Riverdale’s Cole Sprouse, Camila Mendes and More Remember Luke Perry’s ‘Passionate’ Presence: ‘An Oracle’

As Riverdale draws to a close after seven seasons, the cast is reflecting on their forever bond with late costar Luke Perry.

In an interview with Vulture conducted before the SAG strike, Cole Sprouse, Camila Mendes and Madelaine Petsch reminisced about the lasting positive impact Perry, who played Archie’s (KJ Apa) dad Fred Andrews, had on them.

The actor died of a stroke in March 2019 at the age of 52.

Luke Perry as Fred on ‘Riverdale’.

Dean Buscher/The CW

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“Luke was an oracle for me and for a lot of the people on the show,” said Petsch, who plays Cheryl Blossom on the series. “Especially in guiding us during those first two years of chaos and confusion and the rise to success.  I think he’s a huge reason why the show is where it is today.”

Sprouse, who plays Jughead Jones, chimed in that Perry seemed to have a way of anticipating everything the actors “would be going through” throughout their time on the show. For many of the cast members, the quirky teen drama was their first major role.

“I often think about how [Perry] would be sitting answering these questions if he were still with us,” Sprouse, 31, reflected.

Cole Sprouse, Camila Mendes, Lili Reinhart, Madelaine Petsch, and K.J. Apa attend the “Riverdale” Photo Call during 2019 Comic-Con International at Hilton Bayfront on July 21, 2019 in San Diego, California.
Frazer Harrison/Getty

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Mendes, who portrayed Veronica Lodge, wholeheartedly agreed, adding, “We were lucky to work with him.”

The stars also fondly recalled Perry’s warm demeanor and fashionable style. Petsch, 28, remembered how he would wear his “little glasses” while Sprouse said he had a “beautiful and passionate” way of speaking “where he got super-close to your face.”

This is far from the first time the cast has honored the beloved actor. Riverdale‘s season 4 premiere (“Chapter Fifty-Eight: In Memoriam”) served as a tribute to both Perry and his character Fred. The episode also included a guest appearance by his Beverly Hills, 90210 costar and friend Shannen Doherty.

“We suffered a huge, huge, huge loss and it’s something we’re going to be feeling for as long as we’re lucky enough to keep making the show,” showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa told Entertainment Tonight at the time.

During a 2020 interview on The View, Apa, 26, called his late costar “one of the best people I’ve ever known in my life” and added that, “I hope I can be half the man that he was.”

KJ Apa and Luke Perry in 2018 on ‘Riverdale’.

Dean Buscher/The CW

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“I miss him. I miss talking to him,” he shared at the time. “He was so important to me, just because, I feel like, he always had my best interests. I just miss chatting to him. I miss listening to him, you know?”

Lili Reinhart, who stars as Betty Cooper on The CW series, has also paid tribute to Perry in the past.

“I had a dream last night that I saw Luke… and I hugged him so hard and cried into his shoulder, telling him how much we all miss him,” she wrote in a 2020 tweet. “Looking back on it this morning, I think his spirit was visiting me in my sleep, letting me know he’s smiling brightly on the other side ✨.”

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Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW. The series finale will air Wednesday, Aug. 23.

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