Tyler Cotton Discusses ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’ [Exclusive Interview]

Chilling Adventure of Sabrina recently dropped its third installment on Netflix. Picking up from the end of Part II, Sabrina and her mortal friends (a.k.a. The Fright Club) were about to go to hell to save her boyfriend Nicolas Scratch. 

Meanwhile, back at the Spellman Mortuary, Sabrina’s aunts, Hilda and Zelda, were hosting the remains of the Church of Night. Among those students at the Spellman breakfast table was Tyler Cotton, who plays Melvin on the series. 

Cotton first appeared on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Part II and has recurred throughout Parts II and III playing the loveable character who has already cheated death. 

I had the chance to ask Cotton a few questions about his role on the series, the atmosphere on set, and his dream roles. 

Tell-Tale TV: What made you decide to become an actor, and what do you love most about this kind of work?

Cotton: I feel like I’ve always wanted to be an actor! My dad had his own TV show in Calgary called The Pet Guys, so through that show, I got to be on set a few times as well as do a few commercial and radio spots. My father and I also did a few background gigs together.

Coming from a small town outside of Calgary, it was never a plausible career choice, but it wasn’t until about a year after I graduated high school when I was doing background work on Hell On Wheels and I was chatting with Christopher Heyerdahl that I realized that this is what I wanted to do, and I was going to do everything I could to make it happen.

A month or two later, I packed my bags and moved to Vancouver and I haven’t looked back!

Tell-Tale TV: When you booked the role of Melvin on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, were you familiar with the occult or witchcraft? Was there anything you found particularly interesting or that you didn’t know before?

Cotton: I definitely did a lot of work and research to understand the world. I love learning new things, so because I wasn’t familiar with the world, I honestly found everything super interesting.

Tell-Tale TV: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a show that relies on a mix of practical and digital effects. What was the most interesting thing you’ve been a part of, or that you’ve seen, in the process of filming?

Cotton: One of things I found interesting to film was my scene in the missionaries’ episode, just because the prosthetics took a while to put on (but the makeup team did such an amazing job) so I was really excited to see the end result [and] how the visual effects would work as Melvin’s face starts to boil.

Tell-Tale TV: I would say the big climax of Part III is when the coven, or The Order of Hecate, faces the Pagans on “Sabrina is Legend.” What was it like filming such a complex scene?

Cotton: Honestly, that scene was so much fun to film! I absolutely love filming those big scenes because then I get a chance to work with so many of the cast which I don’t always get to do. I loved working with the pagans and I love working with Sabrina’s mortal friends.

Tell-Tale TV: Is there any member of the cast you haven’t had the chance to work with that you’d really like Melvin to have scenes with in the future?

Cotton: I think at this point, I’ve worked with every cast member so far, which I’m really happy about. I mean, I would love to work with everyone more! Lucy [Davis] and I have a lot of fun together so more scenes between Melvin and Hilda would be fun.

I also would love to explore the relationship between Nick and Melvin, I think their relationship could be a really fun one to play with just because of how opposite they are.

Tell-Tale TV: If you had the chance to appear on any show, past or present, what would be your dream role?

Cotton: I’ll answer this in two parts! My dream role is to play Tim Drake who is the third Robin to work with Batman. There hasn’t been a live-action version of the character, so he would be my dream role.

If I had to pick a character from any show past or present, I would have to choose either Barry Allen from The Flash or Seth Cohen from The OC. The OC was probably my favorite show growing up and it was a huge inspiration for me to become an actor.

Tell-Tale TV: One last question for you: what are you currently watching on television?

Cotton: I’m a big comic book fan, so I’ve been trying to keep up with The Flash and the Arrowverse shows! Titans came onto Netflix recently and I’ve really been enjoying that! I’m also a huge fan of shows like This Is Us, Shameless, The Mandalorian, and I absolutely loved The Witcher on Netflix. 

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Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Part III is now available on Netflix.

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