‘Based on a True Story’ Star Shares How ‘The Shining’ Influenced His Character –’There Are Clearly a Lot of Fantasies’ [Exclusive]

The endless revolving door of fantasies in Peacock‘s Based on a True Story leaves some viewers to wonder: Are some of the characters just fantasies simmering inside Ava and Nathan Bartelett’s (Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina) minds?

Alex Alomar Akpobome, who played Ryan, the rich young house hunter said creator Craig Rosenberg flirted with the notion of weaving imaginary characters into the series, similar to how The Shining leveraged ghosts from the past to blur the lines of reality in the story.

“So there’s that scene where Jack’s at the bar and he’s talking to this bartender, and it’s kind of imaginary,” Akpobome told Showbiz Cheat Sheet, referring to murderer/bartender “Lloyd” in The Shining.

“And it was one of the influences behind the character. Because there are scenes with only me and her,” he mused, referring to Cuoco’s character. “So technically he could not be real. But then she does talk to her husband [about the buyer]. So, I think my character does exist. [But] I feel like there are clearly a lot of fantasies within the way in which he’s shown.”

Was Ryan real in ‘Based on a True Story’?

Ava’s wild romp with Ryan at the true crime convention is one example of how Rosenberg made viewers question if Ryan was real.

Akpobome said the scene was designed to make viewers question what they are watching. “So, when she sees him at the Crime-Con, was that a real interaction? Was that pure fantasy? So there’s a lot of that,” he said.

“But my belief is, yes, I was playing a real person,” he insisted. “There were a few of the fantasy sequences I tried to be a little bit more boyish and charming. And if you notice, when I’m actually talking to her and when she’s showing me houses, I’m a little bit more aloof.”

But Ryan is mainly seen in the slew of fantasy sequences and Akpobome described what it was like to film those steamy scenes. Cuoco and the producers opted for a body double for those scenes since she was pregnant.

“So we obviously would swap but that was weird, too,” he recalled of the sex scenes. “Because then the body double had like a heavy beach ball full of sand or something. And there was makeup all over that. Then she had boobs made out of makeup, too. So the whole process was just very odd. You know, describing my day at work to my mom was an interesting experience.”

Alex Alomar Akpobome said Kaley Cuoco is a ‘comedic genius’

He also said working with Cuoco was a career highlight. “Kaley is, and I don’t use this term lightly, a comedic genius,” he said.

Cuoco essentially improvised a good portion of the cringeworthy scene she shared with Akpobome. Ava finally tells Ryan that she knows they have sexual chemistry and that he’s probably hot for her. But he looks confused and says he just thought she’d be a good realtor.

“She’d go, ‘We’ve been fantasizing about each other and I’m really hot and you’re really hot …’ This wasn’t even in the script,” he recalled.

“But she has that ability to heighten your game where you’re kind of hearing it all for the first time, so these were genuine responses,” he said. “So that was so fun because it’s really rare that you get to work with someone whose brain works that quickly. And her comedic chops are so sharp because of her background, it was just playing tennis with a good tennis player. Maybe Andre Agassi.”

Or Roger Federer.

Based on a True Story Season 1 is currently streaming on Peacock.