- Hey, everyone.
You're watching In Studio with the Hollywood Reporter.
I'm Brian Porreca, and today's guest is Justin Prentice.
- Whoo! (laughs)
- How are you?
- I'm good, I'm good.
How you doing?
- Alright, so season two is out.
- It is, it's out there.
- How is it been having it out and kind of...
- It's great.
You know, lots of long-kept secrets,
so it's nice that they're out there,
and we don't have to be sworn to secrecy anymore.
Lot off the chest.
But, yeah, I hope people are enjoying it.
- Let us know in the comments if you enjoyed it.
(Justin laughs)
So I watched all of season two in two days,
this past weekend.
- That's a lot.
- Watched it alone, which is-
- Even better.
- Which is sad and like watching alone,
it's just like-
- It's another level.
- Quite a bit.
- Yeah, yeah, I get it.
- Before we jump into season two...
This role, I guess, it was really
like a breakout role for you.
Would you agree with that?
- Yeah, definitely so, definitely.
- What was, with last season,
what was kind of like this overnight success,
like instant fame, I guess?
Cause you guys all became pretty big,
like after season one.
- It was strange. - How'd you handle all that?
- I think we all just kind of took it in stride.
I think...
I don't go out a whole lot,
so I didn't realize how big the show had gotten,
and I remember we were over at Ross's.
He plays Zach Dempsey.
We're having a game night,
and the cast was like,
"Isn't it crazy how much our lives have changed?"
And I was like, "I don't know what you're talking about."
- It was instant.
- "Everything's the same for me,"
and they're like,
"Are people not coming up to you?"
"No, I don't go out a lot,
"so that would be hard for them to do that."
But then I started going out.
I'm like, "Oh, wow, yeah.
"No, people really are responding to the show."
I don't think any of had any indication
it was gonna blow up the way it did,
but yeah, it's a special thing,
and I think we're all excited about it.
- Now like reuniting with the cast,
do you hang out with a lot?
Did you hang out with them between filming?
And what was reuniting with them like,
I guess, for season two?
- It's fun; it's great.
It's cool to bring the characters back to life.
I think we all have such great rapport on and off camera.
It makes it really easy to jump into the characters
and kind of riff off of each other in the scenes.
Yeah, it's just...
It's kind of easy with those guys.
- Now with kind of how dark I guess the scenes are,
and how tough these scenes are,
what's the dynamic on set, like kind of keeping balance?
- It depends.
It depends on the day.
For the dark scenes.
You know, specifically season one with the rape scenes
and everything, we all kind of go our separate ways
and kind of get into our own head space.
That way we can focus on the job at hand,
but on the lighter days that we have,
we always try and make each other laugh
and joke and pull pranks and have a good time
for some sort of mental health,
keeping things light and everything, but yeah.
- Now I interviewed Alisha,
for last year for season one, and she said
that everyone's said that it's really comfortable.
They make sure you're comfortable
especially for those tough scenes,
and it's a really comfortable environment.
- It really is.
They did a great job.
They walk you through everything ahead of time.
"This is the camera movement.
"We're gonna show this, this, and this.
"We won't show this, this, and this."
We kinda do a rough sort of blocking rehearsal with it.
Many meetings and pow-wows ahead of time,
and then on the day, we just kind of commit to it.
On the scene with Katherine and the hot tub,
they had like emotional support dogs on set,
and I talked to Katherine afterwards.
I was like, "Do you ever go near the dogs?"
And she's like, "No, I would have just broken down,"
and I was like, "Yeah, me too."
But it was great for the crew.
The crew used them,
so yeah, they take every measure
to make sure that we're as comfortable as possible,
which is awesome.
- Now, before we go to the scripts for season two,
after kind of season one came out,
where did you think Bryce's story was gonna go?
And where did you want us to get?
- You know,
having the Brock Turner case come out when it did,
that was part of my research for season one,
so I always kind of assumed this was gonna be
the trajectory of Bryce.
I knew it was gonna get litigious.
They had mentioned that to us,
and assuming that, you know...
The show does a great job
of kind of putting a mirror up to society, I think.
