Warning: This story contains spoilers from the Peacock’s Season 2 finale Based on a true story.
Sarah Paxton’s connection to her Based on a true story Costar, Kaley Cuoco, Runs Deep!
Years before they starred together on the second season of Peacock’s dark comedy, Paxton, 36, tells PEOPLE that she came to Cuoc’s 16th birthday party on a whim.
“I actually happened to be at Kaley’s 16th birthday party when I was 14,” she recalls in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE. “I think I was the plus one of one of her friends. And that was so long ago…she was so nice and cool back then.”
Although their encounter was fleeting, Paxton says Cuoco, 39, immediately remembered her when they met again Based on a true story.
“When I first met her [on set]it was like, ‘Where are we?’ She is [remember],” says Paxton. “Plus, I’ve always rooted for her because I personally knew she was so cool and so sweet, but she’s always been so talented and so fun…always.”
“So I’ve always been rooting for her from afar,” she adds.
Kaley Cuoco as Ava (left) Chris Messina as Nathan and Sara Paxton as Paige (right) in ‘Based on a True Story’.
Colleen Hayes/PEACOCK
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IN Based on a true storyPaxton took over the role of Paige for season 2. In the season 2 finale, Paige held Ava Bartlett (Cuoco) and her husband Nathan Bartlett (Chris Messina) hostage after a bomb revealed that Paige was a copycat killer, seeking revenge for her sister’s murder Chloe.
During the second season, Ava tried to identify who the Impersonator was after the Westside Ripper and Ava’s new brother-in-law, Matt (Tom Bateman), swore he was done with the killing.
In the season finale, Paige held Ava and Nathan captive while playing serial killer trivia with them, threatening them that they would only survive if they did well. Eventually, Ava and Nathan managed to escape the room after distracting Paige by getting her to open up about Chloe.
Since joining the show in season two, Paxton admits she was a little apprehensive — but she’s felt nothing but acceptance from Cuoco, Messina, 50, and Bateman, 35.
“They were so warm and welcoming. Everyone on the team. When you go into season 2 … it’s nerve-wracking because it’s like starting high school or your sophomore year or something and everyone already knows everyone and you’re like the new kid, and you’re kind of nervous like, ‘Where am I going to sit at lunch?'” she explains. “But it all went away once I turned up because everyone was so nice and warm and welcoming.”
“Kaley and Chris have amazing chemistry on screen, but really it’s because they’re such good friends off screen. They really are, and they joke around and they joke around and they’re just so fired up. And they really made a point of bringing me in and making me feel comfortable “, he adds about his colleagues. “And that’s so nice of them.”
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Chris Messina as Nathan (left) and Kaley Cuoco as Ava in ‘Based on a True Story’.
Colleen Hayes/PEACOCK
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Paxton even recalls wanting to join in on their jokes and playful banter on set, but couldn’t because she had to stay in character.
“The thing I remember most about filming is that I wish I could joke with them too, but it’s like I’m … torturing them and I have to keep a certain level of emotion,” she says. “I kind of have to stay in a certain place because if I just suddenly say, ‘Okay, whatever,’ … I can’t do it completely. So there were so many times where I would just say, ‘I want a joke, I want to laugh !”
“But it was such a good time anyway,” she adds. “When you come to work on something that you really admire someone for, it’s also nerve-racking because you’re like, ‘Okay, play it cool. You have to act like you don’t know them.’ And when you work with someone very famous, it’s not that you expect them to be mean, but I kind of learned from previous experiences that I don’t expect anything, go in and do your job right away, the barrier is broken, we’re just cool people, you don’t have to worry about it.”
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As for returning to the show for a third season, Paxton says she’s “in the dark as is the audience,” but would love to step into Paige’s shoes again.
“I haven’t heard anything,” she says. “But obviously I’m so hopeful that Paige will come back — to work with everyone again, but also because the character is so much fun. I have a bunch of theories floating around about what could happen, as does everyone else, I’m sure.”
“Are Paige and Tom’s character going to get together? Are they going to go on some kind of reunion or are they going to be in constant cat and mouse trying to get each other back? Both options sound really fun,” she adds. “So I’m keeping my fingers crossed, hoping for Paige’s return.”
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Based on a true story season 2 is now streaming on Peacock.
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Source: HIS Education