Outfitted: Ian Harding

This television teacher has learned how to dress.

Ian Harding never wanted to sit on the bench. When sports at an all boys Catholic school proved boring, he tried out acting as a way to meet actual women. “I realized this is the only thing that doesn’t bore the crap out of me after several months,” Harding said. “You can go all around the world with filming and being on location, so I wanted that element.” With a few bit roles here and there, Harding was cast as Ezra Fitz, a brooding high school English teacher with a troubled past (and relatively inappropriate faculty/student relationship) on ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars. The show, which features an ensemble cast (including Maxim‘s February cover girl Shay Mitchell), has been a ratings smash since premiering in 2010. 


“I have truly the hardest job in the world, which is I get to hang out all day with some of the most beautiful women in Hollywood,” Harding said. “On top of that, I know this sounds terrible, but there’s a little bit of a stigma and a stereotype–which isn’t true–to have these sort of smoking hot women who have something lacking in brains or in humor. Or they’re too pretty and prissy that they don’t want to make a fool of themselves. That’s not the case. They’re all very intelligent, very funny, painfully so sometimes, and we’ll just be the craziest grossest people you’ve ever met in your life.”


Ian talked with Maxim about the best kind of beer, cleaning up nicely, and his love for JLaw.