‘Five Feet Apart’ Star Cole Sprouse Filmed the Movie in Between Seasons of ‘Riverdale’
There are few actors that can claim that they have accomplished acting at two jobs at the same time. Filming is normally an all-day affair with little breaks and short nights. Filming a series like Riverdale means constant work for weeks on end with little time for anything else. So, how did Cole Sprouse manage to not only ace his role on Riverdale as Jughead Jones but capture the heart of the world with his lead role in Five Feet Apart?
Cole Sprouse returned from academia to work on Riverdale
Sprouse left his childhood acting to pursue an academic career in archeology, geographic information systems, and satellite imaging according to the Los Angeles Times. After graduation, his agent contacted him to request that he audition for a pilot series. The two came to an agreement that if he did not land a role, Sprouse would be free to continue his academic career. He was cast as Jughead Jones in Riverdale shortly after.
Riverdale is a series that nods to the classic Archie Comics. The teenage drama unfolds in a small town that seems to be perfect but has darkness surrounding it. The show loves to pay homage to other films and shows, using the trivia as clues as to what might happen during the episode.
How was Sprouse able to film both ‘Riverdale’ and ‘Five Feet Apart’?
The filming of a series has a break after the final episode — and that’s when Sprouse was able to film the movie Five Feet Apart. In only a month, the filming of the movie was complete and allowed Sprouse to return to the set of Riverdale to continue the series. Once production finalized the film, it premiered on March 15, 2019.
What is ‘Five Feet Apart’ about?
Sprouse plays another rebel in the film Five Feet Apart, as William “Will” Newman. The cystic fibrosis patient that doesn’t completely follow the rules is hospitalized for an infection and meets another CF patient, Stella Grant, played by Haley Lu Richardson. The two don’t get along at first, but their continued socialization while in the hospital leads to friendship. The illness has led to a 6 feet apart rule to help prevent the CF patients from infecting each other. Doing so can be life-threatening.
As the teens become closer and secretly begin to date, Stella takes one foot off the rule for their blooming love. Eventually, their love brings them to an icy pond to see the lights when the hospital tries to contact Stella for her transplant. Their arguing results in Stella falling through the ice and being rushed back to the hospital. Will convinces her to take the lungs and he makes a display of lights for her, wishing her well before forcing her to let him go.
Sprouse is currently focusing on ‘Riverdale’
In an interview with Vice, Sprouse stated the hardest part of the film’s production was the patients that are no longer around to see the impact. After the film’s production and release, Sprouse returned to Riverdale and continues to film in the series. Other than the series, Sprouse does not currently have any other projects. However, both fans and producers would like to see him star in more romantic endeavors like Five Feet Apart in the future.
Riverdale is available in whole on Netflix with new episodes airing on The CW. Five Feet Apart has recently been added to Netflix’s massive collection and is available to watch for subscribers. Watch both productions in action and laugh and cry with Sprouse available on Netflix and the film is available in stores.
