O-T Fagbenle is channeling a self-absorbed former boy band star who hopes to redeem himself in the new Hulu comedy series, Maxxx.

Fagbenle tells ABC Audio that his character’s bloated ego and search for relevancy isn’t a complete exaggeration from how a lot of celebrities are today.

“I think we will recognize Maxxx in a lot of celebrities nowadays, but also I think a lot of people,” he says. “I think more and more we’re living in this world where people are kind of obsessed with likes. We replace love with likes. And we replace friends with followers.”

“And there’s such a culture of us needing affirmation of ourselves from external places,’ he continues. “And I just wanted to write about a character that was like that.”

Of course, Fagbenle is not totally unlike his character Maxxx either, noting “that some of those things exist within me.”

While bringing a unique and equally hilarious series to the screen was always a goal for the Handmaid’s Tale star, Fagbenle admits that directing, co-writing and executive-producing Maxxx — all at the same time — was not. Thankfully, he was up to the challenge.

“You know what happened was, I wanted to be a director and I was told, ‘Look, you want to direct. You have to own the material. Otherwise, they won’t let you direct,'” he says. “So then I started writing. And then when I wrote something, they were like, ‘You’ve got to be in it…because that will help you get it made.’ And so I acted in it.”

“So it kind of happened by accident,” Fagbenle reveals. “But it was a very fulfilling experience for sure.” 

Maxxx, also starring Jourdan Dunn, launches on Hulu today.

By Candice Williams
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