Exclusive: Lili Reinhart, Tom Bateman on The Love Hypothesis, fan backlash, India

For Lili Reinhart, stepping into the world of The Love Hypothesis came with a familiar kind of pressure. Playing Olive Smith in the film adaptation of Ali Hazelwood’s bestselling romance meant taking on a character already deeply imagined by readers, something Reinhart knows a thing or two about.

At 19, she was cast as Betty Cooper in Riverdale, a series based on the hugely popular Archie Comics characters. Years later, that experience helped her approach Olive with a little less fear and a lot more conviction. Speaking exclusively to India Today, Reinhart admitted that adapting a beloved book can be intimidating, particularly when audiences already have their own idea of how a character should look, sound and behave.

“Some people just aren’t going to love your specific interpretation, and that’s okay,” Reinhart said, reflecting on what she learnt from Riverdale. “That’s something that you have to be okay with.” The actor believes that fear of backlash can sometimes stop performers from taking on adaptations in the first place.

“I think a lot of actors probably don’t take the role sometimes because they’re afraid of the backlash, and I understand, and I can empathise with the fear of that,” she added. For Reinhart, however, the possibility of criticism wasn’t enough to outweigh the opportunity to play Olive. “The excitement of playing Olive and the excitement around the book far outweighed the possibility of the nerves and fear around if people don’t like my version of Olive,” she exclaimed, adding, “I was like, ‘Hey, I want to do the movie, so I’m going to do it.’”

That confidence becomes particularly interesting when considering how much of The Love Hypothesis lives inside Olive’s head. Hazelwood’s novel is driven by Olive’s internal monologue, awkwardness and growing attraction towards the intimidating Adam Carlsen. Translating that interiority into a film requires actors to communicate what the page can spell out.

For Reinhart, one of the scenes that offered the most rewarding opportunity to do that was a quieter moment between Olive and Adam.

“I really like when they’re having dinner at the end of the movie together and he’s opening up and being vulnerable,” she recalled. The scene, which runs for several pages in the screenplay, gave Reinhart and co-star Tom Bateman something actors don’t always get on a film set: time.

“It was just us sitting across from each other at a table,” Reinhart recalled. “We got to just sort of be left alone for a couple minutes at a time and just act.” She compared the experience to the freedom actors often associate with theatre, where a scene can unfold without the constant interruption of technical resets.

“You get to play and let your emotions sort of just happen and flow,” she said. “This scene is so important emotionally for them, and so to sort of let the emotions hang in the air was nice.”

Bateman agreed. “There’s a great freedom to it when you’re left alone with those,” he said, explaining why he particularly enjoys wide shots. “You’re not aware of the crew. There’s not really any technical aspects for it. You can just literally look the other person in the eye, listen and play the scene.”

Bateman says the challenge was maintaining the balance between two people who, in some ways, seem destined for each other but don’t necessarily understand one another yet. “They definitely are supposed to be together,” he said. “They don’t understand one another.”

The actor was particularly drawn to the smaller moments between Olive and Adam: the playful exchanges, teasing and physical comedy that reveal an attraction neither character is quite ready to acknowledge. “You’re falling in love with them at the same time as questioning who you are and who they are, at the same time as having those fun moments,” Bateman explained.#IndiaTodayExclusive: Lili Reinhart (@lilireinhart) and Tom Bateman (@tombateman) speak to India Today’s Bhavna Agarwal (@filmybugB) on adapting Alice Hazelwood’s The Love Hypothesis (to release on Prime Video), fan expectations and playing Olive and Adam. They also picked their pic.twitter.com/doUu49mIi4— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) September 23, 2026

And that may be the central challenge of bringing The Love Hypothesis to screen: retaining the playfulness of a fake-dating romance while allowing the emotional vulnerability underneath it to emerge naturally.

At the end of the conversation, when mentioned that we hope she and Bateman would consider visiting India sometime, both actors were quick to embrace the idea. “Oh yeah. That’d be incredible,” they said, before adding, “Love India.”

The Love Hypothesis releases in India on September 23, 2026, on Prime Video.- EndsPublished By: bhavna agarwalPublished On: Sep 23, 2026 13:09 ISTALSO READ | The Love Hypothesis review: Lili Reinhart, Tom Bateman almost have us swooning