Where You've Seen The Cast Of Hulu's Tell Me Lies Before

So, you're at a friend's engagement party. You're standing by the drink table, trying to figure out the absolute earliest moment you could leave without being rude. As you take a sip of your mango Bellini, you glance across the room and ... oof, marone! It's your ex! All the old emotions come back. You remember the good times, the bad times, the things they did that drove you crazy. You don't know whether to go over and say hi or to pretend that you're one of the marble statues flanking the drink table. Almost everybody has had such a run-in with an old flame and this anxiety-inducing moment is what kicks off Hulu's drama "Tell Me Lies."

Based on the novel of the same name by Carola Lovering, "Tell Me Lies" follows the relationship between Lucy Albright (Grace van Patten) and Stephen DeMarco (Jackson White) from the day they meet in college to their reunion at a friend's engagement party eight years later. As the show chronicles their intensely passionate and tumultuous entanglement, we see how the more toxic facets of their relationship affect not just Lucy and Stephen, but everybody who knows them.

With a cast of relatively young actors, several of the faces that populate the screen might tickle the old neocortex and leave you scratching your head wondering from whence this familiar face beckons. Read on to find out where you've seen the cast of "Tell Me Lies" before.

Grace van Patten plays the protagonist of Lucy Albright in "Tell Me Lies." She's a freshman at Baird College when she first gets involved with Stephen. 

Van Patten has show business in her blood. The daughter of writer and director Tim van Patten, Grace is a New York City native, who attended the LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, where she trod the boards with the likes of Ansel Elgort and Timothée Chalamet (per W Magazine). 

When van Patten was 10, her father got her an audition for her first ever television role as Ally Pontecorvo in the Season 6 premiere of "The Sopranos," which he was directing. She followed this up with appearances on two other massive shows: "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" in 2013 and "Boardwalk Empire" in 2014. 

Van Patten then pivoted to movies and over the next few years, she starred in several critically acclaimed films: as Ellie in "Tramps," as Eliza in Netflix's "The Meyerowitz Stories," and as Balloon Girl in the mystery "Under the Silver Lake," where she played opposite Andrew Garfield.

After this string of successes, Van Patten returned to television and appeared in three episodes of "Maniac" with Emma Stone and Jonah Hill. She then starred as Lillian in the indie comedy "Good Posture," as Cassie in "The Violent Heart," and as Ana in "Mayday." Before getting cast in "Tell Me Lies," van Patten appeared in another Hulu original as Zoe Marconi in "Nine Perfect Strangers."

Stephen DeMarco is Lucy's better (or worse) half, played by Jackson White. When Lucy and Stephen first meet at Baird, he is still involved with his ex-girlfriend. 

White almost wasn't an actor at all. Speaking to Interview Magazine, White revealed that his father is a drummer and his mother is a singer, so he originally wanted to be a musician. He didn't decide to pursue acting until he was 19 or 20-years-old but even now, he sees himself as a drummer first and foremost. White began auditioning for roles as musicians in short films when he was in college and eventually fell in love with the movie business. 

Jackson White's first movie role was playing Ash Baker in the coming-of-age surfing movie "SPF-18," which also stars Noah Centineo. He then appeared in four episodes of the family comedy "The Middle" as Aidan in 2017, and the following year played Dave Medders in three episodes of Season 2 of "SEAL Team" starring David Boreanaz. White soon scored a larger role as Brendan Fletcher opposite Kathryn Hahn in the 2019 miniseries "Mrs. Fletcher."

Before "Tell Me Lies," White briefly returned to movies. He played the lead in "The Space Between," which also starred "Frasier" actor Kelsey Grammer, and had a major supporting role in the Michael Bay crime drama "Ambulance," where he shared the screen with Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. 

It seems like White's career is really taking off, as he is set to star as Jud Crandall in an upcoming "Untitled Pet Sematary Project," which does not yet have a release date, but is currently in post-production.

