Troian Bellisario talks playing a police officer in ‘On Call', reflects on ‘Pretty Little Liars' 15th anniversary
'Tracy Harmon, veteran police officer, 40 years old. I thought, 'Oh my god, I'm never going to get this,'' she admits. 'I've never played anyone older than me, and certainly never a cop.' But something in the script clicked. 'The minute I started reading her words, I was enthralled. I'd never seen a cop show like this.'
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Unlike traditional procedurals, Prime Video's On Call leans heavily into body cam footage and a half-hour drama format, a fusion Bellisario calls 'thrilling' and 'raw.' The real-time style gives the show a documentary edge, which grounds its emotional beats. 'It made me lean in,' she said. 'You're not watching a formula — you're watching a city in motion.'
To prepare, Bellisario undertook ride-alongs with real officers and underwent a crash course in tactical training. 'They cleared out a whole office at Wolf Entertainment and basically did a mini-academy,' she said. One eye-opening moment? Witnessing how even a fender bender can disrupt an entire neighborhood. 'Just clearing an intersection after an accident — no injuries, thankfully — took so many moving parts. It made me realize how much officers do just to keep a city functional.'
Amazon MGM Studios
The shift from her Pretty Little Liars character Spencer to Tracy hasn't just been about genre — it's also been personal. 'With Pretty Little Liars, everything was a bit heightened,' Bellisario said. 'It was emotional, dramatic, a little soap-y — and Spencer was desperate for people to understand her.' But Harmon is the opposite. 'She doesn't care if you like her. She doesn't want to be your friend. She's here to do her job.'
It's not just the emotional restraint that challenged Bellisario. 'A lot of what's demanded in this industry is superficial,' she says candidly. 'There's an unspoken expectation that women should be attractive, put together, desirable. Tracy wasn't written that way. Her strengths are her intelligence and her empathy.' In one memorable moment, Bellisario laughs as she remembers being repeatedly outrun by Larracuente on set. 'I'm a decent runner, and Brandon just smoked me every time. I was like, 'Please never write us running next to each other again!''
Yet the chemistry between Bellisario and the cast is undeniable. She praises the ensemble and executive producers Brenna Malloy and Tim Walsh — for creating a grounded and ego-free environment. 'It was one of those rare sets where you looked around and thought, 'Pinch me. Is this really happening?''
As she looks ahead, Bellisario is thoughtful about her future roles. 'I'm a mom of two now,' she says. 'Time is the most important factor. On Call was perfect because it was intense but short — eight episodes, half-hour format. I got to be the actor I want to be and the parent I need to be.'
And as the 15th anniversary of Pretty Little Liars approaches, Bellisario is still moved by the legacy of Spencer Hastings. 'I'm so grateful,' she says. 'That show gave me a rocket ship of a career. It also gave me a family. The people I worked with — cast and crew — I still consider them that. It's rare. But it's also amazing to finally play someone like Tracy — someone rooted in reality who leads with her brain and her heart.'
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