20 Surprising Facts About The 'Pretty Little Liars' Cast
When the series finale of Pretty Little Liars aired in June 2017, it was a tough day for fans who had been truly invested in the tale of four girls who were best friends, grew up together, and dealt with tons of mysteries. Sure, all kinds of strange stuff happened throughout the seven-season show, but it was definitely a friendship story at its core. We loved watching it because the girls' friendships reminded us of our own. And now that it's completely finished, we miss it dearly and still wish that there were new episodes. It's really tough when our favorite shows go off the air.
Even though we've been invested in the fictional lives of the five main characters Hanna, Aria, Spencer, Emily, and Ali, we might not be able to say the same thing about the actresses who played them, along with the boys playing their (very cute and very charming) love interests. The actresses and actors on Pretty Little Liars are fascinating and there is a lot to know about them.
It's time to take a look at the people behind the characters. Read on to find out 20 surprising things to know about the Pretty Little Liars cast.
20 Can Lucy Keep A Secret: Lucy Hale Didn't Know Who "A" Was For A While
Can we keep a secret? The girls on Pretty Little Liars definitely can, and in almost every single episode, one of the main characters has a big secret that they don't want the others to discover.
It turns out that Lucy Hale, who played Aria Montgomery, isn't great at keeping secrets.
That's why, according to Wetpaint, Lucy Hale's costars didn't tell her who "A" was, so she was the last to find this out. That's totally fascinating, right? Do we think that we would be able to keep this secret if we had been a cast member on this show? Maybe not…
19 Spencer Could Have Been Different: Shay Mitchell Wanted To Play Her
We're used to Shay Mitchell as Emily Fields and Troian Bellisario as Spencer Hastings. It's just the way that it is and we love these characters so much. We can't picture anyone else in those roles, which tends to be the case with our favorite TV shows and films. The actor or actress just embodies that character super well.
This fun, surprising fact about the cast of Pretty Little Liars is worth knowing: according to Seventeen magazine, Shay Mitchell wanted to play Spencer. She's so talented and we know that she would have done an awesome job. But we also think that Shay was perfection as Emily and Troian was an amazing Spencer.
18 Lucy Hale Didn't Go To Regular School: She Was Home Schooled
For many of us, high school might have been a tricky time, even if it wasn't quite as dramatic as it looks in television shows and in movies.
School is a huge part of Pretty Little Liars since we often see the girls in classes and just at Rosewood High in general.
Plus, the fact that Aria's secret (and then later, not-so-secret) love interest Ezra works there as the English teacher brings a lot of drama to the academic environment. When Lucy Hale was in school, though, she didn't actually go to a physical school. An article in Buzzfeed says that Lucy Hale was homeschooled.
17 Actually A Pre-Teen: Sasha Pieterse Was 12 When She Was Cast As Ali
There are certain teen dramas that we adore and will watch no matter how many times we've already seen every episode, from the 90s and early 2000s shows like Dawson's Creek and Veronica Mars to more recent pop culture staples like Riverdale. Pretty Little Liars is at the top of our teen show loving list, but when Sascha Pieterse was being cast as Alison DiLaurentis, she wasn't even in her high school years yet.
As Seventeen magazine reported in a story about the girl who played Ali, Sascha was 12 when she was working on the PLL pilot, making her much younger than the other girls.
16 Just Call Her Shannon Mitchell: Shay's First Name Is Really Shannon
Cosmopolitan reported that Shay Mitchell's first name is actually Shannon. Both Shay and Shannon Mitchell sound like totally beautiful names, but we're glad that she went with Shay because it's fierce and different.
It's always interesting when an actor or actress chooses to go by a different name than the one that they were given at birth- but it happens often.
The actress went with that name because she was called that in high school. Actually, as Pop Buzz says, her nickname back then was "Shay-Lo" (like J.Lo) but she went with "Shay" and that just became her new first name.
15 Troian Bellisario Is Just As Smart As Spencer: She Was Her High School's Valedictorian
Buzzfeed reported that the girl who played Spencer was valedictorian when she graduated from high school, and that's a really cool fact.
We don't tend to see a lot of high school characters who are super into their studies (except for Rory Gilmore on Gilmore Girls, of course). Spencer changed all that and was known for working really hard and being an overachiever.
