Skeet Ulrich knows everything. Now that I've met him, he'd be my phone-a-friend pick on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire or my first call if I needed help refurbishing my deck. Look, I don't even have a deck, but he's definitely got the skills—he once made a chicken coop with Riverdale co-stars KJ Apa and Cole Sprouse, and he builds furniture, too. At the ELLE.com offices, the actor immediately puts everyone at ease, connecting with a photographer over techniques used by silent film camera operators in the 1930s—a friendly far cry from psycho killer Billy, of '90s horror blockbuster Scream, or his current role as FP Jones, gang leader of the South Side Serpents and certified Daddy, on the CW hit Riverdale.

Ulrich also knows a lot about the show's signature mysteries—not that he'll let on, of course. Number one on every viewer's to-be-solved list: Is FP Jones the father of Alice Cooper's creepy long-lost son Chic? "He's definitely a contender," is all Skeet will say. Okay, well, have we seen the last of Penny Peabody? "No, no, no." And, most importantly, will FP and Alice finally get together—or would it be more accurate to say back together?

"There’s definitely heat between the two of them and there’s a definite history between the two of them," he responds coyly. Here's what he actually would talk to us about: the wildest fan theories out there, Riverdale easter eggs, and what makes him so proud of the show's stars—including Camila Mendes and Lili Reinhart.

FP Jones has really evolved. How would you describe him now, a opposed to in season 1?

I think he’s ultimately the same person at heart—it’s just that he’s had to adapt to a few changes, obviously, with getting out of jail and trying to rein Jughead in a bit. You’re seeing more of the fatherly side, now. We’ve seen more of the bastardly side of him, in the first season—you know, drinking—and he always had the same intention and the same heart. But now that he’s clear of prison, things are a little more focused on Jughead.

In the episode airing tonight, he has a particularly heartwarming moment with Jughead. How do you think FP’s relationship with Jughead has changed and where do you see it going?

I think to some extent he’s starting to accept Jughead as his own man, and it’s something I'm dealing with in my own life, having a teenage son. At some point you have to hope you’ve given them the tools to make the right decisions. FP and Jughead are not necessarily every man or every relationship, father to son, but I think to some extent, he’s really trying to hand him more and more of the reins to get out of Riverdale, ultimately, and not lead the life FP led. But at times, he has to support the decisions that Jug has made, and FP’s gonna be the first one to stand up to anyone who’s anti-society in a lot of ways.

Some of those decisions have not been that great. Are we going to see any more repercussions from Penny Peabody?

Yeah...oh, yeah. All season.

So we haven't seen the last of her?

No, no, no.

kat wirsing

And what about Alice Cooper and FP?

There’s definitely heat between the two of them, and there’s a definite history between the two of them. Whether anything happens going forward is anybody’s guess. I think there’s a lot to consider in that relationship and it’s something we talk about in terms of the timeline...both of them are married.

Well, Hal just asked for a divorce...

Yeah, but they’re still married. Who knows what will happen—I’m not saying. [laughs]

Your work has hit big with teenagers before—Scream was such a big pop culture moment in the '90s. What are the differences and similarities you've noticed about fandom between that experience and this one?

I think fans have much bigger of a voice now. With social media, there’s much more of an awareness with fans, where during pre–social media days, there was kind of an anonymity to the fandom. You would get handwritten letters and that was the only way to reach the people you wanted to send your love to, or your hate, if that was the case. I also think that with the fans being able to be heard now, and because of the prevalence of social media, it’s kind of an advertiser’s dream in a way—they have a real sense of how many people are tuning in.

Would you say you embrace fans more now than you did before, or the opposite?

I’ve always been humble and excited that someone had even seen something I’d done, and I’m always appreciative of it and want them to know that. It’s a little harder to do that with the number of comments you get, to really address everybody, but I’ve always been really appreciative. There’s no point of doing this job if people aren’t watching, and whether that’s community theater or this show, you need an audience—and fortunately, we have them and when they show their approval, I’m all for letting them know I appreciate it.

Riverdale fans are really good at picking up on the creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's little Easter eggs. For example, your character had the same prison number as Jean Valjean in Les Misérables (24601). Are there any other little references that we may have missed?

Oh, there's a good one. Jughead comes to see me in prison and I look like I’d had the crap beat out of me and I ask him, "What’s the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost," which is my direct quote from Scream. I think it’s fun to find those things. Maybe there should be a drinking game...unless the fanbase is too young.

I don't know about that—we all watch it here at ELLE.com.

The executives at the CW told me the average age of the live viewing audience is 42.

You write a lot of encouraging comments on your cast members' Instagram posts. Since you're a father and you play one on TV, would you say you play that role for the kids on the show?

[laughs] You're not the first one to point that out! Not at all, to be honest. They’re all incredible performers, they’re all incredibly smart individually, and they don’t need guidance. If anything, I learn a bit from them and maybe they pick up stuff here and there from me, but in no way do I feel like a father figure to them. We’re all co-workers and friends, and there really is no need for me to step up and guide them in any way—they’re way ahead of the game.

But you’re proud of them?

Absolutely. Most recently, I saw Lili [Reinhart] and Cami [Mendes] taking a magazine to task over photoshopping their photos. I was so proud of them for standing up to that. I have a 17-year-old daughter and it means to the world to me that she can look up to them—she sees that someone is stepping up and saying, "This isn’t right, we need to be ourselves and we don’t have to be an idealized version to accept ourselves." I see stuff from them all the time that just makes me very proud to know them.



Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8 P.M. EST on The CW.



Photos by Kathryn Wirsing, Grooming by Jennifer Brent using Chanel and Oribe products.