‘Riverdale’: Mark Consuelos Talks Returning For His Last Hurrah As Hiram Lodge & Embarking On A New Endeavor Co-Hosting With Wife Kelly Ripa
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SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from Wednesday’s episode of Riverdale.
Hiram Lodge is back to cause chaos in Riverdale.
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Mark Consuelos reprised his character as the conniving father of Camila Mendes’ Veronica Lodge during Wednesday night’s episode, titled “The Crucible.” In this iteration of Riverdale, which is set in the 1950s, Hiram is a big-time actor living in Los Angeles who comes to town under the guise that he misses his daughter and wants a taste of the small town life. But some things never change, and Hiram has an ulterior motive up his sleeve.
You see, the country is currently in the midst of the Red Scare and Hiram has found himself the latest target of McCarthyism. He tells Veronica that, after a very innocent recent trip to Cuba, he’s been flagged as a communist sympathizer and he needs Veronica to lie on his behalf, testifying that she was on the trip and didn’t witness anything nefarious. Of course, Hiram’s own lie soon unravels, and Veronica finds out that her father actually took a meeting with Fidel Castro himself during that trip to Cuba.
No matter what the decade, it turns out Hiram is just as conniving as ever.
As Riverdale is coming to an end with Season 7, it looks like this is the last that the town will see of Hiram Lodge. Consuelos confirmed to Deadline that this is his only episode and it “definitely feels like goodbye.”
Consuelos spoke with Deadline about returning to Riverdale once more and reminisced about his special moments on set, including acting alongside his son Michael. He also discussed his latest endeavor, hosting Live! with his wife, Kelly Ripa.
DEADLINE: Hiram keeps popping back up in Riverdale. How was it to appear on the show one last time, this time as a Hiram of the past?
MARK CONSUELOS: Gosh, I was just so grateful to get a chance to go back and spend some time with my friends. So that was just so amazing. And then to spend time working on the set, specifically like my office or the living room or the dining room that I spent so many days, so many hours in, I was smiling between takes. I’d be talking to Cami [Mendes]…I’m like, ‘How many scenes have we had on this set?’ It was such a gift to go back and be able to say goodbye.
DEADLINE: You have shared so many on screen moments with Camila. How have the two of you developed as scene partners, after sparring together all these years?
CONSUELOS: I mean, she came she came to the show ready to go. I think Riverdale was her first show out of college. She had a season under her belt when I joined the show. She’s such a pro. I love having her as a scene partner. It’s different. Every scene is different. she always wants it to be the best. We have a great rapport. I’m really, really proud of her. She’s such a badass. I couldn’t be more proud of her. I know, I’m not her dad, but I definitely have some fatherly pride.
DEADLINE: What about Hiram Lodge and Riverdale as a whole has kept you coming back?
CONSUELOS: Well, I mean, characters like Hiram, they don’t come around that often for actors to play. Definitely the most devious, baddest bad that I’ve ever had the opportunity to play. So I’m really thankful for that. A couple years ago, I thought I was ready to move on. But I’m so glad that, like all the other characters that die in Riverdale, they all come back. I was so happy that Hiram was not the exception. So when last season came in when I was like, ‘Alright, maybe he’s dead. Maybe he’s just dead, and he’ll be the one guy that dies and never comes back. That’s cool. I’m okay with that.’ But when Roberto [Aguirre-Sacasa] asked me to come back, I couldn’t have been more thrilled and grateful.
DEADLINE: You mentioned saying goodbye. Does this mean that this is your last episode?
CONSUELOS: it is my only episode. So I think the fans will be happy with the episode and what Hiram does. It feels like goodbye. It definitely feels like goodbye.
DEADLINE: You’ve had so many great moments throughout the series. A few years ago you acted alongside your son Michael. Looking back, what is it like to reminisce on some of those special moments on the show?
CONSUELOS: So many great moments. First of all, I’ve been so lucky that Roberto and the rest of the writers gave me such a good story. Also, my wife was on the show. She came in and played on an episode, which I thought that’s so cool. We’ve done that before, obviously. I started my career playing opposite her. So that was such a thrill. I was really grateful for that. But to have scenes and to have the interaction that I did with my son, who played me, I mean, I smile about it. Every now and then I’ll think about it, [and it] just gives me a big smile. He did such a great job. He just did Hiram proud and he did the story proud. He got to do so much in one episode. I mean, he lost the girl. He got the girl. He killed the bad guy. He watched his father die. He had a funeral scene. I mean, this kid got to play an actor’s journey in one episode. I said to him, ‘Michael that doesn’t always happen that way. So I hope you enjoyed that.’ And he did. But I will never forget that we had that time together and it’s there forever. We can watch that episode 20 years from now when I’m with his kids.
DEADLINE: Did you instill any wisdom in him about the character or just acting in general?
CONSUELOS: We didn’t really talk about it too much. He had a couple of questions. He worked with a coach. I stayed completely out of the way, unlike Hiram. I did not get involved at all. He had many scenes without me, and I would sneak on set and stand off way in the back on a monitor that he could not see. So not to [make him] feel weird that his dad’s watching. He didn’t even know I was there. But I was just so proud. And the role of the gangster that kind of plays his surrogate father was played by a dear friend of mine, Louis Ferreira. Him and I worked on a show 20 years ago…so I knew Michael was in great hands. He went into it very seriously. I guess a long way of saying like, I stayed out of the way as much as possible. And the director of that episode did an amazing job. The writer did an amazing job. It was all there on the page. So I thought they really set him up for success, and I think he delivered well.
DEADLINE: Outside of Riverdale, you recently started co-hosting Live! with your wife, Kelly Ripa. How has that been going?
CONSUELOS: I love it. I absolutely love it. It’s such a different muscle than I’m used to. I was telling somebody the other day, as an actor when they pick you up for work, at least the way I worked, my brain didn’t really have to start working for another three hours until after I got picked up. You go through makeup, you go through rehearsal, you get dressed, and then you do as many takes as you need to get it right. When you go to work on a live TV show, you have to be ready immediately. As soon as I wake up, I’m working. I’m very much awake. So it’s a wonderful challenge. I’m enjoying it immensely. And again, it’s one of those bucket list moments that we’ll look back on as a family 20 years from now and have, hopefully, a great laugh and look back upon it fondly.
DEADLINE: I read that you and Kelly had said you initially thought it was a bad idea to co-host full time when it was presented to you, but you came around to it. Why was that the initial reaction, and how did you decide it would be a positive thing?
CONSUELOS: When people make it look easy, it almost always is not easy. Kelly makes it look very easy. The times that I’ve filled in with her I’m like, ‘Wow, this is easy. This is no big deal.’ But it’s a lot of work and to do it over and over and over again takes a lot of skill. I’m arguably working with one of the best in the business, if not the best in the business at what they do. So, I was like, ‘Well, I’m an actor. I’m not sure I do that.’ I had been filling in for Ryan [Seacrest] a bunch, and I did have a lot of fun doing it. I thought there was this magic that happened every time that we did it. We set up a list of objections, and then we would overcome those objections. Also, I’ve been on the road for the better part of seven years living in Los Angeles, in New Mexico, and then in Vancouver. Then with COVID, when they closed the borders, it was a lot of time away from home. I thought ‘Man, this is such a great way to be anchored in the city in such a beautiful way, working with someone who’s at the best of what they do, working on an iconic show.’ I also want to do some theater in New York…there are not many decisions that we make these days at our age that we don’t mull over a lot. Just like any big decision, we took it very seriously. I’m so glad that they asked me. I’m so glad that she was cool with it. And I’m so glad I said yes.
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