Michael Peña opened up about how All Her Fault creator Megan Gallagher convinced him to join the show.
“[She] has a child with special needs and the story line [for my character] was very near and dear to her,” Peňa, 46, exclusively told Us Weekly at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards on Sunday, January 4, in California. “She wrote me a letter and it worked.”
Peña, whose character Detective Alcaras is a father to a nonverbal son with developmental disabilities, really connected with the script.
“You read it with a special kind of consideration,” he noted. “The reveal is in episode 4, but it hints at it in the first couple of episodes as well. In the fourth episode, we really dive in — but it also helps the plot later on.”
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Peña continued: “I knew it was going to be good because the writing was so good. I thought it was gonna be fantastic, but then when I read episode 4, I was like, ‘Oh!’ When you get an opportunity for a character like that to have a rich home life, it’s not very often. I jumped at the opportunity and I’m really glad that I did.”
The actor praised his onscreen son, played by Orlando Ivanovic. “Whenever Orlando was on set, he was the star of the show. He really was,” Peña added. “He’s such a good kid.”
Based on a novel by Andrea Mara, All Her Fault followed a mother named Marissa (Sarah Snook) whose son, Milo, disappeared after she believed he was on a harmless playdate. The search for Marissa’s child uncovered secrets about those closest to her, with even family members becoming suspects in the kidnapping.
“This feels like a movie, it feels like an independent movie,” Peña told Us. “We shoot, like, 16 hours a day sometimes and you have to remind yourself why we’re doing what we’re doing. That fire shows up in the 15th hour and you’re like, ‘OK, cool. Let’s get it going.’ We’re doing it for this. We’re doing it for the story line. I believe in the story line, so it does give you an added incentive.”
The series, which premiered in November 2025, became an instant hit for Peacock. Some fans who read the book, however, were surprised to see how much changed from page to screen.
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Peña’s expanded role was one of the new additions to the show. While reflecting on his time filming All Her Fault, Peña expressed gratitude for consistent scene partner Snook, 38, who took home a Critics Choice trophy on Sunday night.
“Sarah was amazing. When an actress reads the text, you have it in your mind how they’re going to do it. Sometimes, they do the text the way it’s written and it’s very beautiful. It’s a skill just to be able to do that. She takes it to a new level,” he gushed. “I was like, ‘Oh, I didn’t read it like that. That’s amazing.’ It’s the nuance and the complexity and the layers that she adds. It’s something that you as an actor don’t even see there, but the way that she’s able to construct a performance is amazing.”
All Her Fault is currently streaming on Peacock.
