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Charlie Wright from Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul recently opened up on TikTok about the negative impact of playing Rodrick had on him.
The clip was posted on the social platform on Monday. There, he had a microphone and got honest about what he had been through, how the backlash made him feel, and what the future holds.
Charlie Wright discusses playing Rodrick and what has happened since
He starts by talking about being an actor most of his life and how the role “turned” him “into a living meme,” saying he'll “probably have to live with for the rest of my life.” Above the clip, he has a caption: “Life as #notmyrodrick.”
The actor said he'd been asked what it was like to play Rodrick and how he'd dealt with it all, so he wanted to answer.
Wright first stated that he was surprised to get the role in 2016. He mentions that it took about three months to film, and casting wasn't initially released, so people were surprised to find out who was in the film as it was about to come out.
He said, “When the world found out that I was playing Rodrick, they weren't very happy. But by then, it was too late; the movie was finished. They couldn't exactly replace me and make a whole new movie.”
The actor added, “I don't know how much of the hate was towards me because I was replacing Devon Bostick…Or if people just didn't like me. I don't know.”
“For the better half of 2017 and honestly until 2018 a little bit too, I was a worldwide meme,” he admitted.
“They called me Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka,” he said in terms of some of the memes that were floating around.
Wright then started to talk about some of the racist remarks geared towards his Asian and Japanese background. Saying he was “getting hate crime or people being racist towards me.”
He also said, “The random death threats were a little disturbing. I'll be honest. And at a certain point, you know, it got to the point where most of the people gave up. The whole angry mob thing kinda washed over. But there were still a couple of stragglers that were just in the DMs or in the comments mainly on Instagram.”
He admits that he's moved on. However, all the backlash from the role, memes, and comments did take its toll.
“I did go through a depressive episode for almost three years,” the actor said. “And it kind of ruined my acting career.”
“I'm still alive. I'm still here,” Wright added.
In one part of the clip, he says, “To have people saying they wished I was dead for just doing my job was kinda crazy…no one was really there to guide me through it or help me.”
@chawlie_ Hello, it’s been a while. I’m pretty sure this is the first time I talk about what life is/was like as #notmyrodrick Thanks for watching!
His future in acting seems iffy at the moment, but it's not out of the question at all.
About Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul
The synopsis reads: “Young Greg Heffley is looking forward to a long summer of just hanging out, but his mother throws a monkey wrench into his plans when she forces the entire family to take a road trip for a reatlive's birthday party celebration. His eyes soon light up after he realizes that the excursion is his ticket to a gaming convention to meet YouTube sensation Mac Digby. Greg's imagination then kicks into overdrive as he sneakily hatches a scheme to attend the expo and gain some much-deserved fame.”
The movie didn't have a positive response. It has an 18% Tomatometer and 30% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed $20.7M in the domestic box office.
It was great to hear about Charlie Wright's experience despite the awful backlash the role of Rodrick had on his life. If he wants to act again, it would be great to see him in a new role where, hopefully, the internet can be just a bit kinder than his undeserving treatment for his part in Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
