Cole Sprouse Mourns ‘Riverdale’ Co-Star Luke Perry: ‘He Was Well-Loved’

Cole Sprouse is remembering his Riverdale co-star Luke Perry following his death.

During an interview for his upcoming movie, Five Feet Apart, on Wednesday, just two days after Perry’s death following a massive stroke, Sprouse opened up about the actor’s death and revealed how the Riverdale cast is doing.

“We’re recovering, yeah. It’s obviously not the easiest thing to talk about, but he was well-loved and there’s been an outpouring of emotional support from people around the world, which just goes to show what a wonderful person he was and how much he impacted people’s lives and impacted our lives,” he said. “But I know that his family has requested privacy during this period and I respect that quite a bit.”

Sprouse was among the number of celebrities who took to social media on Monday after news broke that Perry, who portrayed Fred Andrews on The CW teen drama, had passed away at the age of 52 just five days after he had suffered a stroke at his California home.

“Love you bud,” he captioned a photo of himself and Perry.

Following the actor’s death, production on Riverdale was temporarily halted to allow cast and crew members time to mourn, and in a joint statement from The CW, Warner Bros. Television, and executive producers Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, and Jon Goldwater, Perry was remembered as “an incredibly caring, consummate professional with a giant heart, and a true friend to all.”

“A father figure and mentor to the show’s young cast, Luke was incredibly generous, and he infused the set with love and kindness. Our thoughts are with Luke’s family during this most difficult time,” the statement concluded.

The series stars and crew returned to set on Wednesday, with showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa announcing that all future episodes of the season would be dedicated to Perry.

“Going through pictures on my way to set. From the early days. With Luke in the middle. Our heart, always,” he wrote. “Tonight’s episode of #Riverdale finds Fred doing what he does best — helping Archie. It is dedicated to Luke, as all episodes will be for the rest of our run.”

During Wednesday night’s episode, “Chapter Forty-Nine: Fire Walk With Me,” the series paid tribute to the late actor with an In Memoriam card at the conclusion of the episode reading, “In Memoriam Luke Perry 1966-2019.”

Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.