Skins US - Meet Danny Flaherty

"Danny Flaherty is a pretty normal 17-year-old – he skateboards, plays guitar, and works at the bagel store. Or rather, he used to work at the bagel store. The Glen Rock rising senior will soon star in the American version of the wildly popular U.K. drama, "Skins," set to air on MTV early next year.

Naturally, things have started to become a little less normal and a little more surreal.

The show business jitters began when he was called back after auditions last November, Flaherty recalled.

"It was a crazy feeling, almost like a dream," he said. "I couldn’t believe it."

Things really started to sink in when Flaherty flew to Toronto in February to film the show’s pilot; it was the first time he was on a large set.

"There were so many people on the crew. It was so unbelievable," he said.

Now the real work is beginning. Flaherty returned to Toronto last Sunday, where he will stay for four months to film the show’s first season. He will receive school lessons sent up from Glen Rock High School’s teachers while he is on the set. And when he returns to Glen Rock, he will probably keep working at the bagel store, he said.

Notorious for its candid portrayal of teenage life, "Skins" is highly anticipated in this country. Flaherty was turned onto the show when friends from Ireland introduced him to it during a trip there.

"I loved the fact that it was so different from anything I’ve ever seen on TV before. It took ‘Degrassi’ to a new level," Flaherty said. "It’s kind of raunchy, kind of raw. It’s not far from what real teenagers do."

When his talent agent recommended that he try out for the role of Stanley, the American version of the character Sid Jenkins, he jumped at the chance.

"I was like, ‘Oh, I love this character,’" Flaherty said.

Stanley lacks confidence, is shy and messy, and is picked on and manipulated by his best friend Tony. He is also in love with Tony’s girlfriend, Michelle, and Tony knows it. He is chided by his friends for being a virgin.

Some characters in the show have difficult family lives, which lead them to indulge in drugs and sex, but each has quirks and edginess. And, as Flaherty is quick to point out, just because the show portrays sex and drugs doesn’t mean it glorifies it, as in some other teen dramas.

"It shows consequences as well," he said.

Critics attribute the success of the original "Skins" series to the unique writing and casting process brought by co-writer and director Bryan Elsley: The actors cast are actual teenagers and are often novices. Teens are also hired to work in the writing room on story lines; the average age of the writers of the first series was 22. The same process will be used for the American version, Flaherty said.

"Bryan Elsley really loves to make it original and make it real," he said. "If he does that, it’ll appeal more to teenagers. That’s why I think they’ll enjoy the show – though parents may not enjoy it as much."

"You’re going to fall in love with the characters," he added.

Flaherty, too, is a bit of a novice. When he was 11 years old, he began taking acting classes with the Nustars program, and soon afterward was cast in a Bergen Community College version of "A Christmas Carol." He wanted to get more involved in acting, and at age 13 he auditioned and signed with Shirley Grant Management, a prominent teen talent agency in Teaneck whose clients have included the Jonas Brothers and Christina Ricci.

After that, he was cast in several independent films by New York University film students, and did some voiceovers for radio.

Now Flaherty is starting to get his first taste of high-profile show business. A few weeks ago, he and the eight other teens cast in the series attended a ritzy photo shoot; soon after, he flew to Los Angeles to attend the journalist-packed Television Critics Association’s Summer Press Tour, where networks reveal their new programming for the next year.

"There were tons of reporters. I was looking into a crowd of 150, 200 people, all with laptops, all typing away," Flaherty said. "It was crazy."

He acknowledged that this may be the beginning of something special.

"I’m just excited for my career to come," he said. "I hope I can pursue acting farther on, and move on to even bigger and better stuff."

Labels: Cast , Danny Flaherty , Gossip , Kathryn Prescott , Skins , Skins season 5 , SkinsUS