A former police officer turned deception expert – known as Australia’s ‘Human Lie Detector’ – has revealed why the Stan Original Series Poker Face gets the science of lie detection remarkably right.
Steve Van Aperen, a keynote speaker who specialises in the psychology behind liars, told Daily Mail Australia that Poker Face, which stars Natasha Lyonne as a woman who can instantly spot a lie, earns his professional tick of approval.
‘There’s a lot of validated science behind it. That is, loss of eye contact, concealment and masking. They obviously had experts in it who trained the actors,’ Steve began.
‘A lot of the things I saw, so far as evasion and blocking, are very consistent with what happens in the real world. It’s quite well written.’
He said he was particularly impressed that Lyonne’s character, Charlie Cale, used real-world techniques to spot deception.
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Australia’s ‘Human Lie Detector’ Steve Van Aperen has revealed why the Stan Original Series Poker Face gets the science of lie detection remarkably right
The keynote speaker, who specialises in the psychology behind liars, told Daily Mail Australia that Poker Face, which stars Natasha Lyonne as a woman who can instantly spot a lie, earns his professional tick of approval
‘She asks the right questions, she’s like a modern-day Columbo!’
Steve added that he admired how the character always trusted her gut instinct – a key factor when it comes to detecting dishonesty.
‘You know how you meet someone and think they are full of it? Where does that come from? What is it about human nature that makes us like that?’ he said.
‘It is all about psychology, understanding why people do what they do.’
He also believes Poker Face can serve as a useful guide for viewers looking to sharpen their own lie-spotting skills, thanks in large part to the observant nature of Lyonne’s character.
‘You will get an understanding of if you ask somebody a question and they don’t answer it, that’s a red flag,’ he said.
‘Are they engaging in behaviours where they are objecting rather than denying? This is quite well done on the show based on my experience working on homicide cases.’
In the Stan series, Lyonne plays Charlie Cale, a casino worker with an uncanny ability to detect lies.
He said he was particularly impressed that Lyonne’s character used real-world techniques to spot deception
Steve added he admired how the character trusted her gut instinct – a key factor when it comes to detecting dishonesty
Each episode sees her interacting with a range of characters – many of whom are trying to deceive her – and she relies on a mix of body language, verbal clues and gut instinct to uncover the truth.
Steve finished by saying he was very impressed by one aspect of the show, which got the science behind lie detection accurate.
‘One of the first things I teach people – and we see this in the show – is that a good interviewer asks the right questions,’ he said.
‘If your question is not clear from both sides it allows a deceptive person room to wriggle out.’
The American crime-comedy show features an all-star cast, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Chloë Sevigny, Adrien Brody, Nick Nolte and Australian actress Danielle Macdonald.
It is perfect viewing for fans of other Stan crime comedies such as Good Cop/Bad Cop.
Cailah Scobie, Stan’s Chief Content Officer, revealed in 2023 that the streaming service devised a strategy to commission premium international projects to attract a wider audience.
After the success of its Aussie shows The Tourist and Wolf Like Me, Stan is now in a position to create more high-quality content to be broadcast outside of Australia.
All ten episodes of Poker Face series one and the first four episodes of series two are available to stream now only Stan, with a new episode being released every Thursday until July 10.