Catherine Missal plays Lucy's friend Bree, who lives across the hall from Lucy during their freshman year. It's at Bree's engagement party that Lucy and Stephen run into each other for the first time in quite some time. In an interview with Screen Rant, Missal stated that she saw a lot of herself in the outsider Bree, having grown up "on the outskirts of normal life."

Like Van Patten, Missal also appeared in "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." She had small roles in two different episodes of the long-running police procedural, playing two different characters. She went on to a series of smaller roles in feature films. She played Lily in the 2013 comedy "Vijay and I" and costarred in the 2014 sci-fi film "Movement and Location." Her first major role came in the 2015 film "Vacation" alongside Ed Helms and Christina Applegate. She played Adena in this sequel to Chevy Chase's 90s comedy "Vegas Vacation."

Before joining the cast of "Tell Me Lies," Missal had a small role as Tiffany in the film "Natural Selection" and played Tara Rayburn in an episode of the NBC crime thriller "The Blacklist."

Spencer House plays the role of Wrigley, a charming football player, who ends up dating Pippa during Lucy's time at Baird College.

House got his start in the industry in 2016, mostly appearing in small, one-scene roles in television series and movies. His first role was a small role in an episode of "Madam Secretary" starring Téa Leoni. He followed this up by playing Gary the Intern in the television series "BrainDead" and Chad Grazier in the 2017 TV movie "Frat Star." That same year, he appeared as a heckler in the Kumail Nanjiani comedy film "The Big Sick."

In between guest spots on "Blue Bloods and "Jessica Jones," House appeared in a major recurring role as the football player Clark on Netflix's teen mystery series "The Society." He followed this up with another significant recurring part as mild-mannered Space Force cadet Duncan Tabner in the Steve Carell-lead Netflix comedy "Space Force." 

House continued this television streak with a nine-episode appearance as Luke Creswell in "Teenage Bounty Hunters." He snagged a featured part in "Dr. Death" before landing the role of Chad Walker in the indie drama "Small Engine Repair" alongside Jon Bernthal and Shea Whigham. Following his role in "Tell Me Lies," House is set to star in the upcoming football drama film "It's Time."

Sonia Mena plays Lucy's friend and fellow hallmate Pippa. Pippa ends up dating the older Wrigley during her freshman year, which leads to her drifting apart from Lucy and Bree over the course of the season.

Mena has been drawn to the arts and storytelling their entire life. They acted on stage when they were young, but felt particularly drawn to dance (per The Popculturalist). When they got to college, they "fell out of love with dance and back in love with acting."

Mena started out with a small part in the 2019 adventure thriller "Feral" and an appearance in an episode of the Comedy Central sketch comedy show "Alternatino with Arturo Castro." Their first big role came in 2019 with the recurring character Xiomara in Season 3 of the critically acclaimed HBO period drama "The Deuce." 

Following the end of "The Deuce" in 2019, they picked up small roles in the miniseries "Cheer Up, Charlie" and the "Search Party" and starred in the short film "Freezerburn," which they also co-wrote. Right before playing Pippa in "Tell Me Lies," Mena appeared as Lisa in "Love, Victor" and as a motel housekeeper in "Invasion." They are set to star in the upcoming adventure film "Citywide," and according to their Popculturalist interview, they're working on a number of screenplays.

Branden Cook plays Evan, Stephen's roommate. Evan gets somewhat reluctantly roped into the unfolding drama with Stephen and Lucy, and he becomes friends with Bree as a result. 

Cook has known he wanted to be an actor his entire life (via The Local Optimist). Born in North Carolina, Cook studied theatre at Wake Forest and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts before beginning his career with appearances in two short films: "Pseudonym" and "What in the World." 

His first major TV role was as Todd Barber in the HBO drama "The Industry" in 2020, which he followed with a lead turn in the TV movie "The Lost Boys" the same year. After a one-episode appearance as Darrell Miller in the NBC police procedural "Chicago P.D." in 2021, Cook joined the cast of "Tell Me Lies," which is his biggest role to date. His next role is as 2^nd Lt. Alexander Jefferson in the upcoming Apple TV+ war miniseries "Masters of the Air" starring Austin Butler and Barry Keoghan.

