Skins star Mike Bailey leaves followers shocked together with his unrecognisable look throughout uncommon interview 18 years after turning his again on fame

Skins star Mike Bailey looked worlds away from his teen TV role during a rare interview this week years after turning his back on fame.

The actor, 37, found fame as Sid Jenkins in the iconic E4 show 2007–2008 alongside future Superman star Nicholas Hoult and Oscar winner Daniel Kaluuya.

Now working as a drama teacher he sported bleached blonde hair and forwent spectacles which he wore in the show.

Taking to Reddit shocked fans wrote: ‘I HAVEN’T SEEN HIM IN FOREVER OMG’: ‘Omg he is… handsome? Sometimes age helps. Wow. Just wow.’: ‘I didn’t recognise him at all’: ‘Omg his hair!!’: ‘I honestly can’t see Sid there at all, crazy’.

Mike opened up about the tough realities of being a working actor and explained that he decided turn his back on the profession after attending university. 

‘I think I made the choice between [series] one and two to finish off at college and not really audition and stuff and get the agent’.

‘I didn’t get an agent until series two and that’s when everything [in my career] slowed down massively’. 

‘[My career] didn’t die a death, but it kind of did’. 

Following Skins, Mike went on to appear in drama documentary 1066: The Battle for Middle Earth and movie We Are the Freaks opposite Benidorm’s Adam Gillen before training as a teacher. 

Now a large portion of the alumni boast a myriad of award-winning projects, Oscar nominations, BAFTA wins and Hollywood-laden film credits – while others have ventured to pastures anew, including one fan-favourite who became a neuroscientist, while another moved to teaching.

Nicholas’s character Tony Stonem was as cool as he was manipulative – a stud with a harem of doe-eyed admirers at his heels. And while morally ambiguous in the series, the actor, then just 17, stole the hearts of viewers with his devilishly handsome looks and outrageous scheming.

Having previously starred in About a Boy when he was 11-years-old, Skins was Nicholas’s second big role before reaching adulthood.

The star, now 35 – who is originally from Wokingham in Berkshire – has now more than settled into his leading man charm.

Through the noughties, he went on to star in a string of blockbuster flicks, including the X-Men series, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Favourite and The Menu. In his most recent project, he is playing Lex Luthor in the new Superman film.

Kaya Scodelario who played Effy, Tony’s little sister, who often partied more than her brother in the coming-of-age show – and was often seen sneaking off at night to indulge in revelry.

She quickly became a fan-favourite, hence launching Kaya’s successful on-screen career; despite her being cast in the role at just 14, having never acted a day in her life.

Breakout British acting star – and Oscar winner – Daniel was only 18 when he was already charming Skins viewers in his charismatic portrayal as ‘Posh Kenneth’.

Next came a flurry of performances, all of which continued to build up the actor’s clout, including roles in Black Mirror and Black Panther.

In 2017, he was the lead in Jordan Peele’s horror flick Get Out, which earned him international acclaim.

He then starred in the director’s 2022 flick, Nope, before lending his voice to fan-favourite Hobart ‘Hobie’ Brown in the animated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse movies.

Before he was given the role of party boy Chris aged around 20, Joe Dempsie was on the verge of giving up on his career.

But since then, Joe’s career has gone from strength to strength, having now taken on a number of starring roles including Doctor Who, England ’89 and more recently, Game of Thrones and The Fades.

Considered revolutionary television today, Skins captured the imagination of an entire generation of millennials when it debuted, as audiences watched its characters indulge in outrageous sexual escapades, go on drug binges and skip school.