Madelaine Petsch Says She 'Terrified' Producers With Her 'Riverdale' Audition

Cheryl Blossom has proven to be one of the breakout characters on the CW’s Riverdale, amassing support from fans for her moral complexity and astounding roasts. But Madelaine Petsch, who plays Cheryl, says that her initial audition with the producers of Riverdale left them “terrified.”

In an interview with AOL, Petsch said the producers knew of her, but didn’t know exactly what to expect from her audition. “I went straight to the producers when I auditioned for Cheryl, because I had actually auditioned earlier that week for a different show they had,” she said, but explained that, “I asked them recently what it was about me [that got me the part] and he said, ‘We didn’t know what we were going to get from you. We never knew.’”

She added that, in addition to her performance, her outfit that day captivated the producers: “It was a blue very tight long-sleeved turtleneck crop-top, and then this weird suspenders skirt that went down into a flow-y skirt to the knee in black-and-white pinstripes,” which, she figured, must have made them wonder what she was thinking.

After her recent conversation with the producers, Petsch learned that the outfit certainly left an impression. She explained that, in her recent conversation with a producer, he said to her: "'You were a little scary, but a little cool, and you made a weird fashion choice and we loved it. We were terrified of you in the best way.'"

As for us, we’re glad Petsch was able to come off so strongly to the producers, even if it did mean terrifying them—otherwise, we wouldn’t be seeing her dynamite performance on Riverdale. And if her status as a fashion icon on the show is any evidence, we’re sure that she nailed the outfit, too.