Benjamin Wadsworth plays Wrigley's younger brother Drew, who is an incoming freshman the same year as Lucy and strikes up a friendship with Bree early in Season 1.

Wadsworth has been acting since 2013. He started his career by appearing mostly in short PSA-style films such as "Ready? Sex? Wait!," "Crime Stoppers: Do Something," and "Pick Your Poison." His first television role was in an episode of the Disney Chanel show "Girl Meets World" in 2016, and the following year he appeared in an episode of "Teen Wolf" as Alec. 

While building his TV resume, Wadsworth also focused on his online presence by starring as Iggy in the web series "Dad vs. Lad." The work paid off, as he got his big TV break in 2018 as Marcus Lopez in the coming-of-age adventure comedy "Deadly Class." After this performance, he started landing higher-profile projects, appearing alongside Bryan Cranston in "Your Honor" as Rocco Baxter, and playing Randall in the horror comedy movie "Unhuman." He is rumored to be reprising his role as Alec in the upcoming "Teen Wolf: The Movie," which is set to be released in 2023.

Alicia Crowder plays Diana, Stephen's quasi ex-girlfriend, with whom he maintains a relationship after meeting Lucy. Despite all of the red flags that Stephen flies, the poised and ambitious Diana can't seem to quit him either. In an interview with Popsugar, Crowder revealed that the role of Diana wasn't her first choice. She first auditioned for Bree and Pippa before receiving the sides for Diana, and then she realized that Diana "is so close to me in how I operate and move through life."

Crowder doesn't have as extensive a filmography as some of fellow cast-mates, having only been in the industry for a few years at this point. Her first role was a recurring one as Erika in the Netflix sci-fi thriller "The Society," where she shared the screen with her "Tell Me Lies" co-star Spencer House. 

She followed up her debut by appearing in a short film "Downloads" and an episode of the Alan Cumming crime drama "Instinct" in 2019. While there's no news yet regarding a second season of "Tell Me Lies," Crowder's career is in good shape. She's landed a starring role in the upcoming Edith Hagigi indie comedy drama "Bleecker," whose cast also features Alice Kremelberg and Tovah Feldshuh.

Tim is one of Lucy's college classmates. He is played by Tyriq Withers, another actor with a shorter filmography at this point in time. Like Alicia Crowder, Withers has only been acting professionally since 2019, when he landed a one-scene role on the CW show "Legacies." Later in 2019, he played Cornelius alongside Peter Stormare in the AMC original "Horror Noire."

In the lead up to being added to the cast of "Tell Me Lies," he landed a series of larger film and television jobs, beginning with his recurring role as Connor Tibbs on the football drama "The Game." He appeared in an episode of Donald Glover's "Atlanta" as Aaron in Season 3 and has an uncredited role in the Rebel Wilson comedy "Senior Year" as a basketball player. Withers has several upcoming projects, including two short films — "Slice & Hook" and "Rise and Rumble" ­— and a starring role in the upcoming film "Until Forever."

Edmund Donovan plays the role of Max, Lucy's boyfriend in the present day, when she sees Stephen at Bree's engagement party. Donovan's dream as a child was to be a professional skateboarder, but he then became "the proverbial drama kid" in high school, as he told Backstage. Donovan wanted to be a classical actor and he went on to study theater at Yale, where he was given the sound advice to stay open to unexpected professional opportunities that may take him away from Shakespeare but surprise him nonetheless.

Donovan got his start playing Roger in an episode of "Orange is the New Black" in 2014. Later in 2014, he appeared as Derek Hibbert in "Unforgivable." In 2015, he moved over to film, co-starring in the LGBTQ romance "Akron" and he played Eric in the horror film "The Inhabitants."

After two smaller, one-episode roles in "Blue Bloods" and "The Blacklist," he got major supporting roles as Blake in the first season of "High Fidelity" on Hulu and Bambi in the HBO Max original "Betty" in 2020. 

