Meet ‘Riverdale’ Star Madelaine Petsch

The premiere of CW’s newest series, Riverdale, got off to a literal bang with the murder of Jason Blossom, the ex-boyfriend of Betty Cooper’s older sister, Polly, and the twin brother of one of the most fascinating and rich new characters on TV right now: Cheryl Blossom. Played by 22-year-old newcomer Madelaine Petsch, we’ll watch as Cheryl comes to terms with her brother’s death while still maintaining a facade as queen bee of Riverdale High.

“It’s kind of the perfect break,” the natural-born redhead shares while driving around the series’ home city of Vancouver. “The beauty of my character specifically is that she’s not just one note. She’s an independent woman who can hold her own.”

The same can be said of Petsch herself. “I’ve been working on this career path of mine since I was three years old,” she tells us. “I’ve known what I wanted to do. So, this means that all the things I’ve known about myself, felt about myself, and the confidence I’ve had was not misplaced. This is really where I belong. I’ve always known that, but that kind of confidence boost is necessary when you’re rejected so much in this industry.”

While Cheryl might face rejection from those who decide to stand up to her wrath, Petsch is about to feel a whole lot of love from an audience that’s been waiting for the next Gossip Girl or Pretty Little Liars. “I’m so happy I get to do Riverdale, and I love the people I’m doing it with. I’ve never been happier.”

But first, there are lots of questions to get to; namely, who the hell decides to dress up for a boat ride at 6 A.M.? And was that bullet really meant for Jason Blossom? Petsch is about to answer all that and more, below.

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Glamour: You’ve always been a big Archie Comics fan, which Riverdale is loosely based on.

Madeleine Petsch: Yeah, I definitely was. Archie Comics sent me vintage Cheryl Blossom comics, so I have a bunch of beautiful ones. They also send me all the covers they have now of the new Archie. I’ve got a crazy amount of them. And every time my mom goes to the supermarket, she’ll turn all the pages to the back of Riverdale and leave them on the supermarket shelf—or she’ll buy them all—so I have so many Archie Comics! [Laughs] She’ll send me video of her turning them over!

Glamour: Speaking of your mom, tell me the story behind your first name.

Madelaine: My mom got to name my brother, so it was my dad who got to name me. My dad said to my mom right before she was going to have her C-section, “How about ‘Street?’ I think ‘Street’ is the best name for our daughter.” My mom started screaming and said, “There is no way I am naming my daughter ‘Street!'” And then she comes back after having me, looks at me, and is like, “OK, I understand Street. Why don’t we do ‘Lane,’ like lane on the road, and we’ll call her Madelaine?’ That’s how my name came about.

Glamour: So what was your audition like for Riverdale?

Madelaine: I went in and saw David Rapaport, the casting director, for Legends of Tomorrow in [late] 2015. He was like, “I love you for this role,” but [later said], “I want you for a pilot I’m casting right now.” He brought me in for Betty Cooper on Riverdale a week later to meet producers. He said, “You’re obviously not auditioning for Betty; it’s for another part that I can’t tell you about yet. You look exactly like I imagine her to look, and you’ve got the presence.” So, they pinned me for the role after they met me for Betty, for four months. By that point it was early January [and I] read for producers for the role of Cheryl. [The director and producers] were like, “You’ve got this role.” They brought me in for studio testing, network testing, chemistry reading, etc. When I eventually got the call [that the role was mine], I started crying.

Glamour: Your first scene in Riverdale is in a boat on the water. Ironically, you’re terrified of water in real life.

Madelaine: Yeah, I’m afraid of open bodies of water. I was in a glass-bottomed boat that broke a long time ago, so I’ve always been kind of freaked out. I took a 16-hour trip to Norway on a boat that freaked me out, all of that. When I read the script for that scene in Riverdale, I assumed they’d use a stunt double in the boat. When I got to set, they were like, “So, we’re gonna put you in a wetsuit.” And I was like, “Excuse me? A what?”

Glamour: So then what did you do?

