Why Charles Melton’s Latest Hollywood Diet Involved a Ton of Fast Food

Actor Charles Melton first made a name for himself on the CW teen hit Riverdale, but now he’s an awards season contender for his role in the Netflix drama May December. While most stars open up about getting buff for their roles, Melton recently reflected on a different type of Hollywood diet; one that involved a ton of fast food.

In an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Melton explained how he got into the mentality of his role, where he plays a young father of three married to an older woman whom he had an affair with when he was only 13. As it turned out, it involved a lot of eating.

“I didn’t have to eat it,” Melton joked about his fast food diet. “Todd Haynes our director, we had conversations about what Joe would feel like, not so much look like. And I’m like I think this may be my opportunity. He’s a 36-year-old dad, three kids, provider, all this stuff. He doesn’t have time to go to the gym, but maybe he has time to eat.’ So I ate so much pizza, fast food, ice cream.”

He previously told W Magazineˆ that there were also some old favorites involved. “I ate a lot of favorite childhood snacks like Gushers and Fruit Roll-Ups and ice cream and pizza with popcorn on it,” he said.

The actor has some experience in the fast food world, having previously worked at Arby’s and Wendy’s as a teenager. During his chat with Clarkson, he shared his favorite Wendy’s hack.

“I love working the cash register, and there’s so many substitutions you can do,” he said. “So I can get a Baconator and sub the pretzel bread or the jalapeño bread. You can do that it’s just a matter of how you communicate the order.”

Check out his full interview below.