Exclusive Interview: Chibuikem Uche and Annalisa Cochrane Chat One of Us is Lying and Bringing Their Characters to Life

A brain, an athlete, a princess, a criminal, and a “basket case” walk into detention—but only the first four make it out alive. That’s the gripping premise behind One of Us is Lying.

Now streaming on Peacock, One of Us is Lying is a must-watch teen mystery based on the New York Times bestselling novel by Karen M. McManus.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with stars Chibuikem Uche and Annalisa Cochrane about One of Us is Lying, building the chemistry between the Bayview Four, and the scene that they’re most excited for fans to see.

PC: To start, could you introduce us to your characters in this series?
Chibuikem: I play Cooper Clay, who is your all-star baseball player on his way to signing a Major League deal. He’s a transfer student from Mississippi and he’s got a big secret that he’s trying to hide.

Annalisa: I play Addy Prentiss. She’s your teen movie princess stereotype. She seems to have it all. She has her hot boyfriend and her popular group of friends, but she also has a very big secret that she’s trying to protect at all costs.

PC: When we’re introduced to these characters, they’re introduced as specific archetypes, but as the series unravels, we see that there are different layers to them. How did you both prepare to tackle your character’s arc?
Annalisa: Both of us did a lot of research. We have such amazing source material. One of Us Is Lying is a #1 New York Times bestseller by Karen McManus. It’s been on the best-selling list for years at this point and for good reason. As an actor, it’s such a treat to have first-person narratives. There was such a wealth of information there for us. That was such a great starting point. Then you add in other little bits of pop culture—details from other movies, books, and things—and you get to build.

Chibuikem: I would agree with that a hundred percent. We also furthered that research by having conversations and reading books and articles. I watched a lot of videos and read books about people and their journey of coming out. I was also trained. I received help from a baseball coach down at Baylor University, the head of the Baylor program for pitching. The executive producer on our show is a former NCAA D1 champion. I felt like for me to fully embody Cooper, I had to better understand the baseball world and I had to understand the experience of a young man coming out. Those were the two areas that I really wanted to focus my research on to fully embody this character.

PC: Your two characters in particular have really complicated relationships with their parents. How will that affect their journey throughout the series?
Chibuikem: It’s beautiful. These parents love their children so much, as parents do, but sometimes they can be the biggest obstacle, especially to a young person who is trying to find their identity, hone in, explore, and discover. Sometimes having a force above you that is putting expectations upon you can be the most limiting thing.

Annalisa: Sometimes a parent is trying to live through their kid. With both of our characters, the parents are trying to give us the lives that they maybe wanted and couldn’t have. They think that their kids want that too, but we’re different people from our parents. It takes both of our characters’ strength to break free. But then also, you get to see if they do break free how the parents will react to that. Will they accept that?

Chibuikem: You’ll have to tune in to see the full journey.

Annalisa: It’s good stuff. Shout out to Ali [Liebert] and Alimi [Ballard].

PC: At the heart of this story is the friendship that forms between the Bayview Four. How did you all build that bond as a cast?
Chibuikem: It was…

Annalisa: Exhausting. [laughs]

Chibuikem: No. No. No. [laughs]

Annalisa: It was the best thing.

Chibuikem: It was truly the easiest and best thing. The day that we met, there was the Bayview Four and Barrett Carnahan. We went to a diner in Toluca Lake for lunch and spent the next nine hours together there.

Annalisa: We didn’t want to separate. I think that says something. Nine hours later, we were still like, “Wait guys.”

Chibuikem: It was like 11:30 p.m.

Annalisa: It was late.

Chibuikem: We were like, “All right, we should probably call it a night.”

Annalisa: Yeah.

Chibuikem: That was two years ago. Now that we’ve known we’re going to be a part of this world together, we’ve had so much time to deepen the friendships and really get to know one another, which has really lent itself to what I think are really fun scenes between the Bayview Four.

Annalisa: Honestly, we were so close that sometimes when we were doing our Bayview Four scenes our director would be like, “Remember that you don’t know each other as well as you four do.” It was so natural. We settle into character, but we still have the shorthand of knowing each other so well. It’s such a joy.

PC: As you bring these beloved characters and story to life, is there a scene that you’re particularly excited for your fans to see?
Chibuikem: There are a few. Karen McManus, the author of the book, said to both Annalisa and me that the scene for Addy and Cooper that she most wanted in the show made it. That’s really good to hear. There are so many scenes. I have my favorites too. I won’t speak on them quite yet, but there are a lot of scenes that are really, really fun that I’m excited for fans to see and enjoy.

Annalisa: I’ll just say one word: dance.

PC: Social media plays such a huge role in this show. If you had to describe this series in a hashtag, what would it be?
Chibuikem: That’s a good one.

Annalisa: Maybe #Whodunnit.

Chibuikem: #Bingeable.

Annalisa: #StayonYourToes.

Chibuikem: #DontBlink.

Annalisa: Do you have one?

PC: Mark had a great one: #NoPeanuts.

Annalisa: That is great.

Chibuikem: I was going to say #Ribbons or #Solidarity or #RibbonsforSolidarity.

Make sure to follow Chibuikem (Twitter/Instagram) and Annalisa (Instagram). Stream One of Us is Lying on Peacock today.

Photo Credit: Peacock