroken and Money Monster. His most recent hit was Netflix’s western series Godless.
Cinema Perspective 