Lately, Troian Bellisario has been revisiting Arcade Fire, Regina Spektor, and alt-J, her favorite artists from the early 2010s — and the era in which she starred in the cult-classic teen-mystery drama Pretty Little Liars. “I’m not saying it’s entirely the election, but I do think we are looking toward cultural optimism,” she tells the Cut from her home in Los Angeles. “It’s weird to say that the 2010s were a simpler time.” In the eight years since the Liars uncovered “A” once and for all, Bellisario became a mother to two daughters and landed directing gigs (Good Trouble, Ad Lucem).
The actress now returns to a starring role on On Call, a heart-pumping police drama with a cinéma-vérité style that combines footage from body cameras, cell phones, and dash cams. “They would just strap a GoPro to us,” Bellisario explains. She plays Traci Harmon, an ultraserious veteran officer who recently lost her trainee to gun violence. “They were not afraid to leave her armor on,” she says. “She’s doing her job, and that’s more important than her likability.” Traci’s maternal mentor instincts kick in during tense sequences with her new trainee, Alex Diaz (played by Brandon Larracuente), who has a habit of running into dangerous situations. Traci feels light years away from Spencer on Pretty Little Liars, but the role isn’t a complete departure when you remember everything that Spencer endured over 160 episodes.
Below, Bellisario lets us in on her “nervous breakdown” pre-filming ritual, her pasta-wives club, and names the haunting French science-fiction book she couldn’t put down.
Spencer was always the toughest one on Pretty Little Liars. What convinced you to take on another tough character like Traci?
When I got this audition, I was like, “Oh, I will never play this character, they would never cast me as this.” Which is funny, because that’s exactly what I thought about Pretty Little Liars originally. Traci wasn’t antithetical to anything that I had played but generally, I’ve played younger. And here was somebody who is older than me, a 12-year veteran in her field who is a maternal character. There were sides of me that I felt I got to represent through her.
Okay, I have to ask: Did you watch the Pretty Little Liars reboot on Max?
I watched The Perfectionists but I only got to see trailers for the reboot. I already knew Bailee Madison, but I got to meet all the women and it was a very surreal moment for me.
Maybe there could be a massive reunion movie with both casts some day …
That’d be so fun. Could you imagine that kaleidoscope of worlds? I would hope that we would get to be a little bit more in the Max world. I will say, when that show first came out … I know I’m not the only one of the girls, the PLLs, who was like, “Man, I wish we could have done it with Max behind us.” Freeform was great, but it had to be done in a certain way. We couldn’t show blood. I was really excited when they were getting to tell that story through the lens of edgier opportunities.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed. Now for our Taste Test: Where do you get your best culture recommendations from?
I would say the Cut would be among them. I listen to the New York Times podcasts and basically everything that they put forward to me. My husband is also so good at watching things and knowing what I should be engaging in. It sounds so “trad wife,” but what I mean by that is I get so … in the girls’ world. The songs that are on repeat on my car have screwed up my algorithm because it’s just The Descendants and Moana. So he sends me something like, “Hey, your favorite band just dropped a new album.” And I had no idea.
Which celebrities would you invite to a dinner party (dead or alive)?
Patti Smith. Thank goodness she’s alive. She can actually maybe read this and follow up on my invitation. The coolest woman on the planet. Cate Blanchett, because she’s also an icon of mine. You know how they say never meet your heroes? It’s okay to meet some of your heroes, because they turn out to be just as amazing as you hoped they would be. She was endlessly cool when I had the chance to work with her. Being in her presence elevates everybody around her.
What’s the last meal you cooked for dinner?
Last night, two of my best friends and I had our pasta-wives night. They graciously come to me, because I have two young kids, and we cook dinner together. We had this amazing burrata salad. I roasted salmon and carrots, I made tortellini for the girls, and I found a cacio e pepe pizza that I could throw in the oven. We have matching pasta wives bracelets. We’ve proposed to each other and asked for a lifetime of pasta.
I’m obsessed with that. What is your pre-filming ritual?
A general nervous breakdown. It feels weird to say that, but it is my ritual. I’ll be working slowly on something, watching films, reading books, working on the lines, maybe talking with my acting coach, then two days before I shut myself in a closet and read the script an unnecessary amount of times and do my last cram session so that I satisfy that part of me that is vibrating with: Oh my god, I have to go do a job. Maybe don’t follow in my footsteps.
What’s your comfort rewatch?
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Virgin Suicides, The Godfather, and Fleabag. I have probably watched Fleabag more times than I can count.
What is something you’ll never, ever watch no matter what?
I mean, low-hanging fruit is The Human Centipede. Never gonna watch it, never need to. Every step of the way people had to think to make that movie. Like you’re writing the script of Human Centipede, you’re casting Human Centipede, you’re doing props for Human Centipede. Then there’s also the movies about children in peril. I’ll leave it at that.
What’s your favorite game to play?
We have a wonderful game night in which I was introduced to running charades. If you have a group of people, it’s one of the greatest games that you can play. I love Mafia because I love being God. I love orchestrating that game, so that’s a real joy. The game-night crew is also a bunch of actors so we absolutely love lying to each other — it’s very performance-oriented.
Name a book you couldn’t put down.
There’s this crazy 1970s French science-fiction book called I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman. I genuinely don’t even know if I enjoyed it. It’s just one of those books that changes your physical state.
What’s the best and worst advice you’ve ever received?
Fake it till you make it. Though you might have massive insecurity, you gotta show up and you gotta do the job. Something really intense is going on in your personal life, and you have to show up and do the interview or go out to dinner and be there for other people. There’s an element that is terrible because it’s like, lie and hide the way you feel. But you get to be of service to something that is other than yourself. So in a way it is the best and worst advice.
What do you listen to in the car, other than the Moana soundtrack?
I’m obsessed with podcasts. My go-to is always The Daily and since my husband has his podcast called Sidebar with Sarah Rafferty, I listen to that. I can listen to that with my girls. They’re like, put on the papa podcast!
Favorite piece of art you own?
We have the first charcoal painting that I ever bought, then the first painting that Patrick ever bought in our living room. Mine is a charcoal sketch of a woman who lives in Venice, and Patrick’s is of a man in a very vivid bright street corner in Toronto. They sort of represent us both and very much are not alike in many ways, but they exist in harmony.
What show is your husband not allowed to watch without you?
We don’t watch Last Week Tonight with John Oliver without each other, that’s our Sunday-night ritual. I also don’t watch reality TV, but I do watch Alone, the Canadian survival show. I don’t allow him to watch that without me, we call it our “Alone time.”
Worst thing to do at a dinner party?
Not helping with cleanup. You’ve given me this great gift by having a dinner party, and I want to be part of helping you leave your house in a better way.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.