Trivia / Misfits

• Actor-Inspired Element: The actors were given lots of says in how their characters would react in certain situations, and thus contributed to storylines.
• Actor-Inspired Heroism: Simon was originally intended to become a villain, becoming increasingly dark throughout season one and finally resulting in him murdering a woman who was a threat to the rest of the group and hiding her body. However, because his actor Iwan Rheon was very charismatic and likeable, it was decided to make him more heroic in season two. This decision was made so late it resulted in other characters quietly sidestepping the murder.
• Life Imitates Art: Lauren Socha was later charged with assault, and ended up having to do community service.
• Queer Character, Queer Actor: Lesbian Charlie Covell played James, the trans man who stole Alex's penis because he'd wanted one so much (being able to get it became his superpower).
• Real Song Theme Tune: "Echoes" by The Rapture.
• Role-Ending Misdemeanor: Kelly was written out of the show after Lauren Socha was arrested and convicted of racially aggravated assault against a taxi driver. Despite Channel 4 denying that her conviction had anything to do with Kelly being Put on a Bus, this was not seen as credible, as Socha's departure was announced the day after she was convicted, and the fourth series' lack of direction has been attributed to last-minute rewrites to remove Kelly. Socha's career has consequently stalled despite being a BAFTA-winning actress, with two years without any TV or film work, but seems to have staged a recovery more recently.
• Star-Making Role:
  • This put Robert Sheehan on the map, leading to things like The Mortal Instruments, Love/Hate and naturally The Umbrella Academy.
  • Iwan Rheon got a big boost from the series too, before eventually becoming known for Game of Thrones.
• Trolling Creator: Iwan Rheon frequently had his name mispronounced by crew members. At one point, Lauren Socha even refused to film a scene until they all got it right.
• Word of God: Rumours said that Robert Sheehan left the show to pursue other projects or about his salary. He Jossed them, saying he wanted to "piss off and do other things".
• What Could Have Been:
  • Original concepts for the show had the teens working in a shopping centre, with a Running Gag that they would be working in a different shop each Saturday. Executive Meddling saw it becoming "more urban".
  • Antonia Thomas was reluctant to take the role of Alisha because of the heavy sexual activity needed. But once she read the script and had a meeting with Howard Overman, she realised that Alisha's character had more depth than previously thought.
  • Simon was supposed to turn evil in Season 1, Episode 5, betraying the gang and forcing them to kill him at the end. But his actor was considered so likeable, that this idea was subsequently scrapped. It's particularly ironic when considering his later infamous role in Game of Thrones.
  • Superhoodie was originally not intended to be Future!Simon at all. There is a video of Simon filming about Nathan for Kelly when suddenly confronted by Superhoodie. Superhoodie speaks in a different voice/accent here, and gives a cryptic warning about watching them before running off. Presumably, the writers only thought of the Future!Simon idea while writing Series 2, and then decided to run with it after that.
  • A film that would unite the entire old cast with the new cast was written by Howard Overman after the end of the series, but ultimately failed to move into production.

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