Charles Michael Melton (born January 4, 1991) is an American actor. After working as a fashion model, Melton ventured to acting with guest roles on the television series ''

Glee Glee may refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3000 album) * ''Glee'' (Logan Lynn album) * Gle ...

'' (2014) and '' American Horror Story: Hotel'' (20152016). His breakthrough came with his portrayal of

Reggie Mantle Reginald "Reggie" Mantle is a fictional teenager in stories published by Archie Comics; he is introduced by writer-artist Bob Montana and John L. Goldwater in ''Jackpot Comics'' #5 (cover-dated Spring 1942). He also appears in CW's '' Riverdale'' ...

the CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

series '' Riverdale'' (2017–2023). Melton gained recognition for his leading role in the romance film ''

The Sun Is Also a Star ''The Sun Is Also a Star'' is a 2019 American teen romance film directed by Ry Russo-Young and written by Tracy Oliver, based on the young adult novel of the same name by Nicola Yoon. The film stars Yara Shahidi, Charles Melton in his feat ...

'' (2019). For his acclaimed portrayal of a young man married to a woman who

raped Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person w ...

and groomed him as a child in the drama film ''

May December ''May December'' is a 2023 American black comedy drama film directed by Todd Haynes from a screenplay by Samy Burch, based on a story by Burch and Alex Mechanik. It stars Natalie Portman as an actress who travels to meet and study the life o ...

'' (2023), Melton earned nominations for a

Critics' Choice Movie Award The Critics' Choice Awards (formerly known as the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award) is an awards show presented annually by the American Critics Choice Association (CCA) to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. Written ballots are ...

and a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

Early life

Charles Michael Melton was born on January 4, 1991, in

Juneau, Alaska Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Southeast Alaska, Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the ...

, to Sukyong and Phil Melton. His father is an American with English ancestry; his mother is a

Korean immigrant The Korean diaspora consists of around 7.3 million people, both descendants of early emigrants from the Korean Peninsula, as well as more recent emigrants from Korea. Around 84.5% of overseas Koreans live in just five countries: the United Stat ...

who moved to the United States with Charles's father in 1990. Melton is the eldest child, having two younger sisters. His family moved frequently because his father worked for the military. At one point, the family lived in

Pyeongtaek Pyeongtaek (; ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Located in the southwestern part of the province, Pyeongtaek was founded as a union of two districts in 1940. It was elevated to city status in 1986 and is home to a South Korean naval b ...

Gyeonggi Gyeonggi Province (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Seoul, the nation's largest city and capital, is in the heart of the area but has been separately administered as a provincial-level ''special city'' since 1946. Incheon, ...

, South Korea, for about five years. They eventually settled down in

Manhattan, Kansas Manhattan is a city in and the county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County, Kansas, Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big ...

where Melton graduated from

Manhattan High School Manhattan High School is a public high school in Manhattan, Kansas, United States, serving students in grades 9–12. It is part of the Manhattan–Ogden USD 383 school district. For the 2013–2014 school year, Manhattan High had an enrollment o ...

in 2009. Melton studied at nearby

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...

, where he played as a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

on the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

under coach

Bill Snyder William D. Snyder (born October 7, 1939) is an American retired college football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach at Kansas State University from 1989 to 2005 and again from 2009 to 2018. Snyder initially retired fro ...

. He dropped out of college at twenty to pursue acting and moved to Los Angeles, California, in 2012. He also previously worked as a dog walker on the app Wag.

Career

He was first successful as a model, having booked gigs for

Dolce & Gabbana Dolce & Gabbana (), also known by initials D&G, is an Italian Luxury goods, luxury fashion house founded in 1985 in Legnano by Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. The house specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, accessories, ...

, Kenneth Cole and

MAC Mac or MAC may refer to: Common meanings * Mac (computer), a line of personal computers made by Apple Inc. * Mackintosh, a raincoat made of rubberized cloth * Mac, a prefix to surnames derived from Gaelic languages * McIntosh (apple), a Canadi ...

. His first acting roles included guest spots on ''

'' and ''

American Horror Story ''American Horror Story'' (''AHS'') is an American horror film, horror anthology series, anthology television series created by Ryan Murphy (producer), Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for the Cable television, cable network FX (TV channel), FX. Th ...

''. Melton received mainstream attention in 2017 when he was cast as

in the second season of the CW series '' Riverdale''. He replaced Ross Butler, who left the cast due to his commitment to ''

13 Reasons Why ''13 Reasons Why'' (also stylized as ''TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY'') is an American teen drama television series based on the 2007 novel '' Thirteen Reasons Why'' by author Jay Asher. Developed for Netflix by Brian Yorkey and with Selena Gomez ser ...

