Apples Never Fall, White Lotus and High Fidelity alum jake Lacy says the wealthy businessman he plays in All Her Fault sees himself completely differently than those closest to him do.
Abby Elliott and Daniel Monks play Peter's siblings, Lia and Brian, who financially and emotionally depend on Peter.
The title of the show refers to how various female characters are being blamed for their choices and actions, while many of the male characters seem to get a free pass.
"He's just a chill guy, just an easy-going, chill guy. He's got a 'white knight' thing. He really thinks that he's riding in and is the catalyst for people to be their best selves, the caveat being that it needs to be what he's defined as their best selves," Lacy told UPI about Peter in a recent Zoom interview.
"If they don't meet that expectation, then they're falling short or, then, his time and energy have been wasted and there's a certain amount of guilt that's forced on them, either directly or sort of passive aggressively. But, also, in his mind, he is selfless and is a champion for the people around him and a caregiver and compassionate and generous and thoughtful and giving."Lacy acknowledged that while the intentions behind Peter's actions may seem generous, they can still be self-serving.
"That can fracture a family or a relationship," he added.
"This is the kind of thing that I like to read, what I like to watch," Elliott said.
"Comedies feel like work to me and this is an escape, in some sense, of getting to be along there for the ride, for a thriller," she said. "The themes of parenting in this new digital age, and pointing fingers, especially to women, when things go wrong with kids, that's a theme that, as a mom of two young kids, I really connected to."
Monks, whose right arm and leg are partially paralyzed, said he appreciated that his real-life physical challenges were organic to the show's plot.
"It's so rare to see representation, at all, of disability on screen, but especially authentic representation that is with a progressive, disabled narrative," said the actor, who also will soon be seen in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
"My character in the novel was not written as disabled, but [our show-runner Megan Gallagher] incorporated that into the story because she is the parent of a disabled child and she feels as passionate about it as I do," he added. "That was one of the most moving, thrilling things for me when coming on to the project."
"It's just expertly woven into this thrilling roller-coaster ride that audiences might not even realize that they're having their eyes opened or preconceived ideas challenged, because it's, also, just a wild ride in itself," he emphasized.
Elliott said the relationships between the three siblings evolve as the story's jaw-dropping twists are revealed.
"Daniel and I, as people, really hit it off, right off the bat and, so, we became close, and we feel like siblings and, in the earlier episodes, we really were setting up the world and introducing the audience to our characters," she explained.
"Then, kind of in the middle of the show, things take a turn and we have to kind of play that differently. All of a sudden, we're playing kind of different characters who have gone through this thing together. Both Lia and Brian really want to find Milo. They love Milo and they want to support Peter and Marissa to the best of their ability, and they have that in common."
Because Brian is employed by Peter and lives rent-free in a home Peter owns, Brian feels vulnerable about calling Peter out for some things Peter does that Brian doesn't agree with.
Ratcheting up the tension is the fact that Lia has always been blamed for causing the accident that injured Brian as a child, even though Peter knows more about the circumstances than he'd like to admit.
"He feels very dependent on him and, because of that dependency, he feels like, for survival, he doesn't have room to be anything other than very sweet and deferential and gracious and grateful to him," Monks said about Brian and Peter.
"In doing so, he suppresses a lot of feelings, but also the narrative in the family, of what has happened in this family, in our youth has really shaped our sibling dynamics," he added. "Even though Lia is someone that Brian actually feels closer to and feels more unconditionally loved by, he doesn't trust her as much or respect her as much because of this narrative that we're all living within this story."
Elliott described Lia -- who has battled depression and addiction most of her life -- as "a loose cannon" who doesn't always know how to behave appropriately.
"She doesn't quite understand why she is the way that she is," Elliott said.
"Peter has his life together. He's got this family and, so, she looks up to him in this way and that dynamic is really interesting," she added.
"I also feel like anybody with a family can relate to these dark secrets," she laughed.