They are dramatized events and whatnot,
and our characters don't always make the right decisions,
but we do try and tackle some issues
as they come up in real life as accurately as possible,
and so, knowing that, I was like,
"Yeah, I think it's gonna piss a lot of people off,
"but I think Bryce is gonna get off kind of easy
"because that's realistic."
- My biggest comment to the show is like
there are so many teen shows out there that are fun
and like whatever,
but this show is a serious show.
- It's deep.
- And it's what teens are going through.
- It's deep, yeah, and I think they are.
Yeah, this is I think, I think-
- I mean, it's a little more dramatized I think.
- Sure, but I think one of the reasons
it's blown up the way it has is
because teens are excited to kind of see their issues
and problems that they're dealing with showcased,
you know, on this sort of platform.
- Now, for Bryce specifically...
For you as an actor, what is it like to play
like a completely unsympathetic character?
Like, there's no...
I don't think there are any redeeming qualities
about him at all.
- We haven't seen many of them if there are.
- Do you hate him as much as everyone else?
- Oh, for certain, yes. - Yeah, okay.
- And that's the interesting thing because,
you know, reading the character on the page-
- [Brian] Must be tough.
- It' like, "Gosh, I hate this guy,"
but then you have to play the guy,
and you can't hate yourself
cause you have to find a way to sort of justify the actions
in order to play the character,
not that that justifies what he does.
But in playing the role,
you have to find a way to make it all make sense,
which is kind of an interesting barrier to break through,
but as an actor, very rewarding I suppose.
- Now, for season two,
there have been like trigger warnings,
and there's been ways where you guys offer support,
like links for people to kind of seek help.
For season one, there were a lot of criticisms
because there was kind of a lack of that,
and there was also this criticism
that the show didn't really offer an alternative to suicide.
Going into season two, what were the conversations
kind of about those criticisms?
And did you guys talk about that?
- You know, I think we were all very careful this season.
We wanted to do it right
while still telling compelling storyline.
I think the way they chose to show the suicide
in the first season, I think it was brutal,
and I get that that's triggering for people,
and I think they've even since added more warnings
to season one and two and gone back,
but it's also realistic,
and that's what's happening out there,
and sometimes it should be hard to watch
cause it's hard to deal with in the moment,
and we didn't want to make it seem easy.
For that scene, in particular,
the writers felt that if they didn't show it,
that made it easy.
That was the easy step
cause then it seems like, "Oh, she is here and alive,"
and then, "Now she's not."
It's as easy as that.
And they wanted to show that it is...
It's a tough decision,
and it's brutal every step of the way.
- I talked to Bryan, you're working with,
and he said, "This isn't a beautiful thing."
- Right.
- "This is, yeah..."
- Exactly.
Exactly, exactly.
So I think everyone was conscience of that.
Season two as well.
There is triggering stuff that happens in season two,
of course, but again,
a lot of this stuff is going on.
Like in episode 13,
we take a lot of heat for that scene,
but we actually, as the cast,
also asked the writers, like,
"What is going on here.
"This seems kind of like..."
I won't spoil anything for those who haven't seen it, but...
- No, everyone's gonna be caught up by now.
- Probably so...
- We're gonna spoil it for you after that.
- You know what scene I'm talking about.
We as the actors read it,
and we're all like,
"This seems kind of like out of left field.
"Is this necessary?
and Yorkey, our show runner, was like,
"Apparently, this is happening prevalently in schools.
"This is a big issue,"
and that blew all of our minds.
We're like, "Well, then..."
You know, our show doesn't shy away,
and it hasn't before, so why shy away now?
And it is, it's brutal to watch
and it's grotesque and it's intense,
and be mad.
You can be mad at the show, but be mad at the issue.
Start talking about it, you know?
- Do you watch...
Have you watched season two,
like do you watch the episodes about it?
- I don't watch any of it.
I've seen the first two episodes of season one
cause that was at the premiere,
and then I haven't see any of it aside from that.
Aside from when we're like on set,
and I want to like re-watch something
to make sure I didn't screw up too badly.
But, no, I haven't see really any of the final footage.
