'May December'? More Like Charles Melton Charles Melton Charles Melton
From CW heartthrob to potential Oscar contender
The impossible has happened: Charles Melton has emerged a bonafide Hollywood star out of Riverdale’s smoking ashes.
Riverdale, the CW and Netflix menace that went on for seven agonizing seasons from 2017 - 2023, was the teen show to end all YA dramas. After torturing its actors with nonsensical plot turns, inexplicable musical numbers, and confusing character arcs, Riverdale finally put the long-suffering cast out of its misery and set them free.
Of course, the Riverdale cast have all become (or were already) teen idols. Many of them have dabbled in other projects during the show’s reign…But now, with the weight of it off their backs, it’s time for them to go out into the world and make new names for themselves.
And who would have predicted that Charles Melton, who played Reggie Mantle in the CW nightmare, would be the show’s breakout star?
Naturally, as a chronically online girl of a certain age, I have been following Charles Melton on social media for years. And yes, I watched him in the movie adaptation of the YA book, The Sun is Also a Star, alongside Yara Shahidi. But that heartwarming, sometimes-saccharine tale is nothing compared to his most recent role — a challenging risk that has certainly paid off.
What is May December about?
This strange, unsettling story is a meta tale of retelling a true story through movies. It follows a method actress studying a real-life family in preparation for a role…But this is no ordinary family — it’s one defined by scandal. Mother and wife, Gracie Atherton, met her husband Joe when she was an adult and he was thirteen years old. After being arrested, going to jail, and having Joe’s baby in prison, the Atherton story became a media frenzy.
We meet these characters twenty years later, settled into life in their small time, with the consequences of Gracie’s decisions causing simmering discomfort for the people in her life: her community, her children, and mostly, her husband Joe.
Gracie Atherton and Joe are based loosely on the true story of an ex-school teacher Mary Kay Letourneau who began an illegal and predatory relationship with her 13-year-old student. This case happened in 1997, over 25 years ago, and stole headlines — especially since, like the fictional Atherton, Letourneau married and had children with her victim after her time in prison.
Watch the May December trailer here:
Who is in May December?
The May December cast is stacked. Julianne Moore plays Atherton in all her instability and instantly iconic lisp (I’ve been saying “prethisely” for days). And Natalie Portman, an actress I love playing an actress I would hate, is at her best since Black Swan. I love Portman in a quietly intense, unsettling role. It reminds me that she really is one of the most compelling masters of her craft. Especially alongside Moore, between whom there is simmering tension and resentment that carries the unsettling tone of the film and belies its unsaid, but otherwise expressed, judgment of Atherton.
But the most surprising is Charles Melton as Joe, who doesn’t just hold his own beside these two seasoned vets, but emerges like the butterflies his character cherishes. While his heartthrob jawline and his CW abs carried his career thus far, he wasn’t content to skate by on looks and charm in this role. He gained 30lbs, slouched around in New Balances, and portrayed Joe with aching sensitivity to get to his palpable arrested development. His lines are some of the most heartbreaking in the film, and he delivers them with harrowing acceptance of his life, the consequences of Gracie’s choices.
Will Charles Melton win an Oscar for May December?
After winning a Gotham Award for his portrayal of Joe, Charles Melton is just getting started. There’s awards buzz circling him and he’s been on a victory lap of a press tour — including photos with Saltburn’s Barry Keoghan that rightfully went viral on social media.
Most noteworthy are the Oscar rumors. For someone at this stage of his career, just being nominated truly would be an honor. But if he wins, Melton would follow Ke Huy Quan’s win last year for Best Supporting Actor in Everything Everywhere All At Once. This historic win would mark the first time that two AAPI actors won that category in a row. So fingers crossed for this potentially historic win.
There’s also something to say about the fact that if he wins, he’d have earned an Oscar before Timothee Chalamet — that’s what Timmy gets for taking roles like Wonka.
One thing is for sure, the ex-CW actor is just getting started. And with other ex-YA actors getting more prestige recognition — like The Kissing Booth’s Jacob Elordi and ex-Disney star Zendaya — Melton is next on the short but impressive list of actors getting out of teen television and going on to do great things.