‘13 Reasons Why’ star ‘honored’ to get ‘a little bit of hate’

Justin Prentice

Justin Prentice plays school bully and rapist Bryce Walker in “13 Reasons Why.” But convincingly playing the bad guy often comes with a price.

“I knew what I was signing up for from the get-go,” Prentice told Entertainment Tonight. “I try not to be a horrible person in my day-to-day life, so as an actor, it’s rewarding … in a weird way.”

Prentice, 24, admitted he was unprepared for the show’s success: “We were hoping it would influence people for the better. We didn’t know it was gonna erupt the way it did.”

But the abusive Bryce, he thought, would aptly enrage viewers. “I figured I was gonna get a bit of hate—but it’s an honor, I guess,” Prentice said.

The hardest thing about playing the sickening jock? “Playing the villain … you have to justify [his] actions, which is weird, because I come from a family [that] respects women,” he related. “My mom and dad … [have] an equal kind of relationship, it’s beautiful to grow up with. Having to justify Bryce [doing] these abhorrent actions is one of the toughest things.”

And yes, his parents have seen him in the show. “They watch it as if I’m not their son,” according to Prentice, who appeared years ago in episodes of “iCarly” and “iZombie.” “I’ve been doing this for almost a decade now, so they understand how the industry works.”—OLIVER PULUMBARIT