Why The Cast Of We Were Liars Looks So Familiar

Sun, sand, secrets, and scandals all shape the Sinclair family's summer vacation on the Amazon Prime Video hit "We Were Liars." Based on the best-selling novel by E. Lockhart, the show boasts surprising twists that keep viewers guessing, gorgeous scenery, and a terrific ensemble cast. The author, who also worked on the show, was thrilled to see her story hit the small screen, telling The Hollywood Reporter that she was beyond impressed with the way the actors took on the characters she created. "They were all incredibly thoughtful and delightful," she said. Lockhart also noted that she made a point of not overstepping with the actors, resisting any urge she might've had to offer them suggestions about how to play the characters. "So the chats I've had with the actors, I usually try to stay out of that and just show my appreciation and enthusiasm for what they're doing, because they had all read the books. They had all an investment in portraying the characters vulnerably and accurately and truthfully, and they were doing it," she shared.

Some of the actors on "We Were Liars" are industry veterans, others are relative newcomers, a handful happen to be part of well-established Hollywood families, and one has no prior professional experience. If you watched the first season and found yourself wondering where you've seen any of the actors before, wonder no more. Here's why so many of the show's stars look so familiar.

On "We Were Liars," Emily Alyn Lind is Cadence "Cady" Sinclair Eastman, the show's central character — and ultimately its biggest liar. When we first meet Cady, she's the embodiment of carefree summertime fun, with her wild, flowing, bleached blonde hair and suntanned skin. She and her cousins lead a life of wealth and privilege that she takes for granted until she sees it through the eyes of the boy she loves, Gat Patil (Shubham Maheshware). As the show progresses, Cady's life and her hair take a darker turn. Eventually, she's confronted by the power dynamics and prejudices that exist within her family and culminate in the story's tragic end.

This was not Lind's first time playing the role of a spoiled upperclass teen. Fans of "Gossip Girl" certainly remember her as Audrey Hope in HBO Max's second iteration of the saga about New York's Upper East Side prep school elite. While that might've been her breakout role, the real-life daughter of "One Tree Hill" star Barbara Alyn Wood already had an impressive resume. Lind told Interview that she landed her first movie role around age 5 and never looked back. "That was my 'Holy sh** I f**king love this' moment," she enthused. Since then, Lind has worked steadily, landing guest spots on popular shows like "Medium," playing Emma Lavery on the daytime drama "All My Children,"  and starring as Melanie in "The Babysitter" and "The Babysitter: Killer Queen" Netflix movies. We can't wait to see where she'll turn up next. 

Australian actor Joseph Zada (née Cumpston) plays Johnny Sinclair Dennis, a rich party boy who lands in trouble after committing a retaliatory act. Zada told Vanity Fair that to get into this character, he drew inspiration from several sources, including "The Great Gatsby," "I just felt like I knew him," Zada said. "I had an immediate connection. I'm a little more reserved, but it was really fun to just force myself out of my comfort zone."

Like his onscreen cousin Emily Alyn Lind (Cadence), Zada comes from a showbiz family: Jeremy Cumpston, his dad, has dabbled in acting, and mom Jessica Brentnall is a producer. Zada's brother,  Hal Cumpston, has popped up in shows like "The Walking Dead" and "Nine Perfect Strangers." Despite his family's connection to the industry, Zada didn't have a lot of projects under his belt prior to "We Were Liars." Australian fans might recognize him from his role as Charlie Roth on "Invisible Boys," a television series where his trademark blond curls were dyed blue. That lack of experience led to a little initial unease for the star when filming began. "At the start, I was so nervous. I worked myself into a state of so much anxiety and put too much pressure on myself," he told costar Esther McGregor in a Behind the Blinds interview. "But by the time I got into the flow, I found my footing." 

As Gat Patil, Shubham Maheshwari steals the heart of the eldest Sinclair grandchild (played by Emily Alyn Lind) and the hearts of "We Were Liars" viewers. Gat tries to straddle the line between the surreal summers he spends with the Sinclair clan and his own middle-class Indian family. Naturally, fans have fallen for the handsome star. While he certainly has the "it" factor, he is in no way an industry veteran.

As it turns out, Maheshwari was the only actor who came to the project with no professional acting experience. What's more, up until the audition process, he hadn't even read "We Were Liars." He was simply a college student who answered a casting call he found on Backstage. That decision turned him from an econ major into an overnight sensation. "I figured I had nothing to lose, so I submitted," he told Backstage. "Looking back, I think that mindset actually helped throughout the audition process. It freed me up, allowed me to relax, and connect more honestly with the material, without overthinking so much." Once he landed the role, Maheshwari got a crash course in his craft. "Being on set with such talented people felt like being in film school, but getting paid for it!" he said. "I learned so much just by watching everyone work. And because everyone was so approachable, I felt comfortable asking questions and soaking up as much as I could."

