'Riverdale' Casting Director Reveals Late Luke Perry Fought for Role

It always adds another layer of meaning to a show for fans when some familiar faces come around, like former teen idols.

A trend that seems to be popping up more and more is former teen television stars, like Molly Ringwald, Chad Michael Murray, and others, being cast in roles of parents on popular teen shows like Riverdale. As it turns out, the late Luke Perry had a lot to do with this casting resurgence before he got his role as Archie's father.

Perry passed away after suffering a stroke earlier this year at the age of 52. Casting director David Rapaport spoke about their initial hesitation to have former teen idols on the show.

 “Initially we were afraid of casting former teen idols because we thought that would be too kitschy,” Rapaport told Entertainment Weekly. “But Luke [Perry] came in and fought for the role [of Archie’s dad]. We had to make a decision: Do we do this or do we not do this. Part of the show is there’s so much nostalgia involved, so there is something about having a former heartthrob play the father of a heartthrob. Luke was the first one that we cast. And then Mädchen [Amick] was undeniable, and Marisol’s [Nichols] performance blew us away. Then Skeet Ulrich came in and seemed like a no-brainer, and we hired Robin Givens and Molly Ringwald, and then it became the cool thing to do.”

Perry still appears on episodes, and is sorely missed by the cast.