Max Brady is a fictional character on the
soap opera
A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
''
Days of Our Lives
''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...
'', and was portrayed by
Darin Brooks
Darin Lee Brooks (born May 27, 1984) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Max Brady on the NBC daytime soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'', Alex Moran on the Spike TV series '' Blue Mountain State'', and Wyatt Spencer on the CBS soap o ...
from June 21, 2005, to July 7, 2009,
and March 15 and 16, 2010. In November 2012, Brooks hinted on social media that he was possibly contemplating reprising the role of Max Brady in the near future; however, he ultimately did not return.
Storylines
Max is given away by his father Trent Becker at an early age. He is taken under the protective wing of Frankie Donner, now
Frankie Brady
Frankie Brady is a fictional character on the American soap opera ''Days of Our Lives''. The role of Frankie was played by veteran Emmy Award-winning actor Billy Warlock from July 25, 1986 to October 5, 1988, from November 2, 1990 to July 12, 19 ...
(
Billy Warlock). Frankie and Max make their way to Salem. They are taken in by kindhearted
Steven Johnson and his wife
Kayla Brady Johnson. Frankie and Max are legally adopted by Kayla's parents
Shawn and
Caroline Brady (
Peggy McCay). The boys gain brothers
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
and
Bo Brady
Bo Brady is a fictional character from the NBC daytime soap opera ''Days of Our Lives''. The role has been most notably portrayed by Peter Reckell, who originated the role on May 3, 1983.
Creation and casting
Created under head-writer Margare ...
and sisters
Kimberly and
Kayla Brady. Shortly thereafter, both boys leave town.
In mid-2005, more than a decade later,
Jennifer Horton Deveraux (
Melissa Reeves
Melissa Reeves (née Brennan; born March 14, 1967) is an American actress. She is known for playing Jennifer Horton on the NBC Daytime soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'' (1985–1995, 2000–2006, 2010–2022, 2024). She has been nominated for tw ...
) runs into Max at the racetrack and renews ties with both him and Frankie. Once back in Salem, Max is immediately drawn to
Chelsea Brady, his adoptive niece. When Chelsea is blamed for the accidental death of
Zack Brady
''Days of Our Lives'' is an American soap opera broadcast on the NBC network. Created by Ted and Betty Corday, the series focuses on the residents of the fictional midwestern town of Salem, USA. It premiered on November 8, 1965. This is a list o ...
, Max stands by her side and keeps her dark secret for as long as possible. Max eventually breaks up with Chelsea, feeling she is too immature for him. He briefly dates fellow race car driver
Stephanie Johnson, who also happens to be his adoptive niece.
Max then briefly dates his nephew
Shawn-Douglas' soon-to-be-ex-wife
Mimi Lockhart. During that same time, Max employs
Abigail Deveraux
Abigail Deveraux is a fictional character from ''Days of Our Lives'', an American soap opera on the NBC network. Abigail was created by scriptwriter Sheri Anderson and executive producer Ken Corday. Abigail's storylines often focus on young love ...
(
Ashley Benson
Ashley Victoria Benson (born December 18, 1989) is an American actress and singer. Her accolades include four Teen Choice Awards, a Young Hollywood Award, as well as three People's Choice Award nominations.
Benson began her career as a compet ...
), Steve's niece, at his garage. Since his brother Frankie is engaged to Abigail's mother Jennifer, she is expected to be his future step-niece. When Mimi experiences a variety of personal and family difficulties, he tries to stand by her, but ultimately confides in Abigail that he finds it difficult and does not know what to do with his life. Abigail admits she is jealous of his relationship with Mimi and that she has had a crush on him for a long time. When Mimi leaves town soon thereafter, Max and Abigail date until she leaves Salem as well.
Jeremy Horton, Jennifer's nephew, convinces Max to become his financial officer for ''Touch the Sky Airlines'' and also to join his side business of smuggling of what he believes to be designer clothes. It is eventually revealed that the airline and clothes smuggling were both fronts for a human trafficking ring, and Max loses his garage in the subsequent investigation.
Max then renews his relationship with Stephanie, and supports her as she deals with her rape at the hands of
Ford Decker. Later, Max's actions cause confusion and he is alienated by his friends. It seems he is trying to interfere with
Nick Fallon's proposal for a grant to develop
green energy
Energy is sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Definitions of sustainable energy usually look at its effects on the environment, the economy, and so ...
, but in actuality he ends up correcting errors in a way that demonstrates a significant competence in mathematics and science. Max's biological father reemerges as
Trent Robbins, the dean of the physics department at Salem University, as well as his half-sister
Melanie Layton. Max is a suspect in Trent's death, but it turns out that Nick killed Trent so he could be with Melanie, Trent's daughter.
Due to the confusion of Trent's impact on Max, Stephanie begins to have trust issues with Max. Though she stands by his side, she does not like Max's newly-found sister, Melanie. Melanie is a troublemaker and Stephanie thinks she was just trying to break her and Max up. Stephanie and Max eventually end their relationship due to Melanie and trust issues. After the breakup, Max starts talking to Chelsea a lot about his feelings since she is Stephanie's best friend. They start spending a lot of time together and talking a lot more than normal. Both make it very clear that they are just friends, although there are signs of attraction everywhere. On New Year's Eve, Max is Chelsea's date to the big party at Chez Rouge. At midnight, they share a kiss and Chelsea runs away embarrassed, but they get back together shortly after.
Chelsea leaves for London to help her mom recover after an accident. She is gone for a while and on June 7, 2009, Chelsea returns to Salem to inform everybody that Billie is doing better. She asks Max to move to London with her and he accepts. The Bradys later hear that Chelsea and Max are planning to tie the knot. The two lovebirds soon flee to London together to assist Billie in her job.
On March 15, 2010, Max returns to Salem for a few hours on his way to a medical convention in San Diego, where he first surprises Caroline. She tells him what has been going on with Melanie. He then goes to visit Melanie at the hospital, where he tries to convince her to give
Carly Manning ''—'' her biological mother ''—'' a chance. Melanie states that although Trent is not really her father, and that
Daniel Jonas is, the two will always be brother and sister no matter what.
In September 2023, it was revealed at the funeral of Chelsea's grandfather,
Victor Kiriakis
Victor Kiriakis is a fictional character on NBC's ''Days of Our Lives''. The role was portrayed by John Aniston from 1985 until his death in 2022, with a storyline driven absence in 2004 when his character was "killed off" but found alive on th ...
, that Max and Chelsea have become parents to a baby boy, they have named Issac, after his late uncle,
Zack Brady
''Days of Our Lives'' is an American soap opera broadcast on the NBC network. Created by Ted and Betty Corday, the series focuses on the residents of the fictional midwestern town of Salem, USA. It premiered on November 8, 1965. This is a list o ...
.
Reception
In 2023, Amanda Lynne from ''The List'' wrote that Max might be "a bit of a mystery to fans".
Lynne also reported on how fans "wondered" for many years where Max and Frankie were following their departure, and also that long-time viewers were surprised when Max returned in 2005.
Lynne called the initial relationship between Max and Chelsea "rocky" and wrote that despite his exit, Max "continues to be an important member of the Brady family, and viewers would likely be open to seeing Max return to the show in the future".
References
External links
Max at soapcentral.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brady, Max
Days of Our Lives characters
Adoptee characters in soap operas
Television characters introduced in 1986
Fictional bartenders in soap operas
Fictional mechanics in soap operas
American male characters in soap operas
Brady family (Days of Our Lives)