Mark Consuelos Says Luke Perry Had An ‘Impact’ on Him: ‘He Was One of the Good Ones’

Plenty of tributes poured in after Luke Perry‘s shocking death on March 4. While his Riverdale costar Mark Consuelos didn’t immediately comment, that doesn’t mean the late actor didn’t have a major impact on him.

“All the great things you’ve heard about Luke? They’re all true,” the 48-year-old told Esquire. “That’s who he was. He was an amazingly generous, kind person. You can’t fake that. He was one of the good ones.” Mark also explained why exactly he wasn’t quick to react about the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum’s sudden passing.

“I commiserated with my [Riverdale] cast, we spent time together, we had meals over it,” Mark noted. “I reached out to the family and said what I had to say to them. That’s all that was important to me. You know, about [grieving in] the public eye, sometimes it becomes about something else and I don’t necessarily like that. It’s not about me; it’s about Luke.”

The All My Children alum met Luke even before they started working on the teen drama together. While they only knew each other a short time, Mark still noticed how generous he was.

“One thing about Luke that always struck me was the way he talked about his life. He had so many good stories, and he saw them as chapters in his life,” Kelly Ripa‘s husband said. “He recalled them with such fondness, even if it was a shitty time. He always found the wit and humor in these crazy situations. He always found the beauty in it. I knew him for such a short time and he had such an impact on me, and everyone around him. I feel grateful that maybe I was a passage, a page or two, in a chapter of his life.”

Luke’s final appearance on the CW show occurred on Wednesday, April 24, nearly two months after he died as the result of a massive stroke at the age of 52.

We are so glad Luke still lives on in the memories of friends and family alike.