Hulu’s “Tell Me Lies” Season 2 – Interview’s with actor Tom Ellis and actress Cat Missal
Tell Me Lies Season 2 picks up as Lucy Albright (Grace Van Patten) and Stephen DeMarco (Jackson White) return to college, not speaking after their dramatic breakup at the start of the summer. Yet while very much at odds, they find themselves in a new version of their addictive dynamic – which is as infuriating as it is inescapable. Meanwhile, the story expands deeper into the lives of Lucy and Stephen’s friend group, as the fallout from Season One impacts all of their lives in unexpected ways.
Criticólogos:
Cat, Bree is trying to move on from her past, but she’s getting into some deep waters that she may not know how to handle, ignoring the red flags. What is it about Oliver that she feels so comfortable opening up to him?
Cat Missal:
I think he’s a master manipulator. I think there’s a little bit of that. I think it’s the way that they meet. Bree, being in such a vulnerable position at the time, I think also allows for a lot of it to happen. Bree is a smart character. She may be seemingly naive and kind of just tumbling into this relationship, but I think she at the beginning, at least seized this opportunity to maybe try something that she’s never tried and go outside the bounds of what she even thought she would do herself. And so, I think it’s interesting to watch it.
Criticólogos:
Tom, given that it’s difficult to do these sorts of interviews without getting spoilers, but given the bombshells that constantly Oliver is dropping on Bree when you saw the script, you saw how complex the character is. What was going through your mind? How did you approach this character?
Tom Ellis:
I had to console myself with the fact that I knew that at the end of this, people would not like this character at all. So, I think that I had to take my judgment of the character away to approach it, and t find a way to make him plausible and try to make him, even though his actions are deplorable, and you know, he comes across as creepy because of them.
I tried to think about not making him creepy tries to make him as grounded as possible and as kind of matter of fact as possible about this situation. I had to just not think about the age difference and not think about the power dynamics. I just had to think about connecting with Cat and these two characters, connecting in a way that kind of almost wants your audience to root for them as a couple, even though everything about it is messed up and wrong somehow.
Whatever Bree is going through, you need to understand her decision-making involved in this and, make Oliver as appealing as possible, even though he’s not.
Criticólogos:
Cat, as much as we hate to admit it, Bree is in a relationship that happens more commonly than we would like. So, I think people, women specifically who have gone through this, through what she’s going through, what do you feel Bree would tell them? I mean, in how to handle the situation.
Cat Missal:
Well, I think it’s tough to give anyone advice who has been in a situation like this because it’s kind of like unless you’re in it, you can’t do it, you can’t do anything about it. And anyone that says anything, you know, outside of it, depending on where your mindset is at, you’re there. Nothing’s going to help, you know? I think the most important thing is to make sure that you don’t isolate because isolation is a tactic that narcissists use.
And, I mean, just keep your wits about you. It’s a hard situation. It’s especially with Bree because she’s such a vulnerable character and she’s been through so much. And I think she’s smart, which is compelling because she may know better, but you just see her again and again and choose to stay in this situation that’s hurting her. And, Yeah, it’s devastating.
Criticólogos:
Tom, I think you’re a master of giving life to a complex character. So, I must ask as an actor, between Oliver, Godcat, & Lucifer, what characteristics you have learned from each one you feel you have put into them in each new project?
Tom Ellis:
I mean, with Lucifer, it was about finding a heart in someone who’s assumed to be heartless. With Oliver, it was about removing the heart. Because I think that for me, is something natural, as a performer I think I’ve gravitated towards characters that have a degree of warmth about them and a degree of soul. And with Oliver, I kind of had to take it all out and create this kind of shell that could say things now that would make someone feel a certain way, but there’s no connection or depth of feeling to it. And that was quite an alien process for me, but yeah, that was what I had to do on this one.
See the full interview below:
Trailer:
