For Tyriq Withers, ‘Reminders of Him’ Was His Scariest Role to Date

Tyriq Withers may be emerging as a modern-day scream king onscreen, but his latest role in the romantic drama Reminders of Him was actually the scariest for him.

The 27-year-old actor has captured audiences with his performances in the horror and thriller films Him and I Know What You Did Last Summer. However, fans will be seeing Withers in a new light with his role as Ledger in the big-screen adaptation of Colleen Hoover‘s bestselling novel.

But knowing that viewers would be seeing his romantic side was a vulnerable feeling that Withers had to prepare himself for. “What if people don’t like the way I flirt?” he quips to The Hollywood Reporter over Zoom.

“Horror, thriller, all these movies were scary to make,” he adds, “but I think Reminders of Him was the scariest one for me because you’re living in the stillness, you’re living in that gentleness, you’re living in that universal want of people wanting to feel the romance and the yearning that you see between Ledger and Kenna.”

Reminders of Him follows Kenna, played by Maika Monroe, who attempts to reconnect with her young daughter after prison, but faces resistance from everyone except Ledger, a bar owner with ties to her child. As they grow closer, she must confront her past mistakes to build a hopeful future.

Below, Withers opens up about bringing Ledger to life off the page, navigating grief onscreen in Reminders of Him and in real life, his reaction to the success he’s seen in recent years, his dream role and more.

When you think back to the beginning of your acting career, what made you want to pursue this path?

Delusion, depression (Laughs). It all stems from, I hate to use this word because it’s so overused, but yearning. Being a kid, there’s this level of trauma that I’ve witnessed. And through childhood, there’s this connection I felt deeply with others. And how I decided to do that is to pour myself into art, whether that was through my phone camera, making little short films with my iPhones or doing the Black Student Union play at Florida State [University]. I think there was this idea of connection that I didn’t know how to articulate at the time, and the big push for me is when my [older] brother tragically passed away [in a 2021 car accident], that was the ultimate decision and definition of what I was doing.

And I almost stopped acting because I felt so silly that I was, “Hey, my name is Tyriq Withers. I’m 6’5″ based out of Atlanta, Georgia.” And my brother passed away, and he was actually raising a son. But through the art of living, I realized that what I get to do is use my suffering so others can really feel connected and feel seen. And we know what it’s like to see ourselves on a screen and be like, Wait, I thought I was the only one to feel that. Are we all living universally the same life? And I think that’s the fun part and the discovery of where you can go and what you can pull out of yourself and project onto the screen. I think that is a river that is ever flowing.

Can you take me back to how you first got involved with Reminders of Him and what drew you to it?

There’s just so much that this project has that I can relate to. The overall theme for this movie is grief, and my concept of grief is developing; it’s evolving. And what a gift it is to feel grief, to experience grief. I know that sounds ironic because grief is one of the hardest things that we feel, but that makes me know that I’m human. Where being human is choosing to learn and love, knowing there is an end date. And I think allowing yourself to just exist and feel that is one of the most powerful, humane things you can do. And in that theme of grief, I connected it to my own grief and it taught me a lot about myself. And not only am I grieving a lost brother or a lost friend, but I’m grieving my former self, I’m grieving what I thought my life would look like. I’m grieving the past. I think nostalgia hurts. That’s a form of grief. You’re grieving how simple and beautiful life felt. And I think that pulled me in to the script and the story first, and allowing myself to really explore that and not only my grief, but other people’s grief.

You forget that Kenna, Maika [Monroe’s] character, as much as they want to throw sticks and stones, she’s still carrying the weight of grieving the same person in a different way. And they were even closer because they were romantically involved and they brought life into the world, and she’s grieving her daughter and you don’t really think about that. As a man, I could never know what that feeling is like, to bring life into the world and not be able to hold your child. I think that Ledger can serve as a beacon for sympathy and understanding so people can look at the world with a different angle, a little more softness, a little more love.

With the film being adapted from Hoover’s novel, how much did you lean on the source material, compared to the script, when it came to bringing Ledger to life off the page? 

Wait, there’s a book? I’m kidding (Laughs).

(Laughs) You had me there for a second. I was about to say…

So I read the book before I even had the job. I was like, yes. And that’s a dangerous territory to be in because you fall in love, you’re like, “God, please.” It’s like that balance between manifesting versus being delusional (Laughs). So reading the book over and over again and understanding that this is my Reminders of Him bible. And thankfully, Colleen Hoover co-wrote the script, so I kind of had a little cheat code with honoring the source material. And whatever Colleen Hoover wanted to see onscreen, she wrote in the script and talked with our director, Vanessa Caswill, who did a wonderful job of incorporating the most important things she felt the book had to offer. Because you can’t put everything from a book to screen one-to-one, because then you’d get into Harry Potter series movies.

But I would constantly go back and forth between if I’d see a scene, I’d go back to the scene in the book and understand things that I could keep track of. Like, Ledger likes to point. Kenna thinks that’s hot. And I’m like, OK, where can I point? (Laughs.) Sometimes it’s as simple as that. … And then constant conversation with Vanessa and talking with Colleen and talking with my co-star, Micah Moreau, who did a wonderfully beautiful job at carrying the light for this film and being the beacon for so many different messages.

In the film, Ledger is really stuck in the middle between two parties, while trying to be considerate of each. How did you balance these two sides onscreen in a way that still felt authentic in your performance?

