It’s been five months since actor Luke Perry sadly passed away after suffering a stroke in his home in Los Angeles. His memory continues to live on, but Perry’s Riverdale co-star Cole Sprouse doesn’t want the tributes to be a “sob story.”
The premiere episode of Season 4 of Riverdale is set to serve as a tribute to Perry, centred around the characters grieving the loss of the late actor’s character Fred Andrews.
In a recent interview with Variety, Sprouse, who plays Jughead on the show, spoke of the importance of separating his “real emotions” from his character.
“The important line we’ve all been trying to draw is how to separate, how we can portray real emotions, but in the eyes of the characters,” he said. “If I was making this an entire sob story about my relationship with Luke, it wouldn’t be a job well done…My job is to do it in the eyes of Jughead.”
Obviously, Perry’s sudden death was a huge loss for everyone in his life. When the news of his passing broke, Perry’s Riverdale co-stars led the condolences, with KJ Apa, Camila Mendes, Madeleine Pesch, Lili Reinhart, Casey Cott, and of course, Cole Sprouse posting heartfelt messages to social media.
While the outpouring of love for Perry is immense, according to Sprouse, he wouldn’t have wanted the cast of the show to dwell on sadness. “Luke was the kind of guy who would not like people crying about him. I hope this episode does him justice, but I think the way we lived with him does him justice as well.”
Robert Aguirre-Sacasa, the creator of the show said the premiere of Season 4 would be “the most important episode of Riverdale we’ll do this year.”
“A tribute to our fallen friend. Thankful for this opportunity to honour Luke and Fred,” he wrote on Twitter.
It’s comforting to know Luke will be remembered and honoured in a way that would make him proud.