‘Tell Me Lies’ Star Has Known the Show’s Biggest Mystery All Along

[This story contains major spoilers from the sixth episode of Tell Me Lies season three, “I Don’t Cry When I’m Sad Anymore.”]

Spencer House has known the big Tell Me Lies secret all along.

Since the very first day of filming the addictively buzzy Hulu series that’s now in its third season, the actor found out that his character, Wrigley, would be deeply connected to Cat Missal’s Bree.

“It was only me,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter of being the only one on the cast who was in the know. “If you go back to season one, episode one, look at my first line.”

House’s first-ever scene that he’s referencing featured Wrigley in the 2015 era of the dual timeline series embracing Bree at her engagement party, which she is celebrating with fiancé Evan, Wrigley’s best friend who is played by Branden Cook. At the party, a disheveled looking Wrigley picks up Bree for a bear hug. “It’s the fucking bride!” he says with excitement. He then adds to his friend, “I am stealing your wife. I’m stealing your wife!”

No one caught on at the time — not the rest of the cast, and certainly not viewers. “We were sitting on it for a while,” House says of keeping it quiet from his co-stars, even including Missal. It wasn’t until the currently airing third season that creator Meaghan Oppenheimer unmasked Wrigley as Bree’s mystery caller on her wedding night, revealing that their love runs deeper than anyone expected in the fourth episode.

Below, House is joined by Cook as the co-stars unpack the sixth episode of season three, which delivered a big twist in their love triangle with Bree. After a night of a drinking game gone very wrong, Bree is left behind by a possessive Evan, giving Wrigley and Bree alone time to hash out their unspoken feelings for each other. But it’s not until after Bree has a heart to heart with Marianne (Gabriella Pession), the wife to professor Oliver (Tom Ellis), that Bree reaches back out to Wrigley, which leads to them passionately kissing. When he shows up for her, she tells him, “I wanted to talk to you. Because you make things better. And it’s confusing. I think you’re making me kinda confused about how I feel.” With only two episodes left, the co-stars also tease the “perfect” finale.

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So when you ended last season, were you all in the dark about who was calling Bree at her and Evan’s wedding?

BRANDEN COOK Spencer…

SPENCER HOUSE I knew. Yeah, I did know. So that was kind of fun.

When did you find out?

HOUSE Day one of season one.

No way. So you were sitting on that for a while.

HOUSE We were sitting on it for a while.

Was it just you and Cat Missal who knew? And the rest of you found out later?

HOUSE No, I believe it was just me. But if you go back to season one, episode one, look at my first line.

So then, Branden, you didn’t know. Did you have your guesses?

COOK No, no, no [I didn’t know]. I didn’t even have a guess, because I wasn’t sure if it was going to be someone new who they were going to introduce. There’s so much time between 2008 and the wedding [in 2015], so I didn’t know.

Was there a guessing game among the cast? Spencer, did you have to lie?

COOK Spencer didn’t lie.

HOUSE I didn’t lie, no one asked.

COOK When we started guessing and putting stuff out, he would say little stuff, but it wasn’t confirmed until we saw it on the page.

Okay, so then what was your reaction when you saw it on the page?

COOK Uh, here we go. Here we go again. How are we gonna figure this one out?

HOUSE But more like, Ugh, here we go again!

COOK Exactly. It was cool, though. It was fun. I was interested in how that would change the dynamics of everything.

That’s why this is fun to speak with you two together. So Spencer, how would you say this influenced how you’ve been playing Wrigley all along, knowing this huge spoiler?

HOUSE It doesn’t, because the funny thing about Wrigley and Bree is that they’re the two characters who really never talk to one another. They pretty much don’t speak until season three. I don’t think he sees anything in her until he starts being himself. I think it takes [his brother] Drew’s death to force him to grow up and remove this mask that he has on for everyone, and the moment that he does, he starts to find himself attracted to Bree because he knows what he wants.

Did you have conversations with creator Meaghan Oppenheimer ahead of time about the arc of the season?

COOK When they finish writing, they usually send us the episodes as they’ve been approved or Meaghan will call and at least tell us a skeleton of what’s to come. Then we’ll read them when they come out. But usually, by the time we start filming, we have most, if not all, of the episodes, and at least know where we’re going, which is nice.

In episode four, when you are each dancing during the wedding — Wrigley with Pippa (Sonia Mena) and Evan with Bree — viewers, and Stephen (Jackson White), aren’t sure what the relationship is between Wrigley and Bree until we see how longingly they are looking at each other. What was that scene like to film?

COOK We were just lucky to get through that scene, because they kept laughing so much.

