Jackson White talks about portraying a narcissist

A phone call can truly change your life, especially when it comes from Stephen DeMarco… on your wedding day. This lesson was learned in Hulu's second season finale Tell me lies.

Jackson White makes no excuses for the narcissist he portrays in the twisted, sexy and gripping drama series. However, he explains the sadistic nature of his character Stephen, his penchant for dastardly acts and how he became so ruthless.

In an interview shortly before the finale aired, I asked White who Stephen wanted to eliminate at Evan and Bree's wedding. He paused and said, “Everyone. He hurts the people closest to him. For one reason or another, he didn’t shake that group of people, and they didn’t shake him.”

If you haven't seen the Season 2 finale yet, stop reading now as this article contains spoilers. In the very final moments of the episode, a worried Lucy (Grace Van Patten) nervously surveys the wedding guests in search of a conspicuously absent Stephen, while Bree (Cat Missal) and Evan (Branden Cook) prepare to walk down the aisle.

Her nerves are shattered when she realizes that Stephen is nowhere to be found. Diana (Alicia Crowder) says it's never good when Stephen disappears. Lucy has every reason to be worried. His long-planned revenge is about to unfold when he sends Bree a voice message just as she's about to say, “I do.”

As she hears the news, Bree, wide-eyed, learns that it is Lucy that her future husband had that one-night stand with years ago. Lucy walks up to her just as she hears the news, and the look in Bree's eyes says it all.

The series creator, Meaghan Oppenheimer, is “The Queen of the Cliffhanger.” She leaves fans in that awkward moment as an unsuspecting Lucy approaches Bree. The finale ends with Bree looking at Lucy and we have no idea what happens next. If looks could kill…

We knew this would be a wedding for the books because in this toxic group of friends, nothing goes as expected, rather things go as planned (usually by Stephen). The show is a warning against falling in love with a narcissist.

In a joint interview ahead of the eight-episode season two premiere on September 4, White and Van Patten, who are happily dating in real life, confirmed that they are just as excited as fans to find out what happens in the moments that follow. Lucy must feel something when she looks at Bree.

“We have no idea. “I can only imagine,” Van Patten said at the time, adding, “I hope it's a fight. I hope Lucy gets her head stuck in a wedding cake.”

Van Patten hinted at the time that someone would have the upper hand by the finale, and White ended the interview with a Stephen-like grin, saying: “They both hold the detonator, as Meaghan would put it.”

In that first interview, White explained that in order to get into the role, he had to find ways to empathize with Stephen. “I have to understand where he’s coming from. He had a hard time and he's doing his best. “Besides, he’s got a few things under control up here,” he added, pointing to his head. “He’s a shark. He just keeps swimming.”

White spoke to me again to explain the wild finale and Stephen's devious nature. When asked what it was like filming such intense scenes with Van Patten, he confirmed that their relationship was great. “We are very supportive and loving and it helps to have freedom at work.”

The sex between Stephen and Lucy on the wedding weekend is so passionate and when asked if Stephen loves her, White says he does and that for him it's about “lust, chemistry and memory”.

“History is a big part of it. I think he loves her in his capacity, but he doesn't have a good way to deal with it. I think that love means action and presence and being there. He has never shown such love in their entire time together. So I don't know if it's real love, but he definitely has strong feelings for her and he always has, and I think that's what he can't shake. He’s very attracted to her.”

This points to the fine line between love and hate. This finale is a long-sown seed of anger. The night Lucy had sex with Evan is the night Stephen left the Hawaiian party with Diana, but still he can't let go of this feeling of betrayal. He screws up Bree, Evan, and Lucy by sending this voicemail on the worst day and moment possible.

According to White, Stephen has his reasons. Although Stephen can do whatever he wants to people, the people around him won't get away with reacting to those things. “It’s a victim mentality. He victimized himself and this is his modus operandi. He thinks the world is out to get him and deals with it in a manipulative way. His good friend stabbed him and he takes pleasure in holding on to it. The fact that he waited years to regurgitate this bomb is sociopathic, but also very fitting to who he is and what he's doing, where he comes from, how he acts and how he feels in the world.”

When Evan initially confessed, he asked Stephen if he would ruin his life, and Stephen said, “Not today.” As for his character's vindictive behavior, White acknowledges how matter-of-fact Stephen is, pointing out that he always stays calm. “He never raises his voice. He never responds. He swallows it and then messes with you. For me this means that he absorbs his trauma and passes it on. He can also be honest. When he says, 'Not today,' he's being honest.”

White describes Stephen as a narcissist with sociopathic tendencies. When asked if he had to do a lot of research about narcissism when starting this role, White said he knew about the personality disorder beforehand. “People can be on a spectrum and I think he uses questionable acts of torture.”

Although he doesn't personally understand Stephen's narcissistic nature, White admits that he struggles with anxiety. Unlike Stephen, he has learned to deal with things that upset him. “I’ll take care of myself.”

He's so convincing in the role that you can't imagine anyone other than Stephen. When he first read for the role, White said he saw something in the character that others might have missed: humor. “The things he says are so obviously thoughtless and calculated at the same time. He's bone dry. You don't know if he's making fun of you or trying to help you. You don't know what's going on. I probably got the role because I understood he was funny.”

As for the intense cliffhanger, White likes to leave the viewer in that awkward moment. “It's exciting not knowing what's next. I hope we get to see where these characters end up.”

Will Lucy stick her head in a wedding cake? Fans can only imagine what debauchery the third season will bring.

Stream all episodes of Tell Me Lies on Hulu now.