The latest crowd-pleaser from...Freddie Prinze Jr.

Starring as a family man who may or may not have committed murder in The Girl in the Pool (in theaters and on demand July 26) was a welcome change of pace for Freddie Prinze Jr.

“He’s the opposite of everyone I’ve ever played,” the actor, 48, tells Us. “He’s undisciplined. He’s cheating on his wife. Those are all horrible things, and I loved it.” Here, Prinze dives into the thriller.

Your character, Tom, raises suspicions that he’s responsible for killing his mistress Hannah (played by Gabrielle Haugh). How would you describe him?

Usually I play characters that make good, morally sound decisions — this guy is none of that. It’s not until all of his lies fall apart that you get a moment of honesty and vulnerability from him.

You wring a lot of suspense out of a pool shed! What are some of the close calls we see after Tom stashes the dead woman there?