Jackson White Says His ToxicTell Me LiesCharacter 'Doesn't Shock Me Ever': 'It's Really Cool Playing the Bad Guy' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Jackson White as Stephen DeMarco in ‘Tell Me Lies’ season 2.Photo:Disney/Josh Stringer

Disney/Josh Stringer

EvenJackson Whitecan’t decide if he loves or hates hisTell Me Liescharacter.

White, 28, plays Stephen DeMarco, the toxic and calculating love interest toGrace Van Patten’s Lucy Albright on the Hulu series, and the actor tells PEOPLE that it’s “fun” taking on the controversial role.

“It’s really cool, playing a bad guy. It’s really fun,” he says. “You just get new stuff to do every time. It’s a blast.”

Now that he has two seasons under his belt, the actor has a pretty high tolerance for what his love-to-hate character is capable of. After all, at the end of season 1, fans were shell-shocked to learn that in the future, Stephen was engaged to Lucy’s childhood best friend, Lydia (Natalee Linez).

As far as what’s to come this season from the master manipulator, White says, “I don’t know if I was shocked, because he doesn’t shock me ever. The worse it is, the more I understand it. I’m like, ‘Yeah, I get it.'”

Grace Van Patten and Jackson White in ‘Tell Me Lies’ season 2.Hulu

Hulu

He has his challenges, though. “The hardest part about playing him is toeing that line of trying to be genuine, but saying these really f—ed up things. That’s hard.”

“I think, honestly, I try to bring a lot of levity to him this year. It’s a heavy thing to carry all those things he’s got in his brain. I wanted to show that,” White continues. “It was really important to me that we show — Why do these people stay around this guy? Wouldn’t they just say ‘f— off’ if he was doing all these things?”

“So I tried — I don’t know if I succeeded — but I tried to bring some levity to show that yeah, your manipulative friend is also sometimes your funny friend. He’s not going anywhere, but something’s wrong with him.”

Jackson White as Stephen DeMarco in ‘Tell Me Lies’ season 2.Disney/Josh Stringer

In season 2, White teases that Stephen is “building to something” as he promises even more of his signature toxicity and conniving when it comes to Lucy. “He’s going, man. He’s a shark. I love him, though.“White does admit, though, that stepping back into the role was a challenge — particularly, since he and Van Patten arenow dating in real life.

Jackson White as Stephen, Grace Van Patten as Lucy in ‘Tell Me Lies’ season 1.Josh Stringer/Hulu

Josh Stringer/Hulu

“His survival mechanism is to keep everything in, don’t show anyone your cards, and I show everyone every card, almost to a fault,” he added.

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source: people.com