Camila Mendes Explains How She Feels About Fame and Her Career After Riverdale

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As all good things must come to an end, so will Riverdale. The CW's hit teen drama is airing its seventh and final season in 2023 and we’ll be saying goodbye to Archie and the gang for the last time. Riverdale has truly been the gift that keeps on giving, from Camila Mendes, Lili Reinhart, and Madelaine Petsch’s joint TikTok account, Free the Riverdale Actors meme, to Cole Sprouse and Lili Reinhart’s relationship (R.I.P.) We also have Riverdale to thank for kicking off Camila Mendes’ acting career — the Do Revenge actress spoke to PORTER Magazine about her thoughts on fame and plans for acting once the TV series wraps.

Riverdale was Camila’s first acting job out of college, and she admits that she worries about where her career is going despite booking an incredibly successful first gig. “I don’t keep myself busy because I don’t like being idle; I keep myself busy because I have anxiety about my career,” she explains. “I’ve always been in that frame of mind. I understand that this industry is so fickle. Fame is fleeting. You can be successful, but you’re only as good as your last thing.”

Camila is also keenly aware of how the changing entertainment landscape now favors actors and musicians who are active on social media and constantly engaging with their fan base. “If I woke up tomorrow and all my followers were gone, I’m sure it would drive me insane; I’d probably go into a full spiral. That’s the unhealthy thing about it,” Camila noted. "It would threaten my career and my livelihood, which is crazy. We’re expected to be so much more than actors now. We are content creators. We are influencers. It’s like you’ve got to be everything.”

And when it comes to fame, the actress explained that the one thing it adds to her life is that it brings her work, saying, “It feels like everyone’s competing for attention and there’s this real fear that, if you’re not relevant, if you’re not being talked about for something, then you’ll be forgotten and you won’t get work.” Camila puts it blankly: "That’s the only value fame adds to my life. Is this somehow directly relating to me booking a job? Because if it is, then I do care about it.”

The actress might have played two HBIC characters in a row (hello, Veronica Lodge and Drea Torres!) but she has a variety of roles and projects in the works, from an art-auctioning romcom called Upgraded to a film with her new man Rudy Mancuso called Música. Camila shared about what a touching experience it was to be a part of Música, saying, "I could cry thinking about it, it meant so much to me. I’ll never forget that experience and I don’t know when I’m going to get it again.”

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