Ewan McGregor's oldest daughter, Clara McGregor, grew up to be stunning, and the same can be said about little sister Esther McGregor, who is the quirky Mirren Sinclair Sheffield on "We Were Liars." When it came to playing the artsy, if not slightly awkward Mirren, Esther told Elle that it wasn't too much of a stretch. "I tried to conquer the world the same way that she did at that age. I was poisoned with empathy, and I found it really hard to be deceiving, or to be untruthful and messy and not perfect," she said. 

Eagle-eyed fans might have recognized Esther from her work as a model for brands like Miu Miu and Dolce and Gabbana. More recently, she was in "Babygirl" as one of Nicole Kidman's two daughters, or as the young Martha in "The Room Next Door" where she worked with Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton. Then there was the time she joined her famous father in an episode of the Disney+ series "Obi-Wan Kenobi." But before you write her off as a nepo baby, know that she owns the title and understands how privileged she is. "I want to give the gratitude that I think deserves its place, in terms of being raised in a family in film," she told Elle. "It was the way that I was born, the world I was born into. So I feel very thankful that I'm able to do what I do, because I need it."

As the unflappable Penny Sinclair Eastman, Caitlin Fitzgerald plays the mother of Cadence, the central liar of "We Were Liars." On the surface, her character seems completely devoid of emotion, delivering stinging barbs to her sisters without getting one blonde hair out of place. "I think Penny has honed her weapons to a fine point," the actor said in an interview with "fresh pair of iis." "I think she always kind of leads with ruthlessness." However, she told People that the onscreen sibs are  "much nicer to each other in real life than we are on television." "I think we were able to be so unkind to each other [on camera] because it felt like a really safe space," she explained.

"We Were Liars" isn't Fitzgerald's first time acting in a show about a mind-numbingly wealthy family. What you never knew about the hit show "Succession" (or maybe you did) is that Fitzgerald played Tabitha, the girlfriend of Roman Roy, in the show's early episodes. Other notable roles have included appearances in "Masters of Sex,"  "It's Complicated," and "Gossip Girl." While making the fantasy film "The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then The Bigfoot in Massachusetts," she happened to meet the man who would become her husband.  Fitzgerald and fellow actor Aidan Turner married in a small, private ceremony in Italy during the pandemic, and have tried to lead a relatively private life with their son. 

Of the three Sinclair sisters, it's safe to say that the eldest, Carrie Sinclair Dennis, is the most rebellious. A notorious party girl, Carrie's backstory included drugs, alcohol, and trips to rehab. Played by Mamie Gummer, this "We Were Liars" character is a boho wannabe who will do whatever it takes to protect her oldest son from trouble, even at the expense of her own happiness. Mamie told Parade that she thought fans of the book would be satisfied with the on-screen adaptation. "I think that it will [live up to the book," she said. "It's funny because, for people who have read [it], they know how it ends. So it's less about teasing that out and just getting to know the characters in ways that they might be surprised by, and in new ways."

If Mamie Gummer looks familiar, it could be because of her role as Nancy Crozier from "The Good Wife" and its spin-off "The Good Fight." Or maybe it's because she looks a lot like her famous mom: Mamie is one of Meryl Streep and Don Gummer's kids, and it's safe to say that the acting gene has been passed down from Streep to Mamie. Down the road, we might even see Mamie's own two children get into the family biz, too. "I haven't [thought about getting them into acting], although I do see some of the symptoms," she told Parade. "Especially my son. He has a wild imagination, and he loves performing and putting on shows, and he loves attention." 

By all appearances, the youngest Sinclair sister, played by Candice King, has a perfect life. A closer look, however, reveals that Bess is a pressure cooker ready to explode. In an interview with People, King said, "[Bess is] always trying to kind of curate her life, and if she can curate it enough on the outside, maybe she'll find joy on the inside, which, according to therapists, is not the way to find joy." 

King played Caroline Forbes on "The Vampire Diaries" until it was canceled after eight seasons. On the supernatural series, she worked with executive producer Julie Plec, who would go on to become the co-creator of "We Were Liars." Plec said she knew King was perfect for the role of Bess, even though there was some concern that she wasn't the right age. "When I first started writing scenes with Bess in them, I said to [co-creator Carina Adly Mackenzie], 'I know she'll never get this part 'cause she's too young, but all I hear is Candice's voice in my head,'" Plec told Page Six. Much to everyone's delight, King nailed the audition. "It was really exciting to work out that way because it's really wonderful when you can work with people who you really admire and love, and know they're a good human," said Plec. "To be able to go on this adventure with Candice is really special."

