Alisha Wainwright sings the praises of her Palmer co-star Justin Timberlake... though she doesn't address their PDA scandal

Alisha Wainwright has nothing but high praise for her Palmer co-star Justin Timberlake, despite being embroiled in a bit of a controversy while they were filming the drama.

Wainwright, 31, and Timberlake, 40, were spotted holding hands and getting quite close while hanging out at an outdoor bar patio in New Orleans in November 2019.

Reps for Wainwright insisted there was no romantic connection between the actress and her married co-star, though Timberlake did apologize later for his 'strong lapse of judgment' though he insisted he did not cheat on his wife Jessica Biel.

'This guy is a mega star and he’s one of the most recognizable faces. I thought he was incredible in this movie," she said.

'You’d be surprised how someone is in character. You can take away all the noise and just focus on what’s in front of you like, "Let’s make a movie,"' she added.

Wainwright also praised her young co-star Ryder Allen while speaking with Entertainment Tonight, revealing that she wished she had his confidence.

'If I had a tenth of his confidence, I could probably do a lot more,' Wainwright said with a laugh in her virtual interview.

She added that Allen is, 'unapologetically himself,' adding when he read for the part, 'he had so much energy.  

'He came in and was just like, "This is what I'm doing, I'm here, how does everyone feel about it? OK, great.' It just charmed the pants off everybody,' she added.

Timberlake plays the title character in Palmer, an ex-convict who returns to his hometown after a 12-year stint in prison, and he becomes the caretaker for a young boy named Sam (Ryder Allen), who is bullied by both kids and adults.

Palmer is one of the rare films that addresses children's gender identity issues, which Wainwright thought was important.   

'I would love a world where people can be themselves and not be shamed or ridiculed for it,' she said, adding a lot of bullying starts from, 'negative energy that's being instilled in them' from their parents.

'I'm just happy to be a part of anything that sends a positive message. Especially to children and people who don't typically get the spotlight in movies,' she added.

Wainwright plays Maggie Hayes, Sam's teacher who forms a unique bond with Palmer.

'What really gravitated me towards the project was the story and the way my character, Maggie, functioned in the story,' Wainwright said.

'She’s a grounding character who’s there to aide the two leads to be better people,' the actress explained.

Palmer, which also stars Juno Temple, June Squibb and Dean Winters, is available to stream on Apple TV Plus.