Madelaine Petsch has fond memories of her Riverdale costar Luke Perry.
In her recent cover story for Seventeen, the CW actress, 25, described her relationship with the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum, who died in March at the age of 52 after a massive stroke.
“Luke was my oracle throughout Riverdale,” Petsch told the magazine in an interview published on Thursday, October 3. “He was on 90210 and had done all this work, so anytime I had any questions, he opened his door to me. He was such a kind and loving soul, and he was so generous. He was the kind of actor that gave you everything when he worked with you.”
The Polaroid star also told Seventeen about how Perry would console her when her red carpet outfits were criticized or if she felt like she didn’t do her best in a press interview. She explained that the Riverdale cast’s recent appearance at the San Diego Comic-Con in July was difficult for her because of a tradition she and Perry used to have.
“The hardest thing for me was that every Comic-Con, Luke would call me in the morning and he would say, ‘I have a pimple, I need you to cover it,’” Petsch recalled. “And he would come to my room and make me cover his pimple. This last Comic=Con was really hard because I didn’t get my phone call.”
The Washington native also talked about the lesson she learned from the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood star that she will continue to take with her after his death.
“I’ve learned from Luke to be a bright light for people because you never know who needs it, just like I did,” she said.
Petsch stars as Cheryl Blossom on Riverdale, while Perry played Fred Andrews on the series from seasons 1 to 3.
The Ohio native died on March 4 days after he was taken to the hospital on February 27 after he suffered a stroke in his Los Angeles home.
“[Perry] was surrounded by his children Jack and Sophie, fiancée Wendy Madison Bauer, ex-wife Minnie Sharp, mother Ann Bennett, stepfather Steve Bennett, brother Tom Perry, sister Amy Coder and other close family and friends,” the actor’s rep said in a statement to Us Weekly in March. “The family appreciates the outpouring of support and prayers that have been extended to Luke from around the world, and respectfully request privacy in this time of great mourning. No further details will be released at this time.”
In May, KJ Apa, who played Perry’s TV son Archie Andrews on Riverdale, told Us about what he learned from his late costar on the set of their show.
“I think Luke had an amazing ability to make every single person in the room feel very welcome and feel really comfortable,” he said. “He would do anything you can to make everyone feel comfortable. And I think, for me, that was something that I was always in awe about.”
The New Zealand native, 22, continued, “He never forgot about people from day one. He remembered everyone’s names. He kept in touch with high school friends from, like, 30 years ago, to, like, right up until the day that he passed away. So yeah, I mean, he’s my role model. And he always will be.”
Season 4 of Riverdale premieres on The CW Wednesday, October 9, at 8 p.m.
