Phoebe Miu – Riverdale

By starrymag | August 11, 2021

By: Jennifer Vintzileos

 

 

Q) What can you tease about the second half of the season of “Riverdale?” 

 

A) What I can tease—Well, you will definitely find out a lot more about—I mean, there are still a lot of missing pieces in the time jump. And so especially with Jughead’s storyline here, everybody…You know, he’s trying to figure out and everybody’s trying to figure out what happened to him in between and also find this solving this mystery is “Where is Jughead?” So, a lot of those questions will be answered after the time jump. But you can bet that there will be a lot of really exciting and crazy things happening.

 

Q) Now when we met Jessica at the beginning of Season Five, she was Jughead’s girlfriend. How did you and Cole Sprouse, who plays Jughead, approach creating the dynamic between your characters?  

 

A) When we’re working, we actually have a lot of downtime in between, so we got to chat and get to know each other. And I think that really feeds into the dynamic between the two of us. And, obviously, we kind of discussed a little bit prior, but a lot of it (at least with my prep for Jessica) was about kind of figuring out who Jughead was as a person. And doing my research, like watching the show beforehand and kind of figuring that out. And how Cole has played Jughead and then fitting my interpretation of Jessica to that.

 

Q) How did you prepare getting into the role of Jessica? I mean, she’s a little bit of an intense character.  

 

A) She’s a little much. But I definitely had to make a choice. I think there wasn’t a whole lot of material about her. And. honestly, like I was pretty much learning about her as I was going along, which can be very exciting when you’re working in TV. Whenever a new episode comes out, you actually find out more and more. But it’s kind of down to me to fill in the blanks and make the choices on who she was, what her background was, her likes and dislikes – all that good stuff and go with it, which was nice to see kind of how it fit into everything. And I think the way that they’ve written her really helped define who she was. She’s someone who doesn’t take sh*t from anybody. And she looks out for herself very much. So, you can tell she’s kind of—She fends for herself. She’s kind of like a loner. Not a lone wolf, but like a survivor kind of thing. And so, she does what she needs to do to move along and get ahead. And playing with that has been a lot of fun and then kind of working with the directors on set and with Cole to see how all of that pieces together with the two of them.

 

Q) To me that sounds like Jessica and Jughead are kind of very alike.  

 

A) They are! And I think that’s what kind of drew them together while they were in New York. And they were going through some very transformative years together. Right after high school, you’re kind of out in the real world-ish, like trying to figure out who you are, but like almost with a clean slate. And so as early twenty somethings do, together you’re walking this—you’re riding this roller coaster of insane highs and lows. And having gone through that together, I think gives them a special connection.

 

Q) As Jessica, did you receive any backlash from fans for the character, especially since there are so many Betty and Jughead supporters?  

 

A) For sure! There are so many supporters and I’m just happy to be in that world and like get this. Honestly, there are going to be people that are more Betty (Lili Reinhart) fans than they are Jessica fans. And that makes so much sense. You pick a favorite character, and you root for them. But, yeah, as much as there are people that would prefer one over the other, I’ve also gotten a lot of love that I didn’t expect and that’s actually really nice to hear.

 

Q) Oh, I can imagine! I see online I people are just so passionate, and they get so opinionated. And when I’ve seen that happen, my husband has the best advice. He goes, “when people are getting riled up about a show, the writers are doing something right.”  

 

A) Sure, because if people are passionate—you know, they’re so committed.

 

Q) Absolutely.  

 

A) I think I’m doing my job right at that point, whatever the feedback is.

 

Q) Yes, and I can’t wait to see what Jessica is going to be doing in the second half.  

 

A) I know.

 

Q) Even though Jughead and Jessica did break up, what do you think is Jessica’s motivation to continue staying in contact with Jughead?  

 

A) Well, I think he’s still a special person in her life. Only they know each other, as well as they—they’re the only ones who know each other this well and are fully aware of what’s happened in the last four years. They’d gone through the four years together living together like that. That’s a lot of time and they’ve come out slightly different people because of that and nobody else in Jughead’s life or in her life knows that as well as they do. And so there’s a reason that she stays connected to him. And at the same time, I think in terms of in the bigger picture, she is that wrench in the machine. You know, it’s something you throw into like cause trouble—so you throw Jessica in. It’s the wrench in the machine. She’s got all his secrets. So, while Jughead’s obviously trying to get back to his old life in Riverdale or get back to his old relationship some way or move on within the world of Riverdale, her job is to not let him forget what he’s done in the years between and whatever comes of that we’ll see. But, yeah, I think there’s something to be said about how much they’ve gone through together.

