American actor and model Charles Melton is best known for playing Daniel Bae in the movie The Sun is Also a Star and Reggie Mantel in TV series Riverdale. His other acting credits include Glee, American Horror Story: Hotel (as Mr. Wu) and films including Bad Boys for Life and Mainstream. Melton also enjoyed huge success a model before launching his acting career, working for the likes of MAC, Kenneth Cole and Dolce & Gabbana.
Hailing from Juneau, Alaska in the United States, Melton has both Cherokee and Korean roots. After living in South Korea for five years when his father worked for the military, Melton and his family returned to the US and settled in Manhattan, Kansas. A talented football player who studied at Kansas State University, Melton’s true passion was always to become an actor and he moved to Los Angeles in 2012 to pursue his dream.
With his striking good looks Melton soon began to win modelling jobs in LA before landing guest roles in American Horror Story: Hotel and Glee. In 2017 he rose to prominence when he landed the role of Reggie Mantle in the second series of The CW’s American teen drama series Riverdale, and he returned in the third season.
Melton made history in 2019 when he became the first Asian-American lead in a Hollywood studio teen romance when he portrayed Daniel Bae in his movie debut, The Sun Is Also a Star. With a role in the film Swing now in post-production and more series of Riverdale to come, Melton is one of Hollywood’s hottest properties.