Archie and Veronica's red-hot romance may soon be derailed by the arrival of an attractive ex. Entertainment Weekly reports that Riverdale has cast actor Graham Phillips to play Nick St. Clair, the former boyfriend of its carrot-topped protagonist's main squeeze, for the CW hit's second season. Your move, Betty.
Fans of The Good Wife will recognize Phillips from his previous role as Zach, the earnest, tech-savvy son of Alicia and Peter Florrick (Julianna Margulies and Chris Noth). The 24-year-old actor also played the love interest of Modern Family's Sarah Hyland in the 2016 Netflix original movie, XOXO.
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His latest role will be a far cry from his good guy roots, however, according to Riverdale executive producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa.
“Nick is an old classmate of Veronica’s (played by Camila Mendes) from New York, and despite his parent-pleasing veneer, he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing: a hard-partying Lothario with dark desires and an unchecked sense of privilege," Aguirre-Sacasa told EW. "His arrival in Riverdale will threaten Archie’s (K.J. Apa) relationship with Veronica, and may even put some of our characters at risk.”
Dun-dun-dun. As ominous as that sounds — unless you're strongly shipping Archie and Betty (Lili Reinhart), who was last seen getting hot and heavy with Jughead (Cole Sprouse) — Nick's visit won't last too long. Phillips is currently on board for just two episodes when season 2 returns on October 11. How much damage could he possibly do?
Of course, this does cast more mystery on those behind-the-scenes season 2 photos which show Veronica being dolled up as a bride. Dastardly Nick couldn't possibly be the groom in a Gossip Girl-style twist, right? Right?