Matthew "Matty" Levan is a fictional character from the third generation of the British teen drama Skins, portrayed by actor Sebastian de Souza. Matty is described as "mysterious and initially unrealistic character, because he's untouchable."
Matty is the only lead character in the history of Skins to never have a centric episode - either solo or shared. It follows that he's mainly known through relationships with some of the other characters.
Characterisation
Matty seems to appear in the fifth series out of nowhere, in a black trenchcoat and a duffle bag like a vagabond without a home. "As a character within the group, his position is initially very confusing. He has a definite charisma, with a very abstract philosophy on life, but he's just one of those characters that could go either way, and do very bad or very good things." Only after a half of the series his name is revealed, and he turns out to be Nick's older brother. Trapped in a life by a tyrannical father (Leon Levan), Matty had decided to rebel and leave home, engaged in criminal behaviour and drug abuse. His return will help Nick confront his dad and find the strength to pursue his own road.
In terms of his personality, Matty is a pensive, passional, and intuitive boy. He likes reading, composing music, and through his tastes it crops out a dark and slightly depressive side which stays hidden. "When the character was in development, he was explicitly bisexual, this element was left unsaid but he's still a bit of a nymph." In series 5, "Matty is like in the shallow end, having fun nibbling at people's feet." "What’s come away from him in series six is this veneer and the defence mechanisms he used to utilise, through a number of incredibly tragic and revelatory events." In order to cope with them Matty finally decides to cast aside all his wishes and embraces the only way to build his future.
Levan family
There is an underlying sadness in this family, an absent mother that Nick (Sean Teale), Leon (Dorian Lough) and Matty never mention, like a blank spot in their past that is influencing how they interact. Leon is a failure as a life coach (one of his patients commit suicide) and as a father, but there is also a hint that his failure to connect to his sons in any other way than as a tyrannical, emotionless coach might be rooted in whatever happened to his wife. Nick and Matty cope differently with the situation. Nick in the first part of series five has shaped himself in the image of his dad, embracing his ideology, following his rules. Matty in reverse is breaking all the rules and leaves home in order to find by himself the freedom he needs.
It's never been easy the relationship between the brothers. Matty represents the rebel part inside of Nick, what Matty's got looks to him realer because Nick is all compromise; on the other hand Nick's fake behaviour irritates Matty, who yearns that Nick can find his own route. Nonetheless there is a very strong connection between the brothers, just as Matty can't stay away from home forever and needs to come back, Nick misses his brother when he's out because Matty is the only person who understands him. Matty's return is crucial for Nick, who tempted cleverly by his brother realizes to be enslaved by Leon's expectations. Up against the choice between losing Matty again or disappointing his father, Nick in episode 5 decides to leave drastically his past and embraces change. "After Nick's change their relationship is much stronger. They are able to say things to each other that they never said before and they needed to say."
Matty and Franky
"Franky Fitzgerald (Dakota Blue Richards) is the only person in the group Matty doesn't fully understand." When Matty meets Franky, he's fascinated by her, and the same is true the other way round. Nobody's ever been so accepting with Franky as he is. She's never felt normal in her life and no-one's tried to make her feel normal, but what Matty's done is just to say: Actually you don't need to be normal because you're something even better."
In series 5, Franky gets chastised by people throughout the series for being "androgynous", but it's not an issue for them and that's how the connection arises between Franky and Matty. Unlike Franky, who likes him from the start because she craves feeling - Matty falls in love with her in a very slow process, began the day they met and put through the final scene. "The other people in Matty's life are like candles - they come in, bring light into his life but after a while they'll burn out and he'll get bored of them. But Franky is the light that won't go away."
