18-year old Mitch Hewer, a new graduate of the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Bristol, entered acting with a bang in 2007 when he was cast a gay teenager on the teen angst drama Skins (2007-13). After years of Thatcher-Major homophobia, Britain was becoming more gay-positive: laws prohibiting teachers from saying "gay" and public officials appearing at pride events were struck down, and Tony Blair introduced a civil partnership that gave gay couples many of the rights of heterosexuals. There were several gay characters on British tv, but apparently a gay teenager was "highly controversial." Mitch got death threats, and was attacked by a guy with a knife.
Maxxie is a gay-stereotype dance major (which makes sense: Mitch was a dance major at the academy). During his 17 episodes, he hooks up with the down-low Tony (Nicholas Hoult), helps him through a serious head injury
Playing a gay teenager on British tv got Mitch a lot of attention. He made the cover of Attitude in March and October 2007, and posed nude in Cosmopolitan in 2008 to promote testicular cancer awareness.
After Skins, Mitch starred in Brittanica High (2008-09), about students in a London drama school. His character, Danny Miller, is straight, the focus of "all of the girls" in the school, but he eventually narrows it down to New Girl Lauren and her enemy-turned-ally Claudia. There's a gay student, Jez (Matthew James Thomas), but his plot arc involves reconciling with his father. No boyfriend.
Two more straight roles followed:
In Behaving Badly (2014), Nick (Nat Wolfe) is in love with Nina (Selena Gomez), but she is dating Kevin (Austin Stowell). When they break up, Nick bets that he will be able to bed her before Labor Day. Mitch plays a minor character, Steven Stevens
Nightlight (2015) is a found footage movie: When Robin (a girl) refuses to go to prom with Ethan (Kyle Fain), he ends up dead and then starts picking off her friends. The two boys in the group are Chris (Carter Jenkins) and Ben (Mitch),
More after the break. Caution: Explicit.