When British teen comedy drama Skins premiered in 2007, it shocked viewers with its unflinching and unfiltered look at teenage life.
The groundbreaking series explored issues from mental illness to depression, eating disorders to sexuality, drug abuse to sexual promiscuity.
The young cast were mostly unknown actors but have gone on to develop illustrious careers in film and television.
Here are some of the biggest names from the series and where they are now.
Nicholas Hoult aka Tony Stonem
Hoult starred in the first two series of Skins playing bad boy turned good guy Tony Stonem.
Stonem initially came across as a charismatic, confident and witty young man, but underneath the facade was a manipulative, unfaithful and apathetic boy who used people for his own benefit and amusement. However, a near-fatal car accident changed his outlook and saw him learn to show vulnerability and empathy.
Prior to Skins, Hoult had a breakthrough role in the romantic comedy About a Boy alongside Hugh Grant at just 12 years old.
Following his role as Tony Stonem, Hoult has become an A-list star and found commercial and critical success with roles in the X-Men series, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Favourite and Channel 4 series The Great, gaining BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations along the way.
Hoult’s latest project is the role of an assassin in survivor thriller Those Who Wish Me Dead alongside Angeline Jolie.
Joe Dempsie aka Chris Miles
Joe Dempsie played Chris Miles in the first two series of Skins, a fun-loving pill popper who was always looking for a good time.
Always ready with a funny one-liner and a blasé attitude to life, deep down Miles was scared of losing everything and craved stability.
A few years after Skins, Dempsie gained the role of Gendry in the award-winning series Game of Thrones, a blacksmith apprentice and unacknowledged son of King Robert Baratheon, born out of wedlock.
Earlier this year, Dempsie was cast in the upcoming Netflix thriller Pieces of Her about the secrets between a mother and daughter alongside Jessica Barden.
Dev Patel aka Anwar Kharral
In the first two series of Skins, Dev Patel played Anwar Kharral, a boy raised in an Islamic household who struggled to balance his teenage life and religion.
Kharral would drink alcohol, take drugs, party and have premarital sex, but at times struggled with the sexuality of his best friend, believing it went against his religious beliefs.
Despite starring in Skins, Patel’s real breakthrough came with his role in the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire.
Patel received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his role in 2016’s Lion and has starred in the romantic comedy The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, action-thriller Hotel Mumbai and comedy The Personal History of David Copperfield.
Patel will next star in the highly-anticipated medieval fantasy The Green Knight as headstrong knight Sir Gawain.
Kaya Scodelario aka Effy Stonem
Kaya Scodelario played Effy Stonem, the younger sister of Tony.
Effy was the ultimate chameleon, playing the shy innocent schoolgirl with her parents and the wild party girl with her peers. Intelligent and charismatic, Effy was known for her trademark smirk, but underneath her hard exterior was someone struggling with past trauma, heartbreak and mental illness.
Scodelario started Skins with no prior acting experience but has gone on to star in the dystopian action film series Maze Runner, fantasy film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, horror film Crawl and BBC Agatha Christie mystery The Pale Horse.
She also played the lead in Netflix’s figure skating drama Spinning Out, which saw her tackle the topic of mental illness.
Daniel Kaluuya aka Posh Kenneth
Daniel Kaluuya played secondary character Posh Kenneth in the first two series of Skins and co-wrote a number of episodes.
His role in the Black Mirror episode Fifteen Million Merits caught the attention of filmmaker Jordan Peele, who later cast him in the lead role of horror film Get Out, which earned Kaluuya an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
Kaluuya has received acclaim for his roles in the Marvel film Black Panther, heist film Widows and romantic crime drama Queen & Slim.
This year, Kaluuya won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role as revolutionary socialist Fred Hampton in the biographical drama Judas and the Black Messiah.
Jack O’Connell aka James Cook
Jack O’Connell played Skins character James Cook for three series. Party boy with a temper Cook had a troubled family background, which manifested in self-destructive and sexually promiscuous ways.
Underneath it all, Cook was head over heels in love with Effy and was fiercely protective over his younger brother and friends.
O’Connell gave highly praised performances in prison crime drama Starred Up, historical action thriller ‘71 and crime thriller with George Clooney, Money Monster.
He was directed by Angelina Jolie in the US war film Unbroken and will soon star in mini series The North Water, alongside Colin Farrell and Stephen Graham, and romantic science fiction drama Little Fish with Olivia Cooke.
Luke Pasqualino aka Freddie McClair
Luke Pasqualino played Freddie McClair in series three and four of Skins. A more sensible and laidback character, McClair cared deeply for his friends and loved skating and smoking weed.
Pasqualino has mainly stuck to TV since his performance in Skins, with a lead role in the period action drama The Musketeers as Count d’Artagnan, military drama Our Girl as special forces officer Elvis and crime comedy drama Snatch as a cockney hustler.
Recently, he has starred in Netflix fantasy drama Shadow and Bone and guest starred in crime drama Death in Paradise.
Freya Mavor aka Mini McGuinness
Mini McGuinness is the queen bee at college in series five and six, played by Freya Mavor. She presented herself as confident, sweet and witty to hide her insecurities and desperation to stay at the top of the social ladder.
Mavor has gone on to star in a series of English and French productions including the French romance drama Twice Upon A Time, mystery thriller mini series The ABC Murders and mystery drama The Sense of an Ending alongside Jim Broadbent and Charlotte Rampling.
This year she starred in the drama series Industry as an employee at a prestigious but ruthless investment bank.