HOUSE I know, I know. (Laughs.) It was the kind of laughter where it was stressful and frustrating. That was such a long week and we were towards the end of the week. It was like 15-hour days, and we had gotten a little slap-happy. That specific song [“I Couldn’t Be Your Friend” by Tegan And Sara] was on repeat for hours and hours, and we just started losing our minds. Cat and I had to look at each other with so much to say, and thankfully, we got it. But it was just so goddamn funny. When one person starts to go, you see the slightest smile in the eyes, and then the other person goes.

COOK It ended up beautiful, though.

HOUSE Yeah, it looks good. I’m sure we could have made it easier [on everyone], but it looks good.

Were you playing that scene that Wrigley is deeply, head-over-heels in love with Bree?

HOUSE Oh, yeah. When we’re looking at each other across the room, that scene would not have worked otherwise.

Jumping ahead to this week, Bree calls Wrigley in the early morning and you voice your feelings about each other for the first time. We will see more of that conversation play out next week. Was that a long day of filming?

HOUSE That was actually a funny day, because we were shooting in this suburb and it was like live theater because so many people came out of their houses and put lawn chairs out to watch us do the scene. These are people’s properties. You’re not going to tell them to go away; they do whatever they want, obviously. These women came up to us and they had their “PUSWA” bracelets that are a big thing between the girls like, “We got our bracelets!” They were like, “I can’t believe you two are together, and I promise we won’t we won’t tell anyone.” We were like, “I certainly hope you don’t!” And they didn’t.

That was an interesting day. There was also a guy in a bush eating behind Cat. So the whole time I was doing that scene with her, there was this guy looking right at me eating in his bush. That was funny.

Did you and Cat workshop how you were going to play that scene?

HOUSE We definitely had to figure it out. But that’s all on the day. We have so much time in between shots and set-ups, and you get there hours early. But we didn’t meet up beforehand.

We’ve been wondering why Bree chooses to marry Evan in 2015, if she’s clearly in love with Wrigley.

COOK Me too.

HOUSE (Laughs)

Earlier in this episode, Marianne tells Bree that she should be with someone who loves her more. Branden, do you feel like that advice always stuck with Bree, and that she looked at Evan as someone who would love her more?

COOK I think Evan was just safe for Bree, and it was kind of easy and right there and already established to some degree. I think the more pure love — or the more visceral love — was probably with Wrigley. Evan is safe, and he was very willing to be there for her in all the ways. Evan’s rich — he has a lot of money, he can give her security. There are a lot of reasons where I can understand her doing that. Though, I think you should follow your heart.

She’s clearly torn. Who do you guys think is the better choice for Bree?

HOUSE I think she should be with Wrigley.

COOK With Evan, it’s too complex. It’s too complicated. It’s too confusing. The foundation isn’t good. I mean, the foundation’s weird with Wrigley as well because we’re all friends, but the foundation’s already been ruined [with Evan].

Next to Stephen, you guys are heroes. But you bring up the great point that Wrigley and Evan are also friends. Have you been able to not judge your characters as you’ve played them, or did you find yourself judging them, especially this season?

COOK You try not to judge. You know what you would do, and you try and separate that once you start working on it. The first read, you’re like, “What are you doing?” And then after that, I think you drop it in and try and get in the right headspace for what you have to do.

HOUSE It’s your job not to judge them. But it’s funny because you’ll make so many reasons why it makes sense. And then six months later, in between seasons when you’re not as connected to the character, you’ll think about it and go, “What a doofus.” But once you’re working on them, you can’t do that. Or else it won’t be good. You won’t do a good job.

In non-spoiler terms, what were your reactions when you read the finale?

COOK I was like, Hell yeah. Let’s do it. Let’s get it going. Without spoiling it, it’s fun. What happens is fun. I read it and I was like, This is gonna be fun. This is what everybody wants. So I was excited.

HOUSE I remember reading it and thinking, This is the perfect way to wrap it up. I was shocked by [something that happens]. I read it and I was like, Oh, yeah, that’s pretty good.

Is there more Tell Me Lies after how this season ends?

COOK I don’t know. They did a really good job. The finale is perfect. It’s really, really beautiful. But there are still years in between. So who knows? It’s not really up to us, but I’m excited to see what happens.

HOUSE It ties up perfectly, but there have been plenty of shows that tie up well and then you find they’re getting the green light to go again. So, like Brandon said, it’s not up to us, and we’ll be there if we’re told to be.

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The first six episodes of Tell Me Lies are currently streaming on Hulu. Check out all of The Hollywood Reporter‘s Tell Me Lies coverage, including an episode six interview with Cat Missal and Costa D’Angelo.