Riverdale’s Hayley Law Auditioned For a Very Different Role

Before she joined Josie and the Pussycats as Valerie Brown, Riverdale actress and musician Hayley Law read for the role of Cheryl Blossom, she revealed during an interview on Archie Digest: A Riverdale Podcast.

Last week, there was no new episode of Riverdale, and so Law joined the podcasters for a 45-minute chat that ranged from her hopes for season 2, to her theories about Jason Blossom’s murder, and beyond. Eventually, though, it touched down on the question every actor will one day have to answer: if she wasn’t playing her character, who on the show would she most enjoy playing?

“I actually auditioned for Cheryl as well, and I thought that would be really fun because it’s not like me at all,” Law said. “I really liked the way that they wanted her to be bitchy, but she’s still really likable sometimes. I just feel like that’s so unlike me, it would be a really fun character to play.”

Obviously, Cheryl was likely a long-shot role for Law, who is mixed-race. The Blossom family — both in the comics and onscreen — have pale skin and red hair, and since Cheryl being Jason’s twin is such an important part of their relationship, casting a person of color in that role likely would have necessitated a change in the way casting director and producers were looking at the whole Blossom clan.

“At the time, I was like ‘Oh, are they going to die my hair red so that I’m like Annie — mixed-girl Annie? A red ‘fro, like crazy Afro Cheryl? But yeah — that would have been a whole different story.”

You can check out the episode of Archie Digest below.

We don’t know just what Cheryl is up to this week — but it looks like a big one for the Blossom family in general. Meanwhile, Valerie is back with Josie and the Pussycats, who will bring the season home in style.

Riverdale airs on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.

More Riverdale news:

• Riverdale To Recast Reggie Mantle Due to Ross Butler’s Scheduling Conflicts
• Riverdale Will Reveal Jason Blossom’s Killer In “Anatomy of A Murder”
• Riverdale Casts Its Hiram Lodge For Season 2
• A Blossom Family Secret Is Revealed In Archie #19 — Will Riverdale Follow Suit?