Two stars of “Tell Me Lies” say college can change a person.
“You don’t know who you are. And when you don’t know yourself, you also don’t know your friends,” says Spencer House, who plays Mike Wrigley, a college football player, in the Hulu series.
Grace Van Patten, left, and Jackson White in "Tell Me Lies"
He and Branden Cook, who plays Mike’s friend, Evan, entered the series’ Baird College, befriending Stephen DeMarco (played by Jackson White), who makes drastic changes during the first two years.
They considered themselves close to Stephen, but then he changed. “You would think something in the first three years of college formed them very closely together,” says Cook. “But then, Spencer and I had to figure out, ‘Why are we still friends with this person?’”
Cook, who went to Wake Forest University, says reality and TV colleges are “actually kind of similar,” but he didn’t have friends like Stephen, who changes nearly each episode.
House, who starred in several films before landing in “Tell Me Lies,” admits he isn’t like most college students in one big way — he’s not on social media. “I had it for a little bit in high school and I don’t love it,” he says. “I don’t find it to be real life. It tricks you into thinking this is what life is and it’s not.”
Grace Van Patten, left, and Catherine Missal in "Tell Me Lies."
While agents like to encourage actors to post frequently, House says he has been lucky without tracking his every move. “I’ve done a good job at not having (a presence) and you know so much is out of your hands anyway.”
Both actors say they meet with creator Meaghan Oppenheimer before the start of each season, and she gives them an idea of the show’s trajectory.
“There are some things you don’t know,” House says. “But when the show comes out, it’s fun to see what everyone else is doing … that I don’t know.”
Changes happen throughout the year, Cook says. “Sometimes they have to make adjustments. But, normally, we have most of the scripts before we start filming.”
This season, a photography class figures into the plot, and it doesn’t go well for everyone.
That, however, is just part of college life.
“I think I could have gotten my life together a little earlier than I did,” House says. “You wish you could go back and tell your younger self to do that. But, you know, that’s just part of growing up.”
“Tell Me Lies” airs on Hulu.