Madelaine: I was like, “You know what? I can handle this. It’s gonna be OK.” Then I found out the person rowing the boat was no one who’d ever rowed a boat before—it’s the guy who plays my brother, Trevor Stines. They were like, “It’s OK, we gave him a quick five-minute course on how to row a boat. We’ll have a giant buoy about a hundred yards away from you. Everything will be fine.” But me being me, I was having a panic attack. No one knew I was freaking out. I had to wear these beautiful Valentinos in the boat when I got in. So, I was terrified of stepping in the boat, but then I got in and Trevor was amazing. It was great therapy, but I was still terrified. Once we started shooting, I was fine. I was like, “It’s fun. It’s Cheryl. It’s not me.” But getting into it, I was terrified. You can ask Trevor. I thought I was going to die.

Glamour: Cheryl and her brother take the rowboat out on the lake at 6 A.M. on the Fourth of July all wearing white. Why?

Madelaine: The 6 A.M. going out—that will be answered later on in an episode. That’s something that’s a huge plot point. But the white, I think, is a kind of an aesthetic thing, to try to be a dreamy-sequence type look. Also, it’s to show the closeness between Cheryl and Jason. That’s the first time you’re introduced to the twins—and with the white and the matching outfits, it puts it in an eerie setting.

Glamour: Their relationship is a bit creepy. Will that be explored more?

Madelaine: Yeah, as much as it can be. There was never an intimate sexual relationship, of course. This isn’t a plot spoiler, but Jason was the first person who ever loved Cheryl unconditionally. She didn’t really know how to feel about that because she never felt it from her parents or her friends before. To her, he was her “person,” her other half, her soul mate, as she says in the pilot. Losing him kind of explains a little bit why she lashes out so much.

Glamour: Before they get in the rowboat, Cheryl says, “Are you scared, Jason?” Why?

Madelaine: You will know exactly why I say that in episode three.

Glamour: Oh, I like that. Will viewers find out who murdered Jason by the end of season one? Or does the reveal come much earlier?

Madelaine: We just read the script last night, and we all found out who killed Jason. So, in episode 12 you find out. By episode 13, I think you will understand the whole spiel.

Glamour: Cheryl has some of the best lines on television. What’s your favorite?

Madelaine: In the premiere, Archie and Veronica go in the closet together and that causes a whole problem with Betty. In episode two, I’m having a conversation with Betty and Veronica. Veronica kind of interrupts me, and I say, “Butt out, closet monster!” [Laughs] It’s my favorite!

Glamour: You must have the best times getting to say these lines. I would think this is like dessert for you.

Madelaine: Oh my God, every day is like dessert for me. And not only does she get the best lines, to be sassy and mean, but I also get to have [so many] emotional [arcs] on the show. I pretty much cry in every episode, I’m mean in every episode, I laugh in every episode. I get all the juicy things every actor wants.

Glamour: Cheryl seems so spoiled and mean at first, but we’ll see more humanity to her as the series goes on. Who is Cheryl at her core?

Madelaine: She is a lost, innocent, little girl trying to figure out who she is and doing a pretty bad job of it. I mean, she doesn’t have love coming from anywhere in her life now that her brother is gone. Even before that, she still didn’t really know who she was. So, my true believing and understanding of Cheryl is that she’s very lost, very naive, and she’s used to everything being handed to her on a silver platter. She’s this kind of broken girl, who wants to see other people as broken as she is. She’s from a very broken family life.

Glamour: One of my Glamour colleagues likened Cheryl to the Regina George or the Blair Waldorf of the group—the queen bee, if you will. Is she bucking stereotypes here or no?

Madelaine: Well, the way the writers write the show, they make it so pointed. I think they’re making a comment on that stereotypical queen bee with Cheryl’s character, in general. She is the most catty-like character by far, and I love it. I think that is the point they’re making, that that is the queen bee archetype. Do I think she’s similar to Blair Waldorf? Yes, absolutely. She has her moments; she is the queen bee of Riverdale High. That said, I think she’s much different than any other queen bee anyone has seen. Her brother gets murdered in the first episode, so you watch her go through turmoil and loss and abuse. There’s so much that happens to Cheryl; she’s not your typical queen bee.

