'We Were Liars': First-time actor to fan favourite — how Shubham Maheshwari made Gat unforgettable

Yahoo

2 days ago

The actor went from studying economics in Vancouver to starring in one of the most popular shows of the year
Fans of the We Were Liars series on Prime Video are more hopeful about the show's return. While a formal renewal announcement hasn't been made yet, Vernon Sanders, head of television at Amazon MGM Studios, confirmed to Variety that a Season 2 writers room is in the works. But while we keep our fingers crossed that the story, based on E. Lockhart's books, continues, we're all still captivated by the show's breakout star, Shubham Maheshwari, who plays Gat in the series.
While the We We Liars cast is filled with veteran actors, including David Morse, Mamie Gummer, Candice King, Rahul Kohli, Caitlin FitzGerald and Emily Alyn Lind, the show was actually Maheshwari's first time ever working on camera. He was so new to the industry that he didn't think he was actually going to book the role, believing that it was a "far-fetched goal."
Maheshwari was studying economics at the University of British Columbia, focusing on studying for exams, having a good GPA and applying for business consulting jobs when the possible opportunity to star in We Were Liars came up. And eventually he started thinking about what could happen if he did get the role of Gat on the show.
"There was a moment where I stopped applying for jobs, or working as hard on my courses, and my roommates and my friends were concerned, because I didn't tell them that I was auditioning," Maheshwari told Yahoo. "Then I eventually told them about the show and everything, and they just lost their minds completely."
'It was a little bit scary'
While Maheshwari is an incredibly impactful actor, he did identify that there was a comfort that came with acting alongside so many experienced costars.
"There was a little bit of the imposter syndrome that was kicking in early on, especially when I was flying from Vancouver to Nova Scotia, because I knew the people I was working with, and I knew where I was in terms of experience, and that was a little bit daunting. It was a little bit scary," Maheshwari said. "But I think they're not just incredible at their job, they're also incredible human beings, and that means so much more to me."
"I remember having so many conversations with David [Morse], such an amazing person to talk to, and just incredible points of view, I think, about this job and about the world. ... And I think there's one thing to learn ... when you talk to them, but also just being on set and watching them do their thing. I often say that my favourite scenes to film were the ones with the entire family, just because, as the story goes, Gat doesn't really say much, so it's a relatively lighter day, but mainly because I get to kind of sit back and watch these experts do their thing."
As we saw in the series, Gat and Lind's character Cadence are particularly close, giving us an emotional love story, and Lind was someone Maheshwari was really able to confide in on set.
"[Emily's] been working since she was five years old, and she's experienced about this industry, and she knows the ins and outs of it," he said. "And I think it was amazing that my first role was opposite someone like her."
"She was nothing but lovely. She was so understanding of the fact that this is my first thing. She was so supportive. ... Right from the get go she made it very apparent that she is someone that I can count on for any questions, any sort of discussions, conversations, whatever it may be. ... She's always going to be that person who I can talk to whenever I need to talk about anything, about this bizarre job."
But while the Gat and Cadence moments are particularly memorable, some of the best scenes in the whole show are between Gat and his uncle Ed (Rahul Kohli), who's the long-term partner of Cadence's aunt, Carrie (Mamie Gummer). And that's because, while Gat and Ed are so important to members of the Sinclair family, they're always at an arms length, they always feel like they're outsiders, and they're able to talk to each other about that in a way they can't communicate with anyone else.
"I think what's so cool about the show and how it's different from the book is ... we were able to go a little bit deeper about ... seeing things from Gat's point of view, seeing things from Ed's point of view," Maheshwari said. "And it just makes it more real, I think."
"I don't do this often, but sometimes if I see certain messages that I got on Instagram, there were a lot of them ... from people of colour, ... and just anyone, talking about how the show did such an honest and raw and real job in terms of capturing that element of feeling like an outsider, and how people related to it. And I think that's a very fulfilling, satisfying feeling, because that's what we aimed for. That's what we hoped for."
And with that comes the brilliant way Maheshwari takes on Gat's most significant trauma, the loss of his dad, and what it's been like to navigate his teens years without his father.
"It's not something that he outrightly talks about all the time, but ... you realize this as you get older, the things that you go through as a kid are such an important part of how you see the world," Maheshwari said.
"The way I looked at it, personally, in terms of preparation, was Gat lost his dad when he was ... eight years old, and that was the first time that he came on the island, and he met Cadence for the first time. And I think the strongest way in which that element of losing his father at a very young, influential age, played out was ... Cadence and the Beechwood Island suddenly became that anchor that pulls him out of that sadness."
'Nothing makes me more happy than being on set'
Now looking forward in his career, with his first on-screen job under his belt, Maheshwari realized that he's at his happiest when he's on set.
"Nothing is more satisfying and fulfilling, and nothing makes me more happy than being on set and working," Maheshwari said. "I still wasn't fully convinced, if I want to give 100 per cent into being an actor, and I think through We Were Liars it was just like, nothing else is going to make me as happy as this."
"It was a lot of working hours and ... you get so consumed by the process that you're a little bit drawn away from your normal, regular life, and away from family and everything. ... And once it was over it was a nice kind of change, I think, to come back to reality, to come back to real life and be with my friends and my family. ... But I still don't think anything can match being on set. I'm so eager to go to the next one."
In terms of roles he'd love to do in the future, Maheshwari is really just open to any and all possibilities, as he continues to develop as an actor
"I want to try different things. I want to see what I feel about different kinds of roles and just explore myself as an actor," Maheshwari said.
But he's incredibly thankful for all the fans of We Were Liars, particularly with all the praise that he's gotten for his very first series.
"We immediately got so much love," Maheshwari highlighted. "We've talked about this often, me and [Joseph Zada] and Emily [Alyn Lind] and Esther [McGregor], ... we felt that responsibility, that this book means something, means a lot to people. It was a defining part of some of their childhoods."
"Now that it's out, I think it's been lovely. ... The response has been quite positive and it's a bit of a relief. ... Some of the messages that I see, they're just super kind. ... They may not realize it, but it means a lot. It means a lot to me and it goes a long way. And I'm very, very grateful for the love and support that they've given."