Book adaptations into television series are as popular as ever. Now, the highly anticipated series, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, based on the dark and mysterious YA book series by Holly Jackson is coming to Netflix on August 1. Before the show’s release, we chatted with Henry Ashton, who stars as Max Hastings, to learn more about his character, working with his co-stars, and his firsts while filming this series. 

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is the first book in Holly Jackson’s trilogy series. Henry said Holly was incredibly involved in the show and its production, and he said it was amazing to be able to ask her questions about his character.

“Having the author of the book [on set] of the character that you’re playing, it’s pretty rare to get that as an actor.”

The show follows Pip Fitz-Amobi as she investigates the murder of high school student Andie Bell, which occurred five years prior. Pip believes Sal Singh, Andie’s boyfriend, was innocent of the crime he was accused of and therefore looks into the case for her senior year project, determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. Pip is played by Emma Meyers, who you might already recognize as Enid Sinclair from the Netflix show Wednesday. Henry plays Max, whose entitled attitude gets him on the wrong side of suspicion from Pip.

Henry has been booked and busy this year, starring as Stan Dudley in the Amazon Prime historical fantasy series My Lady Jane, also an adaptation of a book. He also made his feature film debut in 2021 playing Kevin Shields in the Alan McGee biopic Creation Stories. Henry joked that playing Max in A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder was his first time not wearing historical/period clothes for a production.

Henry said he had never played anyone like Max before, who is the villain of the show, but he also wanted to find ways to humanize and understand Max’s actions.

“I wanted to play Max as truthfully as possible and make him a real human, not just the archetype of a villain.”

Henry said it was challenging playing Max but his favorite thing was Max’s relationship with Pip and their battles of wits, showing how they bring out each other’s true personalities.

“The most fun thing about Max is his relationship to Pip.”

We also asked Henry about working with Emma Meyers, and he said he filmed most of his scenes with Emma while playing Max and said she was incredibly hardworking and positive. 

“[Emma Meyers] is the best. She put the whole show on her shoulders.”

Henry said he was at first nervous about the pressure of being in an adaptation of a hugely popular book series, but said he felt supported by all the cast members and show creators.

“All I’ve received is positivity, and a lot of that positivity is telling me how much they hate Max, and I think that’s a compliment because it means I’ve done something right.”

Thank you, Henry, for chatting with Young Entertainment! Make sure to follow him on his Instagram at @ohhenryashton. Make sure to watch the rest of the interview where we ask him more about the audition process, what songs are on his playlist for Max, his firsts while on set, and stay till the end for a rapid fire round of questions. Like, comment, and subscribe to our channel for the latest news in young entertainment.

Consider this:

• Don’t be afraid to ask questions about how to play your character to a director or other cast mates. 
• Try to find ways to empathize and humanize with your character, no matter their actions. This will make it easier to play and relate to them.