2 min readA LOT OF CHARLES Melton's biggest fans might still think of him as a teenager. After all, they came to know him as Reggie Mantle, the resident jock on the CW's gonzo bananas teen drama Riverdale, based on the Archie comics. But while Melton looks back fondly on his teen drama experience, his career is nowhere near that anymore.
Now 35, he's not only long past Riverdale in his career as an actor—leading the second season of Netflix's hit Beef and later this year set to headline a thriller from acclaimed arthouse director Nicolas Winding Refn—but he's also recently become a father.
Melton, who grew up moving all around the country (with a stop in Germany) due to his father's military career, always wanted to be a dad. But he wasn't ever certain that he would get the chance.
“It’s the best thing—the best thing,” he says in Men's Health's new cover story. “But I never knew if that dream was going to happen, because you’ve got to meet the right person. And I did.”
Just a few weeks before he sat with Men's Health for that cover interview, Melton's daughter was born. His partner, director and photographer Camille Summers-Valli, had announced her pregnancy on Instagram back in January. Melton revealed the birth of his daughter on his own Instagram in March.
The actor is clearly excited and ready for this new stage in his life. While he's moved around a lot and gone through several different phases in his career, he's also someone who's always committed and ready to see something through 100 percent. “My flagpole is deeply rooted wherever I go,” he says.
Plus, he's sharing some of his great taste in art with his new baby as well. In the cover story, he also reveals that he's been playing Radiohead for his new daughter, particularly the song "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" from the 2007 album In Rainbows.
Writer Lauren Larson describes Melton's daughter as "doomed to have a cool dad"—and we're inclined to agree.
You can read the full Men’s Health cover story here.
