Although he’s been acting for 30 years Freddie Prinze, Jr. has never had a challenge quite like “The Girl in the Pool.”

Until now.

A family drama set among the privileged, the girl of the title, who is actually Prinze’s much younger mistress, is dead in that pool, the victim of a vicious assault.

Before she can be discovered by her lover’s wife, his two college age kids and a flock of surprise birthday party revelers, Prinze’s Thomas dumps her in a nearby shed.

This brutal willingness to cover up a homicide while two-timing his wife (Monica Potter) is a far, far cry from the actor’s usual mighty nice guys.

“That,” Prinze began in a video interview, “was honestly the most attractive thing about the part, It’s the exact opposite of every other character that I’ve ever gotten to play.

“He was someone I did not agree with a single choice that the character made through the entire movie, beginning to finish. Even when he tries to do the right thing, he ends up doing terrible, terrible things. To me, that’s rare in a leading character. It was refreshing, and I got very excited to do it.”

His last job, the 2023 Netflix movie, “Christmas with You,” hardly rated as challenging.

“Really,” he confided, “I could do ‘Christmas with You’ in my sleep. I’ve played that role so many times before. This was something completely new: A small budget movie where we shot the whole thing in two weeks.

“I needed a challenge. I was hungry for it. For me, this was a character study where I was trying to expand my limitations. I think this was the most vulnerable I’ve ever been able to be on camera.

“It took me 48 years to figure it out. But I was so grateful for the opportunity to show what I could do with the role. It never felt like a grind. We were just there shooting 9, 10, 11 pages a day.”

But what kind of father and husband finds this horrible surprise – his lover suddenly dead – and has the presence of mind to callously dump her body alongside the garden hose?

“I tried to play him very insecure. ‘A man without direction’ is the best way to describe it.

‘I think he tried to be a good father, a good husband. I think insecurity brought him into the arms of another woman and started that affair.

“He probably feels like garbage about himself. He probably hates himself after. But he doesn’t have the strength or conviction to stop himself from doing it. The script made that real, real clear.”

“The Girl in the Pool” is available on VOD Friday