In 2021, he had a minor recurring part as Scott Kovacs in "Gossip Girl" before joining the cast of "Tell Me Lies" the following year. His next project will be playing Jeff Jeckle in the upcoming horror comedy "The Vizitant," which is currently in pre-production.

Lucy's creative writing professor Marianna is played by Gabriella Pession, who has been acting since in the late '90s. Pession has primarily acted in Italian films and in fact, very few of her credits are in English-language projects. Among her earliest roles are "Amiche davvero!!" "Cronaca nera" and "Ferdinando e Carolina." Her first English-language performance was in the 1999 TV miniseries "Jesus" where she played the role of Salome.

She returned to Italian film and television for most of the 2000s, before appearing as Cinzia in a Season 1 episode of "Wilfred" starring Elijah Wood. In 2013, she appeared in the multi-national police procedural "Crossing Lines" as Eva Vittoria, which was her last English-speaking role until playing Dr. Gabriella Aurora in the ABC firehouse drama show "Station 19." In addition to her work on "Tell Me Lies," Pession currently stars as Anna Mayer in the Italian supernatural mystery show "La Porta Rossa."

Lucy's mother, CJ, is played by Jessica Capshaw, who has also been acting since the late '90s. Capshaw comes from a family of storytellers, since her mother is actress Kate Capshaw and her step-father is Steven Spielberg (per CNN). In a Rose & Ivy profile, Capshaw describes studying theater at Brown University, where she tried to forge her own identity in the film industry and emerge from beneath the long shadow cast by her parents.

She got her first role alongside her mother, Kate Capshaw, in "The Locusts" in 1997. Following this, Capshaw appeared in a Season 6 episode of the medical drama "ER," and played Jordan in the short-lived sitcom "Odd Man Out." Her first big movie break came in 2001, when she played Dorothy Wheeler in the David Boreanaz thriller "Valentine." She worked with her step-father Steven Spielberg on his 2002 sci-fi thriller "Minority Report," where she can be seen as Evanna, a pre-crime transport pilot.

After 2002, she worked mainly in television, beginning with a recurring part in the legal drama "The Practice" as Jamie Stringer. She also appeared in episodes of "Bones," "Thick and Thin," and "The L Word" before getting cast in her most recognizable role to date on "Grey's Anatomy." Capshaw played Dr. Arizona Robbins — the head of pediatric surgery and eventual wife of Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) – in the hit medical drama for nine seasons before being written off at the end of Season 14 (per Deadline). 

Before she played the role of Lucy's mom, Capshaw appeared as Abby in "Holidate" with Emma Roberts, who is an executive producer on "Tell Me Lies." Her most recent role was as Elly Gladstone in "Dear Zoe."

The role of Stephen's mother, Nora, is played by veteran actress Katey Sagal, who is, in fact, Jackson White's real-life mother (per People). Sagal's extensive filmography begins all the way back in the 1970s. One of her earliest roles was as a secretary in an episode of the classic police procedural "Columbo" in 1973. 

In the 1980s, Sagal acted alongside comedy legend Mary Tyler Moore in the short-lived comedy show "Mary," which was cancelled by CBS after only one season. Horror fans may also recognize her as Ms. Kilbasser from an episode of the horror anthology "Tales from the Crypt" in 1990.

In the 1990s, Sagal became a household name as the big-haired anti-housewife Peggy Bundy in the sitcom "Married...With Children," which ran for 11 years. After her incredibly successful sitcom stint, she joined the cast of Matt Groenig's animated comedy "Futurama" as the voice of Leela, a role she is set to reprise in the upcoming Hulu reboot.

Sagal has had major or recurring parts in numerous shows since her star-making run on "Married...With Children," including "That 70s Show," "Recess," "8 Simple Rules," "Boston Legal," "Lost," "Sons of Anarchy," "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," "Shameless," and "The Conners." 

On the big screen, Sagal has appeared in "I'm Reed Fish," several "Futurama" direct-to-video movies, "Housebroken" opposite Danny DeVito, "Pitch Perfect 2," and the Miles Teller boxing drama "Bleed for This."