Cody Christian has been steadily holding our interest. The popular television star has made a mark in hit shows like Pretty Little Liars and Teen Wolf. He hit a milestone recently in the role of Asher Adams in the CW’s All American when the show, now in its sixth season, recently celebrated its 100th episode.

The Season 6 time jump also saw Asher – football star turned coach – become a parent to little AJ with his girlfriend Jaymee (Miya Horcher). But in this exclusive MovieWeb interview, the fan-favorite spoke candidly about the death of beloved costar Kamar de los Reyes, who played Coach Montes on All American. Dive into the interview below as Christian unpacks the impact of that loss and chats up being an unexpected voice talent in Final Fantasy VII Remake.

The Impact of Actor Kamar de los Reyes’s Death

Kamar de los Reyes played Coach Montes on CW’s All American. The actor died late last year, and the loss deeply affected Cody Christian, who shared many scenes with the actor. In a fitting scene, Christian is seen speaking to the coach over the phone this season – Montes got transferred to coach elsewhere. But the departure of his costar and the character has been deeply felt. Christian shared:

“It hasn’t been easy. I’m not gonna lie. This is the first real experience, I think, as a man in my own life where I’ve had someone incredibly close… someone that I’ve built a close relationship with, let alone have it be somebody that I shared the screen with and someone who played a mentorship role for me, almost like a second father figure”.

He said that the actor’s death rattled him. “It left an imprint, not only on me but just like the show in general – everybody, the cast, the crew. Everybody was a fan of Kamar, both professionally and personally. But I think in a lot of ways, it [the death] heightened everybody. It raised the stakes, if you will. There was a seriousness about what we were doing and especially navigating everything with it. We owe that to him. We made sure that everybody was respectful.”

Why He Got a Tattoo to Honor His Costar

Christian was so affected by de los Reyes’ death that he got a tattoo of remembrance for the man.“It’s a nice little split between this angel and this ideology of death if you will,” he said. “There’s a word scribed on top of it… and the hands of a clock. I have the numbers kind of fading away. And the impact that it left on me was Kamar kind of signifying, ‘Like, look, brother. You have one life. And you have no idea when this sh*t is going to wrap up for you.”

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“I was going through some stuff personally, man, Season 4, Season 5,” he added. “And I desperately needed an actual real-life mentor, like a man who was going through sh*t [and] has overcome sh*t. And Kamar talked me off the ledge many times when I was going through stuff that I wasn’t necessarily confident I was going to be alive… Yeah, man, this guy left his mark on me. So, I’m very happy that we handled everything [on the show] with grace and sent him off in a way that I’m sure everyone is proud of.”

On the Upcoming Game-Changing Season Finale
CW

Throughout the run of All American, we’ve seen Christian’s character evolve. He was a star football player, then came a fall from grace, some ego issues, and a major redirect by becoming a coach at Coastal California. When asked what fans can expect as this season comes to an end in July, Christian shared:

“I wanna tease so much, especially what happens in [episodes] 13, 14, 15. Let’s just say that relationships people have been fans of for quite some time are showcased in very beautiful ways, and we get to embellish and celebrate those moments with some of our favorite relationships within the show. Wow. That’s about all I can really speak on without really shedding too much light or getting in trouble by somebody. But I’d say the way we closed out Season 6 is very… it’s beautiful, man. It’s a lot of closure, it’s a lot of good storytelling with our relationships involved in the show.”

On Voicing Final Fantasy VII Remake

Uber fans may already be in the know, but Christian’s talents are not limited to TV. He’s established himself as a prominent voice actor, and his performance as Cloud Strife in the Final Fantasy VII Remake garnered him a BAFTA Award for Performer in a Leading Role. He’s also taken on Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.

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“For the first game it was… talk about nerves, talk about pressure,” he said, “and I’ve been a screen actor all my life so the ability to tell the story truthfully, authentically, with the proper emotion. That’s what I know. But voice acting is a whole different animal.” To that end, he had to learn new techniques and invest time in stepping into a brand-new medium, adding:

“When I auditioned, it was under an alias, I didn’t know what I was auditioning for. Month goes by, I thought, ‘OK, I blew that. Obviously, I’m not a voice actor. And then they hit my line, and they say, ‘Hey, this is what it is, we’d love to have you a part of it, this is the role, this is the project.’”

He continued, “That sent me into panic mode because I realized, ‘Oh, this is a story, these are characters, this is an IP that’s been around now and transcended generations. This is not something that’s like a fly-by-night, and this is also not something that, ‘Oh yeah, take a crack at it, do whatever you want.’” “There’s due diligence involved. So, the first game was a mixture of excitement, but also, I’m holding my breath here.”

On Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Beyond

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is a standalone adventure designed to entertain fans and newcomers; Cloud and his comrades are found trekking across the planet, their fates totally in question – total runtime to completion of the game: about 46 hours.

“The second game, we really get to dive in and peel back these layers of this iconic character, and for the first time ever, we also get to see him and this vulnerability,” Christian said. “That’s never really been exposed, and these emotional depths that he’s never really been taken to. So, to be able to go back into the second game, head held high, confident, like, ‘Okay, I know what I’m doing, and I know I can execute…

“Then on top of that, be given this script with all of these exciting things to play and bring to life with Cloud, it was the best thing that could have possibly happened,” he added. “And it [makes] me even more excited to come back and do it a third time because we have one more on the horizon. So, I’m itching to get back in there and bring this guy back to life and continue to explore it.” In the meantime, keep exploring All American on CW and Netflix. Watch the Season 6 trailer below.