Her perfectionist tendencies did get her into trouble sometimes and caused some real drama, but we always respected her work ethic and drive. It's cool to know that Troian had that same drive back in high school and was as good a student as Spencer.
14 Yes, Really: Troian Found Ian Harding Annoying At First
This fact about Troian comes from Wet Paint and it's absolutely hilarious but also quite surprising. We often think that the cast of a television series gets along super well, especially if they've been working together for a while. That seems to be what happens when people are working closely for a long time.
But when Troian met Ian Harding, who played Ezra Fitz, she thought that he was "annoying."
That's not something that we would expect to hear. What was the reason that she would call him annoying? They were chatting about evolution and biology and had a difference of opinion.
13 Caleb's Got Some Musical Talent: Tyler Blackburn Has A Great Voice
The Odyssey says that Tyler Blackburn, who played Hanna's one and only Caleb Rivers, has a really great singing voice. It's always surprising to hear that someone has a talent that we didn't know about.
Of course, we're fans of Tyler as an actor, so we know that he's got a lot of talent. This is making us think that we would have loved to see Caleb singing on Pretty Little Liars. Maybe he could have written a song for his love, Hanna, or serenaded her. Awwww. Now we're kind of sad that this didn't happen, but it's okay. The show gave us enough adorable scenes between these two.
12 Southern Belle: Lucy Hale Has An Accent
Did you think that Lucy Hale had a Southern accent… or any kind of accent at all? The answer is most likely no because, well, we can't hear a hint of an accent. But she actually has one, and it's probably not something that many fans know.
Diply reported that Lucy Hale has a Southern accent because she was born in Memphis, Tennessee.
This is some surprising news since we would have never guessed and Aria never sounds like she has a Southern accent. It's always fun to learn as much as we can about the celebrities that we're fans of.
11 A Picture Says A Thousand Words: Keegan Allen Published A Book Of Photography
Spencer and Toby are one of the staple relationships of Pretty Little Liars. According to Just Jared Jr., Keegan Allen (aka Toby Cavanaugh, aka one half of "Spoby") published a book of photography called Hollywood.
The actor is also a talented photographer, and that's something that you can see if you take a look at his Instagram account. He takes beautiful, amazing pictures, and it's fun to see the boy behind Toby follow his dreams. Of course, it's not Instagram where this photog shines. We totally need to get our hands on this book, and since it came out in April, we're in luck!
10 BFFs: Shay Mitchell And Ashley Benson Are Super Close
It's heartbreaking to hear that two actresses playing on-screen BFFs aren't the same way IRL, so it's great to hear that two of the liars are the best of friends.
Shay Mitchell and Ashley Benson are best friends, according to Seventeen magazine, and it's the best news ever.
The magazine also said that they have "a friendship hashtag" which is #buttahbenzo. BRB, going to check out every single post that they have used that hashtag on. Also, can we best friends with these two (and the other actresses on the show)? We think that we would all get along really well.
9 Seeing Yellow: Sascha Wasn't A Fan Of Her Character's Infamous Yellow Tank Top
Pretty Little Liars fans know that when we see a yellow tank top, and in particular, when we see Ali wearing that, it means something mysterious. And dramatic. It's a huge deal on this show, so it might be surprising to know that the actress who played Ali didn't like it.
Dolly reported that Sascha isn't a big fan of this yellow top. They wrote, "Sasha absolutely hates the iconic yellow top which she's worn many times throughout her PLL role. She said on The Talk that there are 13 copies of the shirt and she wants to take them all and burn them."
8 All Grown-Up: Troian Bellisario Is The Oldest Member Of The Cast
It's easy to assume that the actresses and actors on a teenage show would be, well, teenagers. But, of course, that's not always the case, and sometimes people who are a bit older are cast. They still look the part, though, and the majority of the time, fans and viewers might not even notice at all.
A story in Cosmopolitan says that Troian is the oldest of the Pretty Little Liars girls and boys.
She's 32 years old. How old are the other girls? Shay Mitchell is 31, Lucy Hale is 29, Ashley Benson is 28, and Sasha Pieterse is the youngest at 22 years old. Troian is also one year older than Ian Harding who is 31.