We should name this Ledger in the Middle (Laughs). I think that hesitancy is so interesting to play because it doesn’t make him less of a person; it just makes him human. And that level of empathy, I could only dream of having and the understanding and hearing people out. Ledger served as a mediator/therapist/son/chaperone/babysitter, and he had every right to hear everyone out. There’s three sides to every story: their side, their side and the truth. And that journey is what makes this character, this story interesting because it provokes a lot of questions, like, could I do that? Could I approach the situation with grace, with softness? I think his original reaction is to be tough and stern. And it’s like, you can get the same message across, but handle with care, move gently. You don’t have to be ice cold, but try approaching things with a little warmth. And that journey is one that attracts me to the story too.

Reminders of Him was your romantic drama debut after starring in several horror and thriller movies (Him and I Know What You Did Last Summer). How excited were you to take on this new genre?

Horror, thriller, all these movies were scary to make, but I think Reminders of Him was the scariest one for me because you’re living in the stillness, you’re living in that gentleness, you’re living in that universal want of people wanting to feel the romance and the yearning that you see between Ledger and Kenna. And what if people don’t like the way I flirt? (Laughs.) Or what if they’re like, “Um, it’s not doing it for me?” (Laughs.) I’m like, “That’s scary.” Him, I get the hide behind the football, athlete, like, “Oh, I want to be the greatest.” But now I have to hold this person’s heart and I have to not drop it and caress it and speak life into it. And I wasn’t taught that as a young man. I’ve learned that and I’ve gotten to a place in my life where I was able to authentically show that and portray that on camera. But how scary is it to be perceived for romance and that softness, emotional journey of Ledger and emotional capacity he has for Kenna. Reminders of Him was a big switch, something I want more of and want to pour into all my next projects.

Do you have a dream role or genre that you would love to tackle?

Yes, comedy. I think rom-com. All the greats have done it, and that is the most feel-good universal film. But then you can go on the other side of the spectrum, where it’s this soft, nitty-gritty movie of Aftersun. I think that is so profound and so creative and so metaphorical and so transcendent and revolutionary, that movie or a movie like that. It’s powerful. I keep wanting to pour myself into these stories and use myself as a vessel so that these stories can come to life and become conceptualized and poured on screen and forever eternalized for people to sit back and watch. And one of my favorite movies is from the ’80s, Stand and Deliver.

And then rom-coms, we can pop on a rom-com based in New York City and we’re sat. I can rewatch When Harry Met Sally day in and day out. That is when I learned what patience meant between becoming an actor and watching When Harry Met Sally (Laughs). I think that is decades-long persistence and commitment and trusting the process. I just have so much I want to do, and I went from chasing to manifesting the right stories that tap into a certain love that I want great things to find me.

You previously told THR that you spent your first Hollywood paycheck by taking yourself to Olive Garden because that was a luxury for you growing up, which I totally related to as a child as well. Now, with several Hollywood paychecks behind you, what do you make of all the success you’ve seen since then? 

Oh, can I tell you, I went on a date once when I was in L.A. and I was like, “I’m going to do it. I’m going to spend a check: Cheesecake Factory.” And I didn’t have a car, so she picked me up, whatever, that’s not the point. And I’m fresh fit, off the rack. I’m dressed to impress. She pulls up. I got in and she’s in Alo tights and a hoodie. And I’m like, “Wait, we’re not. … I love to go to Cheesecake. Why aren’t we dressed up?” She was like, “Girl, it’s like the McDonald’s of restaurants.” And my whole perspective has been flipped. And I was like, “No, it’s Cheesecake Factory. I know their menu’s long and there’s a lot of items and you get decision fatigue, but I’m dressed to impress.” So I’m still learning the art of what is luxury, so it’s luxury to me (Laughs). What was the question? (Laughs.)

(Laughs) I totally get you, because I’ve learned my version of a nice restaurant might not be another person’s version. But anyway, have you been able to wrap your head around the success you’ve seen since receiving that first paycheck?

Something that really smacked me in the mouth is taxes. People think actors make a lot of money, which we do. I’m grateful to be making the money to where I have to pay those taxes. But then you get smacked with the commissions, you get smacked with the taxes, you’re like, “Damn.” But what do I make of it all? I’m just calm with everything and I don’t really do it for the money. And as long as I don’t do it for the money, that’s when the right projects will find me.

I’m enjoying the ride. I enjoy fashion, really putting on a nice outfit. I enjoy my job. … My job as an actor is to show up on set and deliver, but a lot of people don’t realize the job of an actor is taking care of yourself during the in-betweens. I have to protect my mind and my heart and my body and my spirit, because you spend the majority of your time off set, and there’s only a small percentage of time where you hear as an actor, “Action and cut.” That’s like 0.01 percent of my life and the other 9.99 percent is me living. So it’s a reminder to keep living, keep experiencing. That’s why actors get better as they get older, because eventually, hopefully, God willing, I have kids and there’s a different form of love that I was never able to tap into. And now I get to pour that on the screen.

If you had to describe what makes Tyriq Withers, Tyriq Withers, what would you say?

So my mom and dad. No, I’m kidding (Laughs). I think what makes me me is that I’ve been through the deepest, most tragic tunnels of darkness, and because I got to journey there or because I was sent into that darkness, I know where the light is. And what makes Tyriq, Tyriq, is the light that God bestowed upon me [and] the continuous radiating joy and wanting to have others feel that, both on set and on screen. So I think what makes Tyriq, Tyriq, is the mosaic of all his past experiences, both good and bad. And that is such a gift to have because that means I have lived and I have learned the pain that people can feel. And through that pain, I want to make sure people feel protected and loved.

What else makes Tyriq, Tyriq? Dad jokes. He loves chocolate. I hate being on the beach because sand gets in places we don’t want to discuss. And I’m developing an understanding of who I am, knowing that it is OK to not like something simply because you don’t like it, and you don’t have to like it because other people like it. And what makes Tyriq, Tyriq, is the journey of self-love and acceptance. And I get to do that in my art form and, hopefully, people feel connected in that.