EXCLUSIVE | Tom Bateman on 'Based on a True Story 2': 'I hadn't expected season two to be what it was'

Based on a True Story Season 2 is streaming on JioCinema and this time, as far as the story is concerned, the stakes are higher for the central characters.

In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, two of them- Liana Liberato, Tom Bateman, opened up about the world they have thrown themselves in what they think of their respective characters.

Edited excerpts from the interview

What are the kind of responsibilities you have to take in while taking on a real life story because it could go wrong?

Tom: You always have a responsibility no matter what you are doing. A lot of things come into play like the subject matter, if it is a real story or not. You have a certain sense of responsibility for the people who are watching it to make everything as authentic as possible. While doing something like this, you have such a huge creative team with you, so every part is covered while someone is watching it. So when I come on the sets, I feel I am going to allow myself to be led by these people. Ultimately.

Liana: Ultimately, not only a sense of responsibility but also at the same time we’re just. I’m at the show really for entertainment and we want people to feel a sense of escapism and laughter and enjoy it when they watch the show.

How often do you relate to the characters that you play over here?

Liana: This is such a turn for me as a character and as a person, and it is hard to merge the two. But it’s also fun to find a ground between you and the choices that your character is making and to justify them. (Laughs)

Tom: I was once told that your first job as an actor is to work out the distance between what you are as a human being and the choices that your character is making. With this it was very difficult because my character is so extreme, but he’s still a human being. He’s insecure and there are things that annoy him that trigger him. So I had to dial that up. There are certain things that I relate to.

So while you were playing this character, were you carrying this back home? What was your preparation like?

Tom: As an English person, I did find myself living in an American accent for the majority of the day. I’m just getting back to speaking in my own accent. But I wouldn’t say that I took the character with me, thankfully. But the energy of the character and some scenes would affect me. There is a scene between me and Chris Messina where we both are just going for each other, shouting and screaming, and there was a lot of improvisation. That day when I went back home, it was exhausting. And some of the residue was still left on me. It is sometimes impossible to just park. What you have done.

Liana: It depends on your scene partner. You are acting in front of the camera for a shorter period of time most of the time you are actually waiting for the others members to set up the camera and all. You are in a scene for a couple of minutes and then you take a break and talk about your personal life. Who you are working with and the material that’s given to you actually determines your energy for the day. In this case, we were just goofing around a lot. I felt I hadn’t taken much of it home.

What are your expectations from this series?

Tom: I hadn’t expected season two to be what it was. I hope we see the characters being put into even more extreme circumstances because they really upped the ante this season. People knocking doors and people invading the family is something that never happened in season one, suddenly we have all these dangerous people in that household, which I found super exciting to read and perform.