The Brookside soap opera was regarded as tackling social issues, and this was no less true when dealing with the Grant family, and Damon. One of the first of the show's many teenage characters to capture the viewing public's imagination, the role saw O'Brien catapulted to fame as a teen heart throb, and his adoption of the "mullet" hairstyle proved to be in keeping with the fashion of the times, and saw the character further entrenched as a cultural reference point.