‘The Terror’ Actor Derek Mio Still Keeps in Touch With His ‘Greek’ Co-Stars (Exclusive)

Derek Mio may be currently leading the cast of the haunting AMC anthology drama The Terror, but many TV fans will recognize him from one of his earlier roles. For 36 episodes, Mio appeared as supporting character Wade Matthews in the ABC Family (now Freeform) teen dramedy Greek. While his days of portraying of the Kappa Tau Gamma frat boy are done, Mio says that he still keeps in touch with his former co-stars.

“It always goes back to Greek for me. That was the first big project that I got to work on. The first show where I did 36 episodes, and it was a big launching point for me in terms of just learning how to conduct yourself on set and within an ensemble cast,” Mio told PopCulture.com in a recent phone interview. “Whenever we run into each other, still, to this day, it’s like … it’s so nice to see each other and to see that everyone’s doing so well because so many people from that show really have excelled in their careers, and we really were like a fraternity/sorority, back then, and we still are. I love it whenever we can bump into each other, keep in contact on social media, and support each other’s projects.

Mio actually bumped into one of his former castmates, Spencer Grammer, back at San Diego Comic-Con and documented the experience on Instagram. Grammer has moved on to voice Summer Smith on the smash animated comedy Rick and Morty, but when they saw each other, Mio said it was just like old times.

“That was really cool, and she had nothing but the nicest things to say, and just really wanted to congratulate me on this project,” Mio said of the interaction.

Mio now stars as Chester Nakayama in Season 2 of The Terror, which is subtitled Infamy. The tense horror series centers around a Japanese spirit terrorizing a family at an internment camp during WWII. It provides a mix of commentary on the era, all while serving up nail-biting J-horror thrills.

“There are certain social and political things that are definitely relevant to our show, but at the core of our show it’s a great horror show, and we’re just excited to bring the J-horror genre to the horror world,” Mio said. “It’s something that horror fans in the mainstream really haven’t seen, but we’re just excited to tell this story and to thrill the audience, and just make it a very visceral viewing experience for them. I think they’re really going to enjoy it and go along for the ride.”

He added, “It is a true honor (to star in the show), and not just because it’s a show that features an all-Asian cast, but because it’s a story that hasn’t been told before, that is underrepresented, but it’s being told at such a high level, and it showcases the talents of the entire cast and the crew. It is a great moment, and hopefully studios and audiences can see that when it’s done right, it can hold up against the best of the best out there in the landscape, and I think it does.”

The Terror: Infamy airs Monday nights at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.

Photo Credit: Tommy Garcia