Camila Mendes Talks Latinx Representation on "Riverdale"

Anyone who watches even an episode of Riverdale knows this isn’t your parents’s Archie comics. The hit CW show is darker and soapier than its happy-go-lucky source material, and the “all-American” characters have also gotten some crucial updates for 2018.

Chief among them is Veronica Lodge, played by Camila Mendes. The show rebooted the entire Lodge family to be Latinx — Camila herself is of Brazilian descent — and incorporates their heritage in a number of ways. (Count the times Hiram and Hermione Lodge call Veronica mija if you don’t believe us.) But what remains true to the comics is the fact that the Lodges are very wealthy, and very influential when it comes to Riverdale’s town politics. As Camila explained during an interview with W, it’s her hope that shows and movies continue to challenge Hollywood’s traditional model of Latinx representation.

"It’s the whole Lodge family being all Latino…portraying Latinos as a strong, powerful, intelligent family,” she said of the rewrite. On the CW series, she is joined by her father Hiram Lodge, played by Mark Consuelos, and her mother Hermione Lodge, portrayed by Marisol Nichols.

Together they orchestrate major business dealings in Riverdale, manipulating their friends and coworkers alike for a larger power play.

And, as viewers of the series know, the Lodges are Riverdale's richest family — but the money doesn't always come from the best places. “We do well, we’re go-getters," Camila added. Though, as her on-screen father Mark recently pointed out to Teen Vogue, Hiram is still "the criminal of all criminals,." Veronica and Hermione clearly aren’t as comfortable with his business dealings, to various degrees. For his part, Mark told us, "I love the trend that's been moving in a positive way ... I think that people would argue that it could probably move a little faster. And there could be a little more representation."

It seems Camila would agree, as she called out how Latinx roles in Hollywood are often mired by stereotypes, and require actors playing those characters to be "fierce, sexy, strong, confident." She added, "I think that’s definitely a good type of personality to portray and it’s empowering — but Latinas can be the goofy, nerdy, quirky, vulnerable women that I think is usually associated with white girls."

Camila's former costar Ross Butler (who played football player Reggie Mantle in season 1 before leaving to star in 13 Reasons Why) also examined the topic of stereotypes on TV in a recent essay for Teen Vogue. Ross talked about defying Asian-American stereotypes by playing characters who are jocks. "If Asians were better represented on-screen, perhaps you wouldn’t be as likely to have preconceived notions about me or put me in a box,” he wrote.

This isn't the first time that Camila has opened up about being a Latinx actor in Hollywood. In a 2017 interview with People Chica, she shared how casting agents once told her she didn't "look Latina enough." The actor also told Teen Vogue in 2017 that she hoped her work on Riverdale could help change the way television approached casting, noting that the CW series is "inclusive without trying."

"Archie — your most all-American character — is being played by a New Zealand native, who's also half-Samoan," she told Teen Vogue. That's the world we're trying to live in."

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Want more from Teen Vogue? Check this out: The Biggest Riverdale Villain Knows How Much You Hate Him