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Kaley Cuoco Reveals Her Favorite Co-Star of All Time: “We Have a Blast” (EXCLUSIVE)
The cast of Peacock’s comedic thriller are sharing secrets they learned about each other while filming Based on a True Story.
The fun doesn’t stop for Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina when the director yells cut, that’s for sure.
In Based on a True Story Season 2, newborn parents Ava (Cuoco) and Nathan (Messina) find themselves even more intertwined with Matt Pierce (Tom Bateman), who they learned was the West Side Ripper, after he proposes to Ava’s sister Tory (Liana Liberato). The cast dived into the even more "chaotic" Season 2 of Based on a True Story with NBC Insider ahead of the premiere on Peacock, revealing behind-the-scenes details and describing their close-knit connections.
Who is Kaley Cuoco's favorite costar?
Both Messina and Cuoco have had their fair share of costars over the course of their careers — after combing through Messina’s credits, it might be easier to name actors he hasn’t worked with. He’s starred in The Mindy Project, Air, and The Newsroom, to name a few.
Cuoco starred on 8 Simple Rules with John Ritter and Katey Sagal as well as The Big Bang Theory with the ensemble cast, including Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, and Melissa Rauch.
RELATED: "Dark Humor," "Pulpy Action" — Everything to Know About Based on a True Story Season 2
“I have been so lucky to do shows and projects where I have really loved the people that I’ve worked with,” Cuoco said, but then turned to Messina and revealed: “I mean, my favorite co-star I’ve ever had. Really. You really are.”
“That’s very sweet,” Messina responded, adding he feels the same.
“She’s a good person. She’s the lead of the show. It’s a domino effect so it trickles down to the cast, the crew, everybody you know? It’s contagious…you want that when you’re waking up at 5 in the morning and going to work. You want that coming at you.”
Based on a True Story share cast secrets and on set dynamics
Although Messina’s character is the former tennis player still chasing his glory days, Bateman revealed Cuoco is a true tennis star in real life.
“She’s also an incredible tennis player,” Bateman told NBC Insider. “Like, she is insanely good. Like, would’ve gone pro good and there’s a few scenes on that take place on the tennis court.”
Messina and Cuoco joked they’re going to reshoot the first two seasons with their characters’ careers flipped.
“We were, in fact, shooting this season, we were like, why didn’t they make her the tennis player?” Messina said.
It’s not the only fun secret amongst the actors.
“Chris is an amazing dancer,” Bateman revealed. “The guy can dance. He can move.”
Messina, in turn, described Bateman as a great cook.
For Liberato, she learned Cuoco isn’t typically a fan of rehearsal.
“You walk on set and that camera starts rolling and I think that… makes a lot of sense because Kaley’s such an on-the-fly actor,” Liberato said. “She is so instinctual and so dialed in to her character and what she brings to it.”
Liberato finds going up to bat with Cuoco on set to be exciting as an actor.
“I used to say in Season 1, I was like, ‘I feel like a Prius merging into a NASCAR lane,” Liberato said.
At one point, Bateman thought to himself they'd never be able to get through filming because of how much fun they have together: "We were just being stupid and goofy," he recalled warmly.
"There's this sort of melting pot of magic that happens when you're all coming at it from your point of view and you're throwing in your contributions and keeping an open to mind," Bateman said. "I never really knew what was gonna happen, but stepping into it was super fun...improvise with each other and follow instincts and have a say that it felt incredibly freeing and fun and like were all singing from the same hymn sheet."
Watch Season 2 of Based on a True Story, streaming now on Peacock.