We did ADR work, so I've seen fragments,
but no, I try to stay away just cause of actor insecurities.
- One of my favorite scenes...
I mean not like cause it was entertaining or anything,
but it was like powerful,
and it really showed how sick Bryce is
was when he's talking to his mother,
and he's saying like...
Whatever he said.
Like, "Yeah, I raped her"
and this and that and this and that.
I guess, what scenes for you stood out,
and like where you could really go there
with the character, and show that side?
- That was one of them for sure.
That's kind of one of the first times we've seen
Bryce sort of drop his facade that he puts on for the world
and just kind of be a monster, in that moment,
to his mother, which is very interesting
as an actor to play, and Brenda Strong is phenomenal.
I just, I love her so much.
That was a great one.
There are a bunch of really good scenes,
even ones like...
Like the dance scene I love, you know,
when the song comes on, hearkens back to season one,
and then everyone sort of surrounds Clay to support him.
I don't know.
There are a lot of little beautiful moments.
The sport stuff was a lot of fun,
a lot of athletics going on this season,
which was enjoyable.
- Did you grow up playing sports?
- I'm from Tennessee, so I grew up playing sports.
I grew up with my parents thinking
that would be the trajectory I would take,
and then I was like, "I want to do musical theater,"
and my mom was like,
"Who are you, why?" - That's great.
(Justin laughs)
And they were super supportive,
but it's cool to finally gear up,
throw on some pads and whatnot,
and be like, "Look, mom, I did it."
- Now the show...
It is hard to watch.
There are episodes that are hard to watch.
I do like the show,
but one of my biggest issues with season two
was kind of like this lack of hope with the verdict,
like with what happens at the school,
and then with your character.
And I know that's like a real situation
where that does happen.
What's your take on that?
- Yeah, I mean, I think at the end of the day...
One, we want to make compelling storyline,
but two, we want to kind of turn a mirror to society
and say, "This is the issue that's going one,
"or these are the issues that are going on,"
and that's certainly one of them.
Bryce is, you know, he's a straight, white male.
He comes from money and power.
He's very privileged, and that usually, in this society,
means that you're kind of gonna get off
without too much consequences.
- [Brian] That's so messed up. - Right.
And it is, and it is messed up,
and you know, I think for our show,
it does a good job in basing at least that facet in reality.
But I think there are small justices throughout, you know?
- [Brian] Like what would you say?
- Like Jessica kind of finally coming to terms
and being able to look Bryce in the eye and say,
"You did this."
I think that's a huge step, and that's amazing.
- Or her speech in the court.
- Yeah, you see like
all of the women on the stand. - All of the women.
- I mean, it's so powerful,
so I think they handled it pretty well, yeah.
- Now this...
You guys were filming kind of during Times Up area
in the #metoo movement.
Did that have an impact on these storylines?
It's kind of already...
- I think they kind of sort of had it mapped out already.
It might of tweaked a little towards the end,
but yeah, we were showing up to work everyday just like,
"Gosh, guys, this is so relevant."
It's so rewarding to be kind of part of a show
that touches on all these important issues.
- Now where we leave you at the end of season two,
I mean I don't know if like...
Do you know if there's a season three yet?
- I don't.
- Okay. - I wish I did.
- If there is a season three,
where's Bryce going?
Where's Bryce gonna be in ten years?
- I don't know.
It would be interesting to see.
I think there's hope for the Bryces of the world.
I think there's a way to turn things around.
I think most of these kids who commit monstrous acts
aren't monsters.
There is hope.
A lot of it's lack of education on consent,
and at the end of the day,
just respecting your fellow human beings.
I don't know if we'll see it with Bryce or not.
It'll be interesting.
I could go either way,
and I guess it all depends on what the writers want to do.
We could see him try and redeem himself.
We could also see more of the villain.
I don't know.
I guess wherever the compelling storyline falls.
- Katherine Langford recently talked to THR,
and she kind of said that her...
She thinks her story with the show is kind of done,
and that, in season two,
they kind of had trouble finding where Hannah's story
actually really did fit.
Do you think Hannah's story is over?
What's your take?
- I don't know.
I love Katherine so much.
