Celebrity
Charles Melton Misremembered His “42 Seconds” On Glee 10 Years Later
His recollection of his Glee guest spot isn’t quite accurate.
A decade before being dubbed “the biggest surprise” of awards season with his role in the acclaimed drama May December, Charles Melton was still struggling to make it as an actor. He recalled his big breakthrough in a Deadline interview published on Jan. 13, naming a bit part on Glee as his first guest-star role. He shared several details about the experience, including a couple that weren’t quite accurate.
His “First Thing”
Leading up to his Glee gig, Melton was “lucky enough to do a few modeling jobs,” he told Deadline, but his “bread and butter” was walking dogs. He also did a web series that ultimately didn’t go anywhere, so he counted his Glee role as his big breakthrough. “That was my first thing,” he said. “It was so exciting.”
Melton recalled that his character, Gavin, was a model, in Season 5, Episode 14, “New New York.” “I’m 43 minutes in, or something, for 42 seconds,” he said. “So don’t blink your eyes or take a bathroom break, you might miss me.”
His recollection mostly checks out, but his numbers are a little off. Melton makes his appearance 34 minutes into the episode (available on Hulu), and the scene lasts for 22 seconds. Given that the episode first aired in April 2014, he deserves a pass for not remembering all of the specifics.
A Career Catalyst
Melton described his job on Glee as “to tell the actor [he] was acting opposite of that if he needs anything, to talk to his roommate about it.” In the scene, Gavin shows Sam (Chord Overstreet) his new room in a house full of models. Their brief but entertaining interaction gave Melton the chance to acknowledge Sam’s previous struggles with homelessness with the absurdly nonchalant quip, “That’s cool, man. I envy your realness,” before leaving to “do a paid webcam thing.”
It was a small part, but more work followed. Melton went on to appear in two episodes of American Horror Story: Hotel the next year, and then his profile really climbed after he made his debut on Riverdale in 2017. Since then, he’s been able to land multiple high-profile gigs, such as Ariana Grande’s “Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored” music video and the movie Bad Boys for Life. And now, he’s even in the Oscar conversation.
His Riverdale Education
Even with all the buzz surrounding him, Melton isn’t forgetting his Riverdale roots, either. He has credited the show for making him the actor he is now in his time playing Reggie. “It really helped me refine this work ethic,” he told i-D magazine in December. “Riverdale truly was my Juilliard — I was learning and growing and playing and taking risks. I was allowed to do that.”