Glamour: Will Cheryl get a love interest as the season progresses? Do you even want her to have a love interest?

Madelaine: Yes and no. There is a touch on a romantic fling in an episode later on in the season that I think everyone will love. People will go crazy over it. But, of course, Cheryl doesn’t get what she wants because why would she ever? And, no, I don’t think I want Cheryl to have a relationship. What I love so much about Cheryl right now is she might not be strong, but she’s still an independent woman who can carry her own, and she doesn’t need a man to do that. That’s beautiful, and I think we very rarely see that in teen television. I think very often, little girls look at these teen television shows and think, “I have to have a boyfriend because Blair Waldorf has a boyfriend, and she’s always fighting over boys!” I love that people can look at Cheryl and see she’s an independent woman who can hold her own and doesn’t have a boyfriend. I think that’s great.

Glamour: I love that. I feel like whenever she does get into a relationship, that person has to be someone who can truly match Cheryl and understand her as well.

Madelaine: Exactly. Of course, she’ll have her little flings. I mean, this is the CW, so there’ll always be some sexy moments for Cheryl. But I think when she finally gets a boyfriend, it’ll probably be in season two [hopefully]. She would never date somebody who would just take her crap.

Glamour: Now that you’re almost done filming season one, what are your earliest memories of meeting the cast when you first got together for that first table read?

Madelaine: I remember meeting Lili Reinhart (Betty Cooper) at the airport. I met her once before, but now she’s my best friend. I live with her. I saw her at the airport; we had met prior, but not really quite talked. I was in line in front of her and was walking past her, and I was like, “I don’t really want to say hi because is that weird?” Which is so stupid now [because] I knew we were on the same flight. So, I walk past her, and she was like, “Madelaine!” And I was like, ‘Oh, hi! Sorry, I didn’t see you there.” She’s like, “You looked right at me!” I was like, “Whoops!” We ended up talking then and kind of bonding over that moment, but it was so silly. And then, I remember, we were at the Sutton Place, where they put us up for the pilot, and Cole Sprouse (Jughead), Lili, Ashleigh Murray (Josie), Camila Mendes (Veronica), and I met for the first time. We all DM’d each other on Twitter, like, “Let’s all go to the hot tub and meet for the first time.” It was such an awkward, weird thing. I was like, “Are they going to love me? Are they going to hate me?” Now, we’re the closest family unit. We talk every single day. It’s just funny to look back because you never know what’s going to happen. We could’ve all easily hated each other, but it was such a good blend of personalities. I remember seeing Ashleigh [in the hot tub] and she has an amazing six-pack, and I was like, “Oh my God, girl, you have to share your secrets with me!” She said, “I eat burgers every day and I don’t work out!”

Glamour: She told me that too when we first met! Before you go, let’s play some fun superlatives. Who of the cast would you most take to go shopping for clothes?

Madelaine: Camila Mendes, 100%, no question. We have very similar fashion sense.

Glamour: Who would you most want to make you dinner?

Madelaine: Uh, probably myself?! Nobody really cooks on this show!

Glamour: Who is the on-set crush?

Madelaine: K.J. [Apa, who plays Archie]. Totally K.J.!

Glamour: Who’s the mama bear of the group?

Madelaine: Madchen Amick [who plays Alice Cooper].

Glamour: Who is most likely to go out and explore Vancouver during the weekends?

Madelaine: Cole Spouse, definitely, because he’s a photographer and shoots all the time. He’s always scouting for locations. He’ll be like, “Anybody want to be my test subject for this location I’m at?”

Glamour: And who is the best secret keeper?

Madelaine: Lili. We live together, so we can talk about my relationships or personal lives or whatever, and I feel like she’s always got my back.

Riverdale airs Thursdays on the CW at 9 P.M. ET.