If they can bring her back and make it make sense,
that would be awesome.
You obviously don't want to feel
like you're jumping the shark or anything.
I don't know.
It'll be interesting to see if they do...
I mean the show has been kind of based on flashbacks
quite a bit, so I guess there's always that possibility,
but I don't know.
- But you think there's more story to tell
with the other characters, right?
- I think there's more depth to dive into, sure.
- Definitely.
Where we leave off on season two with Tyler...
It's not like a cliff hanger cause it is pretty serious.
It's serious.
Where do you see that going?
And I guess, what were the conversations on set
about how to tell that story,
because that is...
- Right, and that's another thing
that could be controversial.
Just kind of disclaimer again:
we have flawed characters in the show,
so if you're in the position of Clay's character,
taking it upon yourself to change things
isn't always the best option, you know.
Reach out to an adult.
Call 911.
There are other ways to handle these scenarios,
but that's one of the great things about the show
is that the characters are flawed cause that's realistic.
Yeah, I think there are people
who could care about Tyler,
and that could work towards changing things.
- [Brian] What do you mean?
- I think there are people within Liberty now:
Clay and-
- [Brian] Tony.
- And you have, yeah, you have Tony,
and you have Jessica and all of these characters
who have become tight-knit now
through all of the adversity,
and I think that they could possibly be in a place
to extend love towards him that he hasn't felt yet,
and maybe that could change something, and maybe not.
I don't know, yeah.
- Now, I guess looking back to both seasons,
is there like a cast member
you wish you had more scenes with,
you wish you could film more with?
- Um, I haven't had many scenes with Christian,
who plays Tony.
I think I've had one scene with him,
and I don't know that it even made it in the final cut
in season one,
so that would be fun.
Cause I don't think we had anything together in season two
that I remember.
- I don't remember.
- Who else?
The scene with Mr. Porter was fun,
cause I don't have too many with Mr. Porter.
That bathroom scene where he just throws me up
against the wall was awesome.
- [Brian] You freaking deserved it.
- I did. (laughs)
I love all the scenes where Bryce
kind of gets what's coming to him.
Being thrown up against the wall,
being slapped by his mother.
- Well, the school scene when they,
like the tapes are leaked,
and they're playing over the intercom.
What was filming that like,
cause I feel like there's a lot going on.
- There was.
- And then the fight scene with everyone.
- Yeah, there was a lot of interesting choreography too.
The one where the tapes drop,
the way that they decide to film that too
was sort of like kind of a long-shot on a steady cam,
so it was like a whole sort of kind of dance
that we did to get it right.
And I wanted to make sure to kind of
capture that freak out moment.
That's one of the first times we kind of see Bryce
lose control of his empire, which is super interesting.
- Yeah, it was great watching that.
I just wish there was more of-
- Right on. - Bryce's take down.
- Yeah, yeah.
Who knows?
Maybe that's more story to come potentially
if we do a third season.
Maybe he does get knocked down another rung.
- He's transferring to a school.
It's just like such...
It me, it's such like...
- He got off easy, he got off.
Be mad, be pissed, let's change things.
(laughs)
- [Brian] I mean, you're great.
- Thank you.
- Thank you so much for coming in.
What do you want to say to, I guess, fans of yours
and people who don't like your character before we go?
- Thank you for supporting the show.
You're right for not liking Bryce. (laughs)
Let's work together.
Have these conversations whether you are a fan of the show,
whether you have critiques
of how the show did certain things,
talk about it.
You know, let's get these issues out there,
and let's work towards a brighter future
as cliche as that is, I guess.
- Before we started, you said you're producing something
with your girlfriend.
Can you kind of talk about that?
- Yeah, yeah.
Acting's always been kind of my main passion,
but I just love storytelling in general,
and so I want to hop behind camera some as well,
so I'm producing a feature.
She's a director, so...
We're kind of in the pre-production phase of that right now.
- Do you write too?
- A little bit, yeah.
She's the main writer on this one,
but I go in and do...
She's...
German's her first language,
so I do a lot of rewrites, you know, just grammatical stuff
(laughs)
- Awesome, thanks for watching.
- Thanks, guys.