Charles Melton bio, girlfriend, height, age, ethnicity, career path 2025

Charles Melton Biography

Charles Melton is an American actor and model of Korean descent. He gained fame for his role as Reggie Mantle in the TV show "Riverdale".

Early Life

Charles was born in early 1991 in Juneau, Alaska. His mother Sakiyong is Korean, and his father Phillip is American. The family moved to Kansas after Charles was born, where he spent his childhood.

His striking looks come from both his mother's Korean heritage and his father's Native American ancestry. In school, he developed a passion for football and continued playing in college. But the athletic and good-looking Melton dropped out of college to pursue his dream of becoming an actor. Before pursuing acting, Charles worked as a model for renowned brands like Armani, Hollister, and Dolce & Gabbana.

A lucky break landed Melton on the set of "Glee," launching his acting career.

Acting Career

While filming "Glee," which snagged the Golden Globe for Best Television Series in 2010, Charles met key actors from the show: Cory Monteith, Matthew Morrison, and Chris Colfer. He then appeared in music videos, short films, and landed a minor role as Mr. Wu in "American Horror Story: Hotel."

Starting in "Riverdale's" second season, Melton stepped into the regular role of comic character Reggie, replacing Ross Butler who'd left the show.

Charles Melton in the TV series 'Riverdale'

In 2018, the rising actor played Cage in Michael J. Gallagher's sci-fi action flick "The Thinning: New World Order," working alongside Matthew Glave, Michael Traynor, and Amy Paffrath.

Charles Melton in Ariana Grande's music video

2019 brought Melton his first lead role in a feature film. Director Ry Russo-Young cast him as Daniel Bae in the romantic drama "The Sun Is Also a Star," with the talented Yara Shahidi as his co-star. The story follows two completely different people who meet in New York.

Additionally, Melton worked with Vanessa Hudgens and Alexander Ludwig in the sequel "Bad Boys for Life," the hit action-comedy from Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah.

They played officers in a modern police squad, facing off against the reunited old-school duo of Martin Lawrence and Will Smith. An Albanian hitman seeking revenge for his dead brother is hunting them down.

Bad Boys for Life Stars Alexander Ludwig and Charles Melton Play Canada vs. America

The new "Bad Boys" was released in 2020. That same year, Charles had a cameo in Gia Coppola's drama "Mainstream" and then landed a role in the anthology series "American Horror Stories" (Season 1, Episode 4).

Scene from the series 'American Horror Stories'

In 2021, audiences saw him take a central role in the drama "Heart of Champions," about a former Vietnam War veteran who begins coaching a rowing team. The film received lukewarm reviews from both critics and audiences. In 2022, Charles starred in the sci-fi comedy "Secret Headquarters."

Scene from the movie 'Heart of Champions'

Charles Melton's Personal Life

Charles met his girlfriend Camila Mendes on the set of "Riverdale." They started dating in 2018 and were frequently spotted together off-set—catching movies in Vancouver with co-stars Casey Cott and Lili Reinhart, or hanging out on friends' yachts and at the beach.

But in December 2019, fans were stunned when the couple called it quits and scrubbed their social media of shared photos. Then in summer 2021, sources confirmed they'd gotten back together.

In January 2022, Charles met actress Chase Sui Wonders, known for the series "Generation". The two connected while filming the Vogue China short "Wake," which Chase directed.

Charles Melton in short-movie Wake

Come March, the tabloids were buzzing about Melton and Mendes' split, as Charles was seen more and more with Chase.

That romance fizzled by December, and come May 2023, Charles was spotted with actress Chloe Bennet. The pair kept things low-key, with sources saying they were dating "quietly."

Charles Melton Now

In 2023, Charles starred in the festival drama "May December" alongside Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman—a provocative story about a teacher-student affair with a 23-year age gap.

Director Todd Haynes nearly passed on Charles for the role of the grown-up student (now married to his former teacher) because he was almost too good-looking. But Melton won him over with his deep grasp of the character and what Haynes called his "ability to move simultaneously like a child and an old man." He eventually secured the role, for which he had to gain around 40 pounds. Charles called the experience "challenging" and "deeply voyeuristic" in exploring human nature.

May december – Press conference – EV – Cannes 2023