Riverdale star Lili Reinhart already had two seasons to get close to her TV mom Mädchen Amick, who plays Betty Cooper’s overprotective, scheming, and secretive mother Alice. But thanks to the show’s big season-three flashback episode, Reinhart will actually be her.
“I work with Mädchen all the time. I know her mannerisms, I know the way that she works,†Reinhart told Vulture at the Los Angeles premiere of her new film Galveston, though she promised she isn’t doing a direct impersonation. The teen version of Amick’s character was much more of a bad girl than the prim mom she grew up to be (even if that mom does occasionally let loose). “Young Alice is so different from older Alice, so I didn’t have the pressure of having to be exactly like the same person, because she’s so different as a younger Serpent.â€
Because of that, Reinhart also looked to the past, and modeled her performance after Amick’s famous turn as the romantically troubled Double R waitress Shelly Johnson in Twin Peaks (which was also a key influence on Riverdale). “I do my own makeup on the show this season, and I was definitely looking a lot of Twin Peaks photo references to make sure that I got the eyebrows right,†Reinhardt said, “The Mac lip pencil Spice I use, she used back in the day. So, yeah, I did my research!â€
Viewers can judge the results when “The Midnight Club†airs in November as the fourth episode of Riverdale’s new season, but Reinhart already received a verdict from the Amick herself. “When she first saw me in the hair and makeup, she looked at me, she studied my face for a second, and she went, ‘Yep,’†Reinhardt laughed. “And that was it.â€