7 No Doubles: The Liars Did Their Own Stunts
Stunt coordinators and stunt doubles are a reality in Hollywood and it can be impossible to know if we're watching our favorite actor or actress do a crazy chase or action scene or if it's someone else. Of course, that's the point, and these are supposed to look seamless.
Dolly reported that the actresses did their own stunts on the show. That's really cool and we love any scene where the girls are being strong and sticking up for themselves and for each other. The girls have been in some seriously nuts and mysterious situations throughout the seven seasons of the show.
6 Ezra's IRL Roots: Ian Harding Was Born In Germany
Pretty Little Liars wouldn't feel the same without Ezra. He's dreamy from the moment that we meet him in the pilot when he and Aria have a romantic moment at a bar, and even though we know that he's a teacher and things are more than a touch complicated, we don't care. We know that they're perfect together and are willing to root for them.
But you might be surprised to know that Ian Harding was born in Germany.
Wet Paint counted this among several facts about the boy behind Ezra, and it's definitely interesting to know more about his background.
5 Ashley Benson Has Good Taste In Music: She Knew The Theme Song Was The Perfect Fit
Fans of PLL definitely agree that the theme song is just so good. Watching the show always means getting treated to the beautifully crafted and produced opening credits. We see the girls, with perfect hair and outfits and, most of all, nails, going "shhhh" and putting a finger to their lips. We see coffins and it's all very mysterious.
The show's theme song is "Secret" by The Pierces and it's just so good. Ashley Benson (aka Hanna Marin) was the one who knew that this should be the series' theme song. A story in Buzzfeed quotes Ashley Benson as saying the song was "perfect."
4 So Jealous Of This: Troian Bellisario Was Next Door Neighbors With The Olsen Twins
Thanks to The Odyssey, we know this really amazing fact: Troian was next door neighbors with the Olsen twins as a kid.
Yes. Really. Isn't this amazing?! Chances are, you're not only a fan of Pretty Little Liars and its cast, but you may have also grown up loving Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. Their films were so adorable and now we still love them because they're fashion superstars.
This just goes to show that Hollywood really is a small world and that everyone seems to know everyone or at least has a really awesome story about another famous person.
How cool would it have been to have an Olsen twin cameo on PLL?
3 50 Shades Of Lucy Hale: She Auditioned For The Popular Movie
Lucy Hale had several credits to her name before winning the role of Aria. She starred in the TV show Privileged and was in a few episodes of The Wizards Of Waverly Place. She hasn't starred in a huge blockbuster movie but she auditioned for a big movie that you might not have expected her to.
Diply says that Lucy Hale auditioned for 50 Shades Of Grey and that's not something that many fans most likely know. Are you as surprised as we were? After all, the girls on PLL aren't so innocent, but our favorite characters are still just high school girls!
2 So Cool: Troian Wanted To Play Katniss In 'The Hunger Games'
If you're a fan of teen dramas like Pretty Little Liars, you're probably a fan of other staples of the young adult genre such as the Hunger Games book series. We love Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss in the movies, and it's hard to picture someone else playing that character.
If things had played out differently, though, we just might have seen a familiar face heading up the franchise.
As The Odyssey reported, Troian Bellisario wanted to play Katniss in the Hunger Games franchise. She was one of the actresses who auditioned for that part. That's really cool news and we can totally see her kicking butt in those movies. Maybe she'll be in some action films in the future? We would be first in line at the box office on opening day.
1 Aria's Dad Has An IRL Famous Ex: Chad Lowe And Hilary Swank Were Once Married
Sometimes the parents on teen dramas are basically invisible and never seem to be around, but on other shows, the moms and dads play a huge role in their teens' lives and even have their own storylines and their own drama going on. The parents are around a lot on Pretty Little Liars, Aria's dad in particular.
The actor who plays Bryon Montgomery, Chad Lowe, is not only Rob Lowe's brother, but he also has a really interesting and famous romantic past. According to Cosmopolitan, Chad Lowe and Hilary Swank used to be married. They were wedded for 10 years: they walked down the aisle in 1997 and got divorced in 2007.
Don't you miss this show even more now?!
References: Cosmopolitan.com, Buzzfeed.com, Seventeen.com
