Lili Reinhart wanted to 'stretch and grow as an actor'

Lili Reinhart was determined to "stretch and grow as an actor" after leaving Riverdale.

The 30-year-old actress portrayed Betty Cooper on Riverdale, the hit teen drama series, between 2017 and 2023, and Lili initially sought to stretch her wings as a performer after leaving the TV show.

She told The Hollywood Reporter: "I was sort of doing independent film and television for a minute after Riverdale, just because inherently when you do something so commercial for so many years, you want to stretch and grow as an actor."

Despite this, Lili jumped at the chance to star in The Love Hypothesis, the new film adaptation of Ali Hazelwood's 2021 novel.

The actress relished starring in a film that already has an established fanbase.

She said: "There’s something really special about doing something that has a really strong fan base, in the sense that people already care about it.

"In this day and age of such unknowns in the film industry, you never know what people are going to resonate with. To sort of have that guarantee that people really care about something is really comforting as an actor and really exciting. Of course I want to be a part of something that is beloved. It’s an honour."

Lili read The Love Hypothesis for the first time when she was at the Venice Film Festival, and she remembers being blown away by the story.

"I was in Venice for the film festival, and so I had this very beautiful romantic backdrop while I was reading. I don’t read romance books, but I really enjoyed it and surprised myself."

Lili had previously been reluctant to shoot another romcom, but she relished filming The Love Hypothesis.

The actress explained: "I hadn’t done a rom-com for a few years, but I had the best time ever shooting Look Both Ways in 2021, and it felt like I was ready to embark on doing that again. And because I loved the book, I loved the character dynamic, the slow burn of it all; I was convinced to do it."