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Quotes from various interviews:
"Maxim is a very interesting character because on the one hand he is oppressed by his past and his memories, and on the other hand, when he travels to Monte-Carlo, he meets happiness again after a long time: he meets a girl whom we call "I". When it turns out that he can lose her, he is overcome with a convulsive attachment that he has not discovered in himself for a long time…he is emotionally unstable and vulnerable. But he still chains "I" to himself, and actually falls into his own trap from here: he takes the girl and takes her back to his roots, to Manderley. He trusts that her purity and cheerfulness will cleanse his house of the sins, sufferings and secrets of the past."
"This role is the focus of everything I've ever played. Max is very much like me, he follows old principles and demands. It's up to you to decide if he's a real killer or if he just couldn't tolerate certain things anymore. A man who lives in a closed world, Manderley. He holds on for a while, then puts an end to it, and a mysterious murder ensues. A lot is concentrated in this role. Max is just as choleric as I am, but I never make the role like I am, nor the other way around. The two meet on a third track."
"He carries the tragic misdemeanor that happens before the play begins for the rest of his life. No one presumes that he is guilty of anything, that there is murder in his name, no one knows of the burden of it. Then suddenly something happens that you don't expect, that brings new feelings to the surface, and that destroys this beautifully constructed bastion of repression. That not only he loves, but he is also loved is for Maxim de Winter himself a purgatory. Although the key motif of the play is love that is all-giving and conquering, the story is not that romantic. Despite a seemingly happy, exonerating ending, the question remains open whether, despite the strong sense of belonging, Man and woman, Max and “I” will find each other again the next day, whether they can work through what happened. To whom does the viewer side, to whom does he give justice? Is Max's or Rebecca's mirror the more distorted? And in this strange system of relationships, where is the self and Where is Mrs Danvers? This piece demands a completely different kind of acting from the usual one, because in the constantly changing perspective it is necessary to remain authentic at every moment."
“Max is also a bit charming, a bit worldly, there's a little bit of him who likes it hot (I mean his mischief), and maybe a little hypocritical, because we eventually find out he's basically a little boy inside…What I love about him is the elegance, the charm, the ease, of course, with a tremendous amount of work behind his back. That's what's weird to me. If I'd played Romeo, he probably wouldn't be. For there is in Romeo… a wide-open-hearted, all-amazed naive, and then he will become a man. Max is turning from a man to a boy.”
He also said Max has mommy issues, but unfortunately I can't find that interview right now.
Note: This was translated from Hungarian, I tried to do the best I could given that I don't speak it and had to use online translators.
Links to interviews: 1 2 3