Playing a man who gets entangled in a murder investigation because his wife (Kaley Cuoco) is obsessed with true crime, “Based on a True Story” kind of hits close to home for Chris Messina. When he was a kid, he and a friend actually may have actually discovered a crime scene.
“I grew up in Northport, Long Island,” Messina told Variety at the Peacock series’ premiere Thursday at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood. “I grew up on Makamah Road, about a block from the Long Island Sound. A buddy and I walked to the Sound and – it was very ‘Stand By Me’ – we found a hand that washed up on the beach.”
They immediately called the cops. “We had to report it,” Messina recalled. “I was pretending to be River Phoenix in ‘Stand By Me.’”
Related Stories
VIP+What Film Fund From AI Startup Runway Means for Content’s Future
Santa Barbara International Film Festival Plans New Film Center at Former Fiesta Five Location - Film News in Brief
Directed by Rob Reiner, “Stand By Me” starred Phoenix, Jerry O’Connell, Corey Feldman and Will Wheaton as a group of boys in 1959 Oregon who try to find the dead body of a missing boy.
Popular on Variety
In “Based on a True Story,” not only do Cuoco and Messina’s characters get wrapped up in the crime investigation — so does their hot plumber (Tom Bateman).
“What’s the closest I’ve ever been to a crime?” Bateman said. “I guess crimes against fashion? I feel like I’m pretty clean.”
Cuoco said the closest she got to a crime scene was “Vanderpump Rules” #Scandavol. Find out what she said about that here.
“Based on a True Story” was created by Craig Rosenberg (“The Boys”) and is executive produced by director Alexander Buono. The cast also includes Priscilla Quintana, Liana Liberato, Claire Holt, Aaron Staton, Aisha Alfa, Alex Alomar-Akpobome, Belmont Cameli, Brandon Keener, Ever Carradine, Jessica St. Clair, June Diane Raphael, Lizze Broadway, Miles Messenden, Sebastian Quinn and Yvonne Senate Jones.
Read More About:
Jump to CommentsMore from Variety
‘Menendez Brothers’ Netflix Doc Reveals Erik’s Drawings of His Abuse and Lyle Saying ‘I Would Much Rather Lose the Murder Trial Than Talk About Our Past’
Hollywood’s Next Superhero: Purpose-Led Branding
‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ Stars Taylor and Mayci on Letting Jen Affleck ‘Learn the Hard Way’ About Her Husband Zac and Whitney’s MomTok Status: ‘She’s Not Really Close With Anyone’
Colin Farrell Wore a Penis Prosthetic for ‘The Penguin’ Premiere’s Torture Scene: ‘They Were Kind Enough to Make Oz Anatomically Correct’
Why the Video Game Industry Can’t Shake Its Struggles
Anna Sawai on Her ‘Surreal’ Emmy Win for ‘Shogun,’ Playing Heartbreak on ‘Pachinko’ — and Whether She’d Ever Sing On Screen
Most Popular
Inside the 'Joker: Folie à Deux' Debacle: Todd Phillips ‘Wanted Nothing to Do’ With DC on the $200 Million Misfire
‘Kaos’ Canceled After One Season at Netflix
‘Menendez Brothers’ Netflix Doc Reveals Erik’s Drawings of His Abuse and Lyle Saying ‘I Would Much Rather Lose the Murder Trial Than Talk About Our…
Kathy Bates Won an Oscar and Her Mom Told Her: ‘You Didn't Discover the Cure for Cancer,’ So ‘I Don't Know What All the Excitement Is About…
Saoirse Ronan Says Losing Luna Lovegood Role in ‘Harry Potter’ Has ‘Stayed With Me Over the Years’: ‘I Was Too Young’ and ‘Knew I Wasn't Going to Get…
‘Joker 2’ Director Says Arthur Fleck Was Never Joker: ‘He's an Unwitting Icon’ and Joker Is ‘This Idea That Gotham People Put on Him…
‘Joker 2’ Axed Scene of Lady Gaga’s Lee Kissing a Woman at the Courthouse Because ‘It Had Dialogue in It’ and ‘Got in the Way’ of a Music…
Andrew Garfield Says Sex Scene With Florence Pugh in ‘We Live in Time’ Went a ‘Little Bit Further’ Than Intended: ‘We Never Heard Cut…
‘Skyfall’ Director Sam Mendes Says James Bond Studio Prefers Filmmakers ‘Who Are More Controllable’: ‘I Would Doubt’ I’d…
Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried to Star in ‘The Housemaid’ Adaptation From Director Paul Feig, Lionsgate
Must Read
- Film
COVER | Sebastian Stan Tells All: Becoming Donald Trump and Starring in 2024’s Most Controversial Movie
By Andrew Wallenstein 3 weeks
- TV
Menendez Family Slams Netflix’s ‘Monsters’ as ‘Grotesque’ and ‘Riddled With Mistruths’: ‘The Character Assassination of Erik and Lyke Is Repulsive…
- TV
‘Yellowstone’ Season 5 Part 2 to Air on CBS After Paramount Network Debut
- TV
50 Cent Sets Diddy Abuse Allegations Docuseries at Netflix: ‘It’s a Complex Narrative Spanning Decades’ (EXCLUSIVE)
- Shopping
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Sets Digital and Blu-ray/DVD Release Dates
Sign Up for Variety Newsletters
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.Variety Confidential
ncG1vNJzZmiukae2psDYZ5qopV9nfXN%2FjqyanqaVZLumw9JomZqrlZl6sLqMmmStqqWaerTAzquwZpuYp7a0ecyeqqyhnpZ6tb7UnmScqpmism68xJqaqJubYn5zf5RvamtqYml8