13 Reasons Why Riverdale Star Ross Butler on Asian Leading

13 Reasons Why Riverdale Star Ross Butler on Asian Leading

13 Reasons Why | Date Announcement | Netflix

David Buchan/REX/Shutterstock

Ross Butler has been busy.

Back in January, Riverdale the CWs Gossip Girl meets Twin Peaks adaptation of the famous Archie comics debuted with Butler playing Archies (KJ Apa) bully Reggie. On Friday, Netflix released the highly anticipated 13 Reasons Why an adaptation of the popular book by Jay Asher, courtesy of Selena Gomez with Butler playing Zach.

Variety spoke with Butler about 13 Reasons Why, Riverdale and playing parts that arent necessarily Asian roles.

How was working on Selena Gomez passion project 13 Reason Why?

It was amazing. It was not a show I was expecting of Selena. This seemed like a complete 180. When I heard that she was a part of it, it was really interesting and drew me to it. After I got to work with her, I have some much more respect for her and the message shes trying to put out there.

Tell me about Zach. How does he fit into the mystery?

Hes one of the reasons. Hes one of the jocks there are a few that are involved and hes not the smartest guy, but he definitely has an emotional side to him that people dont expect because he puts on this front.

Both 13 Reasons Why and Riverdale share a lot of similarities. Both cover modern issues faced by high schoolers like bullying and depression, and both end up with a student at the school dead. What was different about 13 Reasons Why, or Zach compared to Reggie, that drew you to the show?

With Riverdale its a murder mystery. You dont know who the killer is, and you dont know why. Over the course of the season youre meeting new characters and youre learning new information about them. with 13 reasons why you start off knowing that the girl Hannah (Katherine Langford) committed suicide, and you know that there are 13 reasons. It unfurls through the season which I thought was a super unique way of telling a mystery.

In terms of Reggie and Zach being different, Id say Reggie is a jock through and through. Hes loud, and obnoxious, and doesnt care what people think. With Zach hes much more grounded, for me, in reality. Hes a jock that has very dark and lonely feelings, and throughout the first season you really witness what happens with him.

Jumping over to Riverdale, how has it been working with material as iconic as Archie comics?

Its really interesting, and not what I expected. When I first saw the breakdown for the characters, I didnt know it was going to be a murder-mystery. They were keeping that a secret. Reggie was originally Caucasian, and when they brought me in I got very excited thinking, Yes, we actually get to do the reverse of whats usually done in Hollywood. That personally was really fun to get some ethnicity in there from the Asian-American side.

It was also fun to take this family-friendly comic and make it super dark by throwing in a murder. There are all these characters that you associate with being colorful and happy, and you get to see their darker side. The writers did a great job making it current and gritty.

Theres been a lot of talk about the lack of Asian actors in TV and film. As an actor playing a character who was originally Caucasian, whats your take on it?

Its something that were all aware of and something thats really talked about. There are no Asian leading men in Hollywood. Theres not an Asian Ryan Gosling or an Asian Brad Pitt. Reggie was important to me because he isnt seen as an Asian character, because he wasnt. Hes just known as one of the guys, and in a comic that was based in American culture. The show is no different. Im not the Asian kid of Riverdale; Im Reggie and I just happen to be Chinese.

Its important because its telling the story that Asian-Americans are in American culture. Theyre a big part of our population. Its a stepping stone to helping find our Asian-American leading movie stars. Thats the next step.

The show just got renewed for a second season. Is there anything that youd like to see happen to Reggie in Season 2?

I think that Reggie needs to have a dog. Reggies dog has been a big character in the comics. Archie has a dog in the show, but I dont have a dog. I want a dog. Id also like to explore more of Reggies family life. We dont really get to see them at all, and in the comics there are some interesting stuff about them and how theyre never really there. Thats definitely something Id like to explore.

13 Reasons Why is available now on Netflix. Riverdale airs Thursdays on the CW.

Source: http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/13-reasons-why-riverdale-ross-butler-1202020231/