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If you’re caught up on Peacock’s Apples Never Fall, and even if you’re not, you’ll be glad to know that the real-life dynamics between the stars are just as vibrant and comedic as the Delaney family. The gripping drama re-tells Liane Moriarty’s hit novel with a talented cast including Annette Bening, Sam Neill, Alison Brie, Jake Lacy, Conor Merrigan-Turner and many more.
When retired tennis coach Joy Delaney (Bening) goes missing after befriending a mysterious stranger with a tragic backstory, played by Georgia Flood, it is up to her husband (Neill) and four adult children (Brie, Lacey, Merrigan-Turner and Essie Randles) to put the pieces together — with a few family tiffs, emotional breakdowns, tennis face-offs and some funny moments along the way.
Any adult with siblings knows how it feels to regress back into those petty sibling rivalries when you’re around your family and the cast of Apples Never Fall nail it onscreen and, according to Lacy and Merrigan-Turner, off. We caught up with the onscreen brothers who told us that their characters’ tennis skills have continued long after filming ended.
“We played on the weekend actually,” Lacy joked, telling us that he and Merrigan-Turner made their way on to their hotel rooftop to try out the court there, and we caught by co-star Brie. “Allie, sometimes, would take a video and then zoom in and send it and be like, ‘Oh, I see someone’s playing tennis.'”
Lacy plays Troy Delaney, the wealthy oldest sibling who is a venture capitalist navigating a messy divorce while continuing a clandestine relationship. He is, like all his siblings, still vying for his parents’ approval in some way. He most often clashes with Merrigan-Turner’s character, Logan, who is the second youngest of the kids and, in some ways, the favorite — even if swapping his almost-professional tennis career for a job at the local marina might have made him fall out of his dad’s favor a little.
When we talked to Lacy and Merrigan-Turner’s co-stars, Alison Brie and Essie Randles, the onscreen Delaney sisters told us that the brothers definitely stay true to their characters in real-life. “Jake and I are vying for oldest sibling,” Brie said, “And Conor’s floating right through in the middle.” Merrigan-Turner proudly accepts the label.
Tying the whole family together, and the incredible cast, is Annette Bening whose role in the show follows her Oscar-nominated performance in Nyad. And while the characters couldn’t be more different, Bening’s performance in Apples Never Fall stands out just as strong. Her co-stars clearly agree.
Lacy told us: “I’m in awe of her in many, many ways, personally [and] professionally. But the fact that she has had such a varied and wonderful career, and such a wonderful life,” he continued. “It’s a public life. But she’s very private.”
Lacy, who you may know for his brilliant performance in The White Lotus, had equally high praise for Sam Neill, the New Zealand native known for his roles in the Jurassic Park franchise.
“Sam is so gruff, and layered and distant and hurt and mean on the show,” Lacy says of Neill’s work as Stan Delaney, the emotionally stunted husband of Bening’s character. “In real life, offset, [he’s] generous and thoughtful.” Lacy adds that Neill was welcoming, encouraging him to come stay at his home in Sydney. “They both just want to bring people in,” Lacey says.
Before you go, click here to see which books you should read based on your last binge-watch.
