Gaspar St. Martin and Raquel Champion decided very early on to use their children as tools to further the harmful games they played on one another. One parent would end up favoring a child, it would be painfully obvious, and drifts would arise from those simple interactions. From a young age, Maximilien, or Max as most called him, showed excellence and quick wit with the things he took a keen interest in. As a child, it was sports. Although mischievous and not entirely interested in school, his father took an immediate interest in his son who showed early signs of dedication and perfection to the craft he picked up. After sports, it was business. That made his father even more pleased. The two were different in many ways and yet they managed to come together and closely so with all the things they were had in common, or perhaps the things they had in common that his father instilled in him. There was a fine, invisible line but Max didn't know any better. As his father's interest in his success grew, there was an added sense of pressure to perform and achieve greatness which he used as a standard for everything he did in life. He remained focused and continued to find hobbies he could relate to as well as conquer.
The household was a busy one, filled with constant chaos given the fact that he had ten other siblings who were coming in and out of the residence. During High School, Max had taken an odd curiosity in acting. It seemed fairly easy, to read some lines, memorize them, and then recite them aloud to a crowd who would give validation in the form of clapping and so he figured he'd give it a go. That was the first time he had been sized up in a less than desirable manner by someone sitting down and assessing his every move. For once, vulnerability became him and it frustrated him to no end, yet he still wanted to be able to master this craft. The first play he was in, he was cast as a minor background role and once he told his parents they seemed less than enthused. It was all about striving for the best and getting those roles that were front and center, after all. While his mother was more on the theatrical side, being a playwright, she was still far more interested in her own career and the career of her eldest daughter that she didn't spare any time giving motherly tips or guidance. The main person he had in his ear was his father, who was telling him to strive for perfection in whatever he chose to do and nothing less.
Acting allowed him to be the best version of himself, because the best version of himself was within the depths of other, complicated personas. It was a thrill being able to leave all the complications and chaos of his life to the side and just take on the role of another human being, encompassing everything about them. As he kept on practicing, he eventually managed to snag the lead in the school play two years in a row before graduating. Although his siblings went on to go to university, he knew fairly early on that it wasn't something he was passionate about. Still, to enthuse his parents and in part because he felt like he had to, he decided to enroll in a few universities, ultimately choosing UC Berkeley once he got accepted into the Theater program. More than anything else, he chose that particular university because it would allow for optimum independence and freedom. It was goodbye to New York and hello to California. He had been pampered all his life, but he wanted to get a feel of the atmosphere he might have if the movie roles started coming in. He knew he wanted to explore the life outside of the norm that he was blessed with, and so off he went to a whole new experience.
The harsh reality of being independent came right away. There was no maid around to clean up after him, and no one knew who he was and even if they did, no one cared. If anything, in such a competitive program, it was a negative that his last name held so much status. He would be judged even more critically. It was something that initially ended up frustrating him but then it became something he loved working with because he wanted to be able to crush preconceived notions, if that was at all possible. He was so competitive that it drove him to work even harder. For once he had something to be passionate about, something he didn't always attain. He had to step outside his comfort zone to realize that he wasn't always the best fit for a part, and that was okay. He had to keep working on his craft and putting himself out there to get those roles. His last name would not necessarily mean greatness, it would mean that some people would open their doors right away and if others shut the doors he would have to work even harder to get them to reconsider. He realized that he couldn't just spent time with just going to school and so he kept up with auditions, finding an agent in the process. Once the roles started coming in at a steady pace, the decision to drop out of university seemed like a no brainer but it was a stressful process because of who his parents were. For once, he actually went to his mother for advice and while she wasn't inherently warm about it she mentioned that whatever he did, he had to be confident in his choice. And he was. He left school, and continued on with acting.
The boy who was once confident in a very commanding way had simmered down significantly. Los Angeles has a way of ruining people, breaking their core and making sure to shake them up to the point where they feel like they couldn't take it. The place weeds out the weak, the individuals who aren't willing to work for it. And work for it Max did. He had some of the most bone-chilling lonely times in that city but once he found himself, found his group of friends and continued on doing what he loved to do it all made sense and everything was worth it. Sure, his parents were both incredibly successful and there was a part of him that might have wanted to disassociate merely based on the whispers of nepotism but then the greater, more brazen part of him, said fuck it. He knew that in Hollywood having connections was a plus, but he decided early on that he wanted to pave his future for himself as opposed to letting his parents pave it for him…not that they would even let him. The outside world could say whatever it is they wanted, within the family that strived for being the best at your craft they didn't dare help out their children, they just motivated them in the ways they knew how, which often meant pitting them against each other and offering little support when the moments called for it. To Max, that helped build his character. He fully understands the implications that his last name carries but early on he refused to let it stop him from doing the things he wanted to do, and he sticks by that even now. He has his place, his group of friends, and his acting roles coming in at a steady pace and that's more than enough for him. He has become his own person and he's happy in the way things are forming. At least for right now, that's all that truly matters to him.