''. After recurring during the second season, Melton officially became a series regular on ''Riverdale'' starting with the third season. In 2019, he starred in his first feature film as Daniel Bae in ''

'', the film adaptation of the book of the same name by

Nicola Yoon Nicola Yoon (born 1972) is a Jamaican-American author. She is best known for writing the 2015 young adult novel '' Everything, Everything'', a ''New York Times'' best seller and the basis of a 2017 film of the same name. In 2016, she released ' ...

. Because of that movie, he is the first

Korean-American Korean Americans () are Americans of full or partial Korean ethnic descent. While the broader term Overseas Korean in America () may refer to all ethnic Koreans residing in the United States, the specific designation of Korean American impli ...

and

Asian-American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for ...

actor to lead a teen

romance film Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

from a major Hollywood studio. In 2023, he co-starred in the

Todd Haynes Todd Haynes (; born January 2, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films span four decades with themes examining the personalities of well-known musicians, dysfunctional and dystopian societies, and blurred gender ...

directed

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

drama film ''

'' where he acted alongside

Natalie Portman Natalie Hershlag{{efn, Some Hebrew sources claim that her birth name was "Neta-Lee Hershleg" ({{langx, he, נטע-לי הרשלג) and later, her first name was Americanized to "Natalie". {{Cite news , last=Shamir , first=Oron , date=August ...

and

Julianne Moore Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress and children's author. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent ...

. Melton's performance received critical acclaim, winning Best Supporting Actor from the

Gotham Independent Film Awards The Gotham Awards () are American film awards, presented annually to the makers of independent films at a ceremony in New York City, the city first nicknamed "Gotham" by native son Washington Irving, in an issue of ''Salmagundi'', published on ...

National Society of Film Critics Awards The National Society of Film Critics (NSFC) is an American film critic organization. The organization is known for its highbrow tastes, and its annual awards are one of the most prestigious film critics awards in the United States. In January 2024, ...

and the New York Film Critics Awards. He also received a nomination for the

. He is set to star in ''Love Child'' with

Elizabeth Olsen Elizabeth Chase Olsen (born February 16, 1989) is an American actress. She gained worldwide recognition for her portrayal of Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe media franchise, including in '' Avengers: Age of Ult ...

with a release date to be announced. He is also set to star in ''

Warfare War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of State (polity), states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or betwe ...

'', an

A24 A24 Films LLC, commonly referred to as A24, is an American Privately held company, independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. The studio is based in Manhattan. The company ...

war movie written and directed by

Alex Garland Alexander Medawar Garland (born 26 May 1970) is an English author, screenwriter, and director. He rose to prominence with his novel '' The Beach'' (1996). He received praise for writing the Danny Boyle films '' 28 Days Later'' (2002) and '' Sun ...

and Ray Mendoza. He will also star in ''

Beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

'' season 2 alongside

Oscar Isaac Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada (born March 9, 1979) is an American actor. Recognized for his versatility, he has been credited with breaking stereotypes about Hispanic and Latino Americans, Latino characters in Cinema of the United States, H ...

Carey Mulligan Carey Hannah Mulligan (born 28 May 1985) is a British actress. She has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award. She w ...

Cailee Spaeny Cailee Spaeny ( ; born July 24, 1998) is an American actress. Her first major roles were in the science fiction film ''Pacific Rim Uprising'' and the neo-noir film ''Bad Times at the El Royale'' (both 2018). Her television roles include appearan ...

, and

Yuh-Jung Youn Youn Yuh-jung (, ; born June 19, 1947) is a South Korean actress, whose career in film and television spans over five decades. Her accolades include an Academy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, British Academy Film Award, and Independent Spirit ...

. His charity work includes serving as a Global Ambassador for

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries. Special Ol ...

International.

Personal life

Melton dated '' Riverdale'' co-star

Camila Mendes Camila Carraro Mendes (; ; born June 29, 1994) is an American actress. She made her acting debut portraying Veronica Lodge on The CW teen drama series '' Riverdale'' (2017–2023), for which she won a Teen Choice Award in 2017. Mendes transition ...

from October 2018 to December 2019. They dated again briefly in 2021. He dated Chase Sui Wonders from early 2022 until that summer. He dated

Chloe Bennet Chloé Wang (; born April 18, 1992), known professionally as Chloe Bennet, is an American actress, model and singer. She starred as Daisy Johnson / Quake in the ABC superhero drama series '' Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (2013–2020) and voiced Yi ...

in the spring/summer of 2023. Melton has two sisters, Patricia and Tammy. Tammy works with him as his producing partner.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Melton, Charles 1991 births Living people 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American sportsmen American male actors of Korean descent American people of English descent American actors of Korean descent American male film actors American male models American male taekwondo practitioners American male television actors American models of Korean descent Kansas State University alumni Male actors from Alaska Male actors from Kansas Male models from Alaska Male models from Kansas People from Juneau, Alaska People from Manhattan, Kansas