The Lying Game: Alexandra Chando Discusses Her Double Role

I’m not quite sure what the difference is between The Lying Game and Ringer, with Sarah Michelle Gellar. Identical twins meet and switch lives, then find out some hidden dirty little secrets in the twin’s life. I’m going to reserve my opinion until I’ve seen both, but in the mean time, I had a chance to get to know a bit more about “The Lying Game” and its star, Alexandra Chando, in a recent interview. By the end of the hour, I was more then ever eager for this show to premiere.

Reason number one has to be that “The Lying Game” is based on a book written by Pretty Little Liars author, Sara Shepherd. Well, I’m a huge PLL fan, so this is a no-brainer for me. Alexandra hooked me again when she said,”Our show really is a mystery. It’s a little bit dark. There is definitely a lot of mystery to it, but at the same time, it has a lot of heart. It touches on romance and love triangles and relationships between parents and their teenagers.” I love mysteries!

Chando has a huge following from her days as Maddie on “As the World Turns” and there will be many who will tune in to see how she has grown. They may be in for a pleasant surprise, as Chando shows her acting chops in a dual role. She plays both Sutton Mercer and Emma Becker who are twins separated at birth for reasons unknown. Although it’s been a great experience playing a dual role, Chando says it wasn’t always easy. “I have 15-hour work days and I’m working an awful lot compared to what I would be working if I was just playing one character.” Alexandra finds it somewhat challenging to keep the two characters separate in her head as well. “There are moments where a little bit of Sutton will creep into Emma and vice versa. It’s definitely been a challenge.”

Alexandra describes her two characters on “The Lying Game”, and they are as different in personality as they are alike in looks. “Sutton Mercer is the twin sister that was adopted into a very wealthy family. She kind of grew up in a privileged lifestyle. She is kind of used to getting things handed to her; having things come a lot easier for her; takes a lot for granted. I wouldn’t consider her a mean girl by any sense of the word. I think she is just very self-absorbed and knows what she wants and knows how to get it and will kind of do anything that she can to do that.”

“Emma Becker, who is the twin that was not adopted and was brought up in the foster care system, she is just a kind-hearted, really selfless person; just really longs to have that family connection that she has been missing for all those years and just truly warm-hearted and doesn’t take anything for granted.”

Alexandra feels that “The Lying Game” will appeal to a lot of her soap fans because of the mystery and intrigue involved in the storyines. However, there is enough for everyone in this show to keep viewers coming back each week. “That they’re going to love it!” says Chando. “I honestly wholeheartedly am so proud of it and so excited for everyone to see it. I really truly think that they are just going to love
it and find it to be a really great story.”

The Lying Game premieres Monday, August 15, at 9/8 central, on ABC Family. Also, follow the show on Twitter and Facebook.