If you've wondered what the cast of "iZombie" is doing today, you'll be glad to know that Rahul Kohli landed on the shores of Beechwood Island where he plays Ed Patil, boyfriend of Carrie Sinclair, and uncle of Gat Patil. Like Gat, Kohli's character is also an outsider who is subjected to the prejudices of Harris Sinclair (played by David Morse). In an interview with TV Fanatic, Patil described his character as a nice guy. "He's supposed to be there to be a source of light in the family," he said. "Ed's main goal is to protect and love Carrie. That comes with, obviously, what you know, the things he has to endure."

From "iZombie" to "The Haunting of Bly Manor" to "We Were Liars," Kohli has a knack for choosing projects that require a dash of levity and heartbreak, and he is skilled at delivering both in a way that has fans pulling for his character. "It's sort of becoming a job that people are hiring me for, which is, can you make me laugh and cry in the same scene?" he told Collider. "I think people are more willing to be upset and care about you if they like you, and you make them laugh. It's kind of easier that way to win them on both. If you can make someone laugh and if they can immediately feel like they know you or they like you, they'll feel for you down the road." 

As the patriarch of the family, the rich and powerful Harris Sinclair rules his world with an iron fist. The "We Were Liars" role is expertly played by seasoned veteran David Morse, who brings complexity and depth to what could have been a stereotypical rich guy character. In an interview with TV Fanatic, Morse explained that what drew him to Harris wasn't just the power, but also the love that he felt for his family. "Any pain that comes out of that love that he has, all I had to sort of do was give myself over to that," he said. "It was part of the fun of doing this role." 

In real life, Morse has a vast body of work that includes "St. Elsewhere," "True Detective," and "The Hurt Locker." He is a father of three (twin boys and one girl), and like Sinclair, he once lost his family home, not in a fire but in the devastating 1994 Northridge earthquake. The loss prompted him to move his wife and kids to Pennsylvania, where he enjoys a quiet, somewhat normal life. "I don't think I've ever qualified as a celebrity. Sure, people know who I am from the work I do, and depending on what I'm doing, there are different levels of recognition and excitement," he told Philadelphia magazine in a 2022 interview. "I've always had a pretty nice life here in Philadelphia."

As Harris Sinclair's wife Tipper, Wendy Crewson brings a mix of grace and grit to "We Were Liars." With her perfectly coiffed blonde hair and coastal couture, fans may have had a hard time placing the actor, but those in the know realized that Crewson has had a history of playing the woman behind the powerful man. Although she's not the real life mother of any of Harrison Ford's five kids, she did play his wife, and mother to his onscreen daughter, in the smash hit "Air Force One." She was also widely known for her work on the hit television series "24" where she was once again romantically involved with a president. "I'm always somebody's wife," she said in an interview with Backstage. "I've played wives to the best of them. Those parts are hard because you know what you're there for. You're there to support your leading man in every way you can."

In real life, the Canadian-born actor  was married to fellow actor Michael Murphy for 21 years. In 2009, they split up, and in 2014, Crewson publicly came out as gay. She told Global News that the scariest part of that decision was telling her children, both of whom were supportive. "I didn't care what anybody else thought," she said. "I was fine with coming out to everybody, but to your children...it's just a different thing. You're just afraid of rejection."

As the hunky Salty Dan on "We Were Liars," Tim Rozon has a hot and steamy affair with the youngest Sinclair sister, Bess. Readers were quick to point out that in the book, Bess does not actually cheat on her husband with Salty Dan. But hey, the illicit relationship sure makes for good television. 

Rozon is no stranger to playing a character who strikes up a romance with an upper-crust woman. "Schitt's Creek" fans will recall that he played Mutt, the temporary object of Alexis Rose's (played by Annie Murphy) affection, and behind the scenes, the two became fast friends. "I cannot say enough amazing things about Annie," Rozon said in an interview with BuzzFeed. "She's just one of the nicest and most humble people I've ever met." In addition to "Schitt's Creek," Rozon is probably best known for his portrayal of Doc Holliday on the "Wynonna Earp" series.  He also appeared on "SurrealEstate," where he was paired with fellow "Schitt's Creek" alum Sarah Levy. In fact, their prior connection was one of the big reasons he said he took on the role. "I found out Sarah Levy was Susan and then that was it," he told TV Goodness. "I wrapped 'Wynonna,' shaved my mustache, flew on Friday, landed in Newfoundland on Saturday, and started Luke Roman as soon as my two-week quarantine was over." Seems you can't take the man out of the creek.