Madelaine Petsch has skilled a large number of feelings about saying goodbye to Riverdale, telling Us Weekly solely that she’s thrilled about Cheryl Blossom’s ending and enthusiastic about her personal future.
“As an actor on the present, wrapping was, perhaps, one of many hardest weeks of my life. The those that I work with — the forged and the crew — are actually a number of the most phenomenal individuals on this planet. I really feel very fortunate to have spent seven years with them. We just about had the identical crew for seven years, so I feel the toughest goodbye was saying goodbye to our crew,” Petsch, 28, instructed Us whereas selling her video marketing campaign for the brand new Mercedes-Benz CLE Coupé.
Petsch recalled experiencing blended emotions as manufacturing completed on the hit CW collection in June. (The present, which is predicated on characters launched in Archie Comics, will air its collection finale on August 23.)
“It’s extra to me about saying goodbye to those individuals who made the present [and] put their love into it. In order that was fairly troublesome,” she continued. “However I do know it was time to place the crimson lipstick away and say goodbye to Cheryl. So, I’m excited to say goodbye to Cheryl [and] I feel her story has been accomplished rather well. I feel individuals shall be proud of it.”
Petsch has introduced Cheryl Blossom to life since Riverdale debuted in 2017, delivering scene-stealing performances as Cheryl navigated grief following her brother’s demise, an surprising introduction to witchcraft and extra. Petsch has additionally left her mark whereas collaborating with Vanessa Morgan on Cheryl’s iconic love story with Toni Topaz.
“Vanessa has been my finest good friend since earlier than the present even began. So to play her onscreen love when we’ve got a lot chemistry was completely great. What I really like about her is that even in scenes the place we’re simply [in the] background, we discover methods to make Choni really feel actual and genuine and like they’re actually in love,” Petsch shared with Us. “I feel you possibly can actually see — particularly within the remaining couple episodes of the season — that what was actually vital to us is determining what our relationship appears to be like like and ensuring that it feels genuine and folks actually are proud of it.”
Vanessa Morgan and Madelaine Petsch Kailey Schwerman/The CW
Whereas reflecting on her Riverdale days, Petsch praised the collection for instructing her some useful classes.
“The factor that Riverdale did that was actually great was [how] we might get scripts morning of — typically we might get new rewrites for a scene we had been about to shoot in that second. You actually had been in an atmosphere the place you needed to work and suppose in your ft,” she famous. “Like, you by no means actually bought to only settle in and I feel that that could be a actually nice boot camp for an actor who needs to proceed appearing.”
Petsch loved how Riverdale pushed Cheryl all through the seasons, including, “It’s a actually nice problem to seek out the nuances of those characters and nonetheless discover the thrill in taking part in these characters for seven years. However each undertaking feels completely different. I really feel like moving into with a clean slate is crucial factor mentally.”
Petsch, nevertheless, isn’t in a rush to dive proper again into work after dedicating seven years to a single undertaking.
“I’m enthusiastic about taking a trip and spending a while engaged on myself. Additionally, I feel this is a crucial time for me to separate myself from this character I spent so a few years [playing]. As a result of in any other case if I went right into a undertaking instantly afterwards, I’d perhaps nonetheless have items of her with me,” she instructed Us. “However I feel it’s vital I take this time to separate Cheryl from myself and transfer on to this subsequent large a part of my profession.”
Petsch famous that she’s nonetheless determining the right way to prioritize her psychological well being amid the massive life change.
Madelaine Petsch Mercedes-Benz
“I wouldn’t say that I do know precisely what to do. There’s no rule or guidebook on the right way to navigate this. However I did simply go on a spa retreat with one in every of my finest pals [Caroline Day] who really performed Heather on the present a few years in the past,” Petsch mentioned. “I spent two full days figuring out a ton, getting massages and simply making an attempt to take away myself from this large heaviness that has sort of been across the finish of the present. Now I’m actually specializing in making my area really feel like a house — I feel that shall be useful. And I’m doing my weekly remedy periods.”
As Petsch continues to place herself first, she remains to be holding a watch out for potential initiatives when the timing is correct. She credited her expertise within the leisure business for permitting her to go together with her intestine in the case of selecting a job.
“I’m any individual who likes selection in my profession. However in the case of my subsequent steps, it’s actually nearly the one that I’m taking part in. Do I really feel like I can get into her pores and skin simply or not? Generally it’s actually interesting to have a difficult time stepping into a personality as a result of it’s extra work,” she detailed. “And I really like the work. So, to me, it’s nearly what I see on the web page and what I can convey to life and the way I feel I can embody this character.”
Petsch continued: “There’s actually no rhyme or motive to the characters that I resonate with. It’s only a feeling. It’s like my finest method of describing it.”
Previous to wrapping Riverdale, Petsch labored alongside Froy Gutierrez and Gabriel Basso to movie all three movies within the Strangers remake trilogy again to again, which she is happy for followers of the franchise to see.
“After I took this process on, it felt far too massive for anyone to ever deal with. Like actually, I [felt] like I used to be over my head. However then once I bought there, all three [films] happen in a brief period of time. I [approached it like I was] filming one lengthy film after which all of it made sense to me,” she shared. “I used to be capable of match this puzzle collectively as if I used to be mainly making one lengthy film or a tv present or anything. It was really fairly straightforward to get my mind round it as soon as I noticed the span of time it takes place over.”
Madelaine Petsch Mercedes-Benz
Petsch has additionally lately teamed up with Mercedes-Benz for the world premiere of their new CLE automobiles. The performer, who has been an envoy with the model since 2019, collaborated on a social-driven video marketing campaign that highlights the automobile’s unique consolation options, high-tech driving efficiency and glossy design.
“It was such a blast to shoot [the ad]. Mercedes-Benz is a extremely great firm to work with — they actually do really feel like a household. When the chance got here to shoot a industrial for them, I used to be by way of the roof. I used to be so excited,” she instructed Us. “It feels prefer it’s the primary time they’ve executed something like this. To be part of it felt actually cool and really particular. It was shot in Lisbon — I’d by no means been to Lisbon earlier than — and we had a extremely, actually enjoyable time. The director was good, everybody was beautiful and it [really] got here collectively. I couldn’t be happier.”
Petsch gushed over the Mercedes-Benz CLE Coupé’s therapeutic massage seat options — and the corporate’s dedication to turning into absolutely electrical by the tip of the last decade, saying, “I really like Mercedes-Benz for his or her ahead considering. I’m actually excited that the automobile has [a hybrid component]. I feel that we’d like extra of that.”
The 2024 Mercedes-Benz CLE Coupé will arrive in U.S. dealerships in early 2024. The CLE Cabriolet may also be obtainable for customers to buy.
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Riverdale airs on The CW Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
