How can we tell the distinction between Emma and Sutton?  Do you deliberately make yourself talk a little bit differently, as well as dress a little bit differently, in terms of the double part?
Alexandra Chando:  Absolutely.  I think the hair and makeup is definitely a key element, as well as the wardrobe.  When we started, I sat down with our hair and makeup ladies and wardrobe and we kind of planned it out how we were going to do each character; who gets what makeup; who wears their hair differently and which way.  But I also think on top of that Sutton talks a little bit differently.  It’s not necessarily an accent thing.  She talks just a little bit differently as far as she always has a little bit of a drawl, in a way.  She kind of grew up in that very privileged way, so she talks in that kind of manner.  Her posture is different.  She’s definitely a little bit more polished. 

Do you have a preference for one of these characters over the other? 
Alexandra Chando:  I love both of them.  I think both of them are very interesting, very fun to play.  Emma is a little bit easier for me to play.  I can relate to her really well, but Sutton is interesting because she’s a little bit more work.  I really have to consider what she says, how she says it, and she’s got some things going on as far as the reason she is the way she is.  It’s certainly a little bit more interesting to try and work out Sutton’s characteristics, I think.

Did you read the novels beforehand?
Alexandra Chando:  Actually, when we shot the pilot, which was in December, the first novel wasn’t out yet, so we didn’t get to read it until after the pilot was done being shot.  But I did read the first one.  I haven’t had a chance to read the second one yet, but I did read the first one and it was so helpful.  It really helped paint the picture of who Emma was and where she came from and her upbringing and what she has kind of dealt with in the past.

Do you think it differs a lot, like the show versus the novel and how they play what is called the lying game in the novel?
Alexandra Chando:  The show does differ from the book.  It’s a mystery and in order to keep fans intrigued and keep a television series going, we need to maintain that element of mystery.  If we were to just follow the book directly then there would be no mystery involved.  We did depart a little bit from the book, but it’s based on the characters and the lying games are mentioned. 

Don’t miss the world premiere of The Lying Game TONIGHT at 9/8c!