Tell Me Lies ' Jackson White Shares the Acting Advice Mom Katey Sagal Gave Him: 'Don't Do It'

Skyler Caruso
·3 min read
Jackson White, left, and Katey Sagal in a scene from “Tell Me Lies.”
Jackson White, left, and Katey Sagal in a scene from “Tell Me Lies.”
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Josh Stringer/Hulu via AP

Katey Sagal tells her son nothing but the truth.

Tell Me Lies star Jackson White chatted with PEOPLE about the acting advice his Golden Globe-winning mother told him as a young, aspiring actor himself.

Sagal's words of wisdom? "Don't do it. Do something else," White exclusively tells PEOPLE. Of course, there was a reason behind her bluntness.

"I wasn't allowed to act until I was 18," he explains. "I had to grow up first."

RELATED: Everything to Know About Tell Me Lies Star Jackson White

Jackson White and mom, Katey Sagal attend the Los Angeles premiere of HBO's "Mrs. Fletcher" held at Avalon Hollywood on October 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.
Jackson White and mom, Katey Sagal attend the Los Angeles premiere of HBO's "Mrs. Fletcher" held at Avalon Hollywood on October 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.

Michael Tran/FilmMagic

The now 26-year-old actor heeded Sagal's guidance and waited until he was of age to act, instead pursuing music at the University of Southern California for a year before realizing college wasn't for him.

On the other hand, White admits that he "didn't listen" to her advice in pursuing a different career path — while also confessing that he didn't really "grow up" either.

"It didn't really work, I was still pretty childish when I was in my early 20s — I'm still childish," he jokes. But that hasn't stopped him from nabbing roles in both TV and film (when he was finally allowed to, of course).

RELATED: Katey Sagal Knew Married... with Children Was a Hit When She Got a Wig: They're 'Not Cheap'

Unlike his mom, a seasoned actress known for her roles in Married… with Children and Sons of Anarchy, White is still a newcomer to the scene. With less than a dozen credits to his name, the breakout star first turned heads with his role as Brendan Fletcher in the HBO miniseries Mrs. Fletcher in 2019.

Now, White's at it again with his role as Stephen DeMarco in Hulu's latest coming-of-age thriller Tell Me Lies. He plays a college upperclassman with smarts and charm on the outside, but a deceiving darkness within. This leads to his entanglement in several relationships filled with toxicity and never-ending — wait for it — lies.

“Tell Me Lies” follows a tumultuous but intoxicating relationship as it unfolds over the course of 8 years. When Lucy Albright (Grace Van Patten) and Stephen DeMarco (Jackson White) meet at college, they are at that formative age when seemingly mundane choices lead the way to irrevocable consequences. Although their relationship begins like any typical campus romance, they quickly fall into an addictive entanglement that will permanently alter not only their lives, but the lives of everyone around them. Lucy (Grace Van Patten) and Stephen (Jackson White), shown.

Josh Stringer/Hulu

Not only does the actor star opposite of Grace Van Patten's confident college freshman Lucy, who finds herself in Stephen's web of excuses and deceit, but he shares the screen with — spoiler alert — Sagal as well!

Playing the role of White's onscreen mom in the Emma Roberts-produced series, viewers are introduced to Sagal in episode 5 of the 10-part series. The plot delves deeper into Stephen's rocky relationship with his troubled mother, who's still hung up on her divorced husband and his new romance.

RELATED: Katey Sagal's Husband Kurt Sutter Jokes That She's Auditioning for DWTS After Being Hit by Car

Unlike their characters in the show, the mother-son duo share a close bond in real life. In fact, Sagal is now super supportive of White's acting endeavors and constantly showcases it on her Instagram.

"LOVE this son of mine! Bravo!♥️♥️♥️ on 🔥," she captioned a photo of Deadline's announcement of her son's casting.

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New episodes of Tell Me Lies drop Wednesdays on Hulu.