 

Q) What was one of your favorite moments like working on the set of “Riverdale?”

 

A) Well, one would be obviously to work in the infamous Pop’s Diner. Growing up, I was a big fan of the comic books. And so seeing all this in person, I was like, “Well, the inner child is like ‘I’m sitting at Pop’s Diner. I’m sitting at the chocolate shop and this is Jughead.’” So, that was a fun one. I think there are certain fun moments that you have yet to see, so we’ll keep those ones in the pocket. Having my dog around has been amazing. It’s actually been a lot of fun because of the puppies that are on set.

 

Q) He must have loved being on that set with all the other dogs!  

 

A) Yeah, I think he really learned to love set, so now he goes to every set with me. Because he actually has the time. Everybody plays with him. He’s like, “This is heaven on earth.” And I’m the one that’s working.

 

Q) So, to get away from “Riverdale,” are there any other upcoming projects that you can talk about?  

 

A) Well, I’m working on a movie right now in Squamish that I can’t say too much about yet. I mean, but it’s a fun little horror movie. Great, great summer project. And it’s actually so much fun so I’m excited for the day I get to actually fully talk about it. While shooting “Riverdale” I was also doing “Upload” Season Two. So, there’s that to look forward to but I’m not sure when that’s going to air.

 

Q) I know episodes and shows airing are so turned around lately.  

 

A) Yeah, I have no idea when that’s going to air. Maybe sometime next year, hopefully. But, yeah, I had a lot of fun doing that. And this project that I was on a couple years ago Die in A Gunfight just came out. I didn’t talk about that. That was a lot of fun and shot that in Toronto.

 

Q) Oh, and actually that prompts me into my next question because I wanted to ask you about the film because I know it was recently released. What can you share about your role in Die in A Gunfight?

 

A: Yeah, I play one of Alexandra Daddario’s friends in the movie. And the movie is obviously about—it’s kind of a Romeo and Juliet love story. And my role as her friend was just to be like, “Yeah, you go and live your life and you go after the man that you want.” And it was a great cast to work with. And Alex was so much fun to work with.

 

Q) Working on Die in A Gunfight, what did you personally take away from working on the film?  

 

A) I learned a lot about how to work in an ensemble there—I was part of a lot of group scenes. And so it was, it was important to kind of know how you fit into the bigger picture and how you fit in the machine. And how to then feed off each other and bounce off of each other and create this synchronicity among each other, which was a lot of fun. I didn’t really do a whole lot of group things before that, so that was a lot of fun. And obviously that feeds into any kind of work environment or beyond just working with a cast, it’s like, the crew and everything. I think when you’re away from home it becomes all the more apparent just because you’re there and with the crew, you’re all you’ve got. And, so, it was a great learning experience for me to kind of see what it’s like to work as a machine, like work together as an ensemble.

 

Q) So not only are you an actor, but both of your parents (Michael Kiu Wai Miu and Jaime Mei Chun Chik) are as well. What advice did they offer you that you took to heart?  

 

A) I honestly learned by example from them. Direct advice, they always made sure that I knew how tough this industry was. I think they kept me pretty grounded as a kid. They were very realistic about how vicious and how hard the climb will be. And that honestly deterred me from acting for a very long time. But eventually when I decided to pursue it, seeing them and how they approach their careers—like my dad is always searching for the next thing. And he’s always trying to better himself. He’s never really acknowledged that, “Oh, I’m at my prime.” Like, he’ll never settle for prime, he’ll always keep moving. And I think that for me is very valuable because he’s been in the business for forty something years. And for him to still be reaching just means there’s no limit to where I should be going. I need to just keep moving and just keep growing.

 

Q) That’s some powerful advice.  

 

A) Yeah, it’s just cool to watch and learn because they don’t say it, but I’m like, “Wow, he’s kind of talks like me.” Like I talk about auditions, and he doesn’t really audition anymore. But it’s almost like that pressure or that anxiety in the back of your mind that’s constantly getting you to keep treading water and keep swimming. That’s cool to see.

 

Q: What would you like to say to fans and supporters of you and the work you do?  

 

A) Thank you to the people supporting me and confirming that “Oh, something I’m doing is working.”

 

Q) That really is the best. It’s the best thing to happen. You do something and you feel the reward of it.  

 

A) Yeah, if I have supporters that means something’s working and that’s all that matters because I have serious imposter syndrome. And if that’s a sign that like I’m doing something right, I appreciate it because I can’t really be the judge of that.