Meet Marianly Tejada Star of Peacock's 'One of Us Is Lying'
Marianly was virtually photographed in Los Angeles by Alison Engstrom
Hi Marianly, it’s lovely to meet you! As a child, growing up in the Dominican Republican, would you say you were someone who always gravitated towards the arts?
Yes, I definitely gravitated towards the arts, from a very young age. I think I can attribute a lot to the fact that my mom is an interior designer. I remember how in my element I felt going to painting classes with her and just being around her while she worked. But my first interaction with performing was through ballet. I danced from when I was six to fourteen and dancing was my first passion. I think that’s where the seed to perform was planted.
Before you started acting, you modeled and were crowned Miss Dominican Republic. When did you realize that you wanted to pivot and focus on acting?
The Miss World Dominican Republic was such an unplanned and unexpected adventure. I view it is as one more role I’ve played on stage or screen. I was having a rough time living in New York for the first time and my mom passed along the information for the pageant as a way to try to bring me back home for a few months. I never thought anything would come of it, so I said “sure.” Fast forward to four months, I found myself in London representing the DR in the Miss World. I’m grateful for the experience because it provided me a platform to start acting which was the ultimate goal.
What has been the easiest and the hardest part to get acclimated with the TV/film industry?
The most enjoyable part is getting to play and collaborate with other artists. The rehearsals, table reads, that space between action and cut. The hardest is to be away from friends and family for long periods of time.
Congratulations on your role as Bronwyn, in the new Peacock series ‘One of Us is Lying’ based on Karen M. McManus’ bestselling novel. Can you talk a bit more about the plot, your character and what you loved about playing her?
The series is based off a beloved book written by Karen M. McManus. When five students walk into detention, but only four come out alive, you inevitably get a juicy murder mystery set up. The thing that I’m most excited about is how the audience gets to witness these five archetypes become more and more human and complex as their lives are turned upside down after the death of Simon's character. I love that Bronwyn is not apologetic about being the brainiac of the group and she also possesses quite a bit of sass. Her heart beats for the people she cares about, especially her sister Maeve. I was able to discover that in the source material and it gave me a great starting point to understand where she leads from.
What was your process of getting into character?
It has been such a great gift to have had Karen’s novel as a source to start developing Bronwyn. The book gave me insight into the character’s thoughts, which is already precious information, and helped me to get to know this human being. Then I did my best to take in everything that my fellow castmates brought to it. Everyone is perfectly cast and so good at what they do. We all get along so well and it’s very much an ensemble-oriented project.
Your character is very focused on her studies and her future. Can you relate with her coming of age experience?
For sure. There's a lot of the pressure to be excellent that comes from her parents, who are immigrants and have worked so hard to earn their success. And then there’s a part of her who needs to keep up this good-girl persona that she and the people around her have co-created. I can certainly relate to how much courage it takes to break out of the roles we’re assigned in society.
The series was filmed in New Zealand. That must have been incredible! Did you get to explore at all?
It was so lovely. We felt like we were in a safe haven because there was virtually no covid in the country. We quarantined upon arrival and then once we were out you didn’t have to wear masks and most places and things were running just as they were before the pandemic. I was very grateful to be working at the time, especially in such a beautiful place. I didn’t get to explore much because the shooting schedule was intense, but the most memorable thing will always be the people of New Zealand.
Do you have any fun or memorable behind the scenes moments that you can share?
All moments with this cast and crew are epic. But when we watched the teaser of the show for the first time is a top one. Anna, Chib, Cooper and I watched it together. It was the biggest thrill to see this world we’d been working on for almost two years come to life.
What has kept you grounded and centered during the pandemic?
Being around my loved ones and nature.
I’m all about manifesting, is there a role, collaborator or genre you would love to see come to fruition in the future?
Love this question. There’s a lot of creatives I’d love to work with like Tanya Saracho, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Sam Levinson, and Christopher Nolan. Also, A24 and Plan B have produced a lot of films that I love and I’m not going to lie, a superhero would be so much fun to play.
Quick Questions:
One country or city you want to visit:
Paris.
Favorite book:
Spirit animal:
Not an animal, but a tree.
Current life motto:
‘Be still, let God.’