You probably know him as Fangs Fogarty. The leather-clad Southside Serpent who somehow survived a gunshot, multiple gang wars, and the literal apocalypse of a small town. But honestly? Most people only see the surface. They see the guy who looks incredible in a motorcycle jacket and assume he’s just another "CW heartthrob" plucked from a modeling catalog.
That’s actually not the case at all.
Drew Ray Tanner is a bit of an anomaly in the Vancouver acting scene. He didn't just stumble into Riverdale. He basically willed it into existence through a mix of sheer grit and some very strange timing at a local diner.
The Milkshake Moment That Changed Everything
Here’s a detail that feels like a script itself. Back in 2015, Drew auditioned for the roles of Jughead Jones and Reggie Mantle. He didn't get them. Most actors would have moved on, but in 2016, his friends dragged him to Rocko’s Diner in Mission, British Columbia.
If you’re a superfan, you know Rocko’s. It’s the real-life Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe.
He saw a line of fans wrapped around the building, screaming for the cast. Instead of feeling bitter about the parts he lost, he looked at that crowd and told himself he was going to be on that show.
Fast forward to season two: he auditions for Sweet Pea. While he's there, he notices they’re also casting for a guy named Fangs Fogarty. He thinks, Why not? and reads for both. He lands Fangs, a character who was originally supposed to be a "blink and you'll miss him" background player.
Why Fangs Fogarty Wasn't Supposed to Last
Kinda wild when you think about it, but Fangs was only slated for a couple of episodes. He was filler. Background noise for the Serpents.
But Drew brought this weird, sensitive energy to a gang member that the writers couldn't ignore. By the time season five rolled around, he was promoted to a series regular. You’ve got to respect that. In a show that famously killed off characters for shock value, he managed to stay relevant for six years.
Breaking Down the "Kangs" Phenomenon
The relationship between Fangs and Kevin Keller (played by Casey Cott) basically became the emotional backbone for a huge segment of the audience. Fans called them "Kangs."
It wasn't just about representation, though that was a massive part of it. It was about the contrast. You had the Sheriff’s son and a kid from the wrong side of the tracks.
Honestly, the "Kevin and Fangs" saga was one of the few things in Riverdale that felt grounded, even when they were dealing with organ-harvesting cults or parallel universes. Drew has been vocal about how much that role meant to him, especially as a mixed-race actor navigating a show that sometimes struggled to give its minority characters enough screen time.
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Life After the Northside: 2024 and Beyond
So, what do you do after you spend seven years in a town where people get murdered every Tuesday? You go back to your roots.
Lately, Drew has been leaning hard into his leading man era. If you caught the 2024 film Boot Camp—the Wattpad adaptation—you saw a totally different side of him. He played Axel, a personal trainer who’s basically a "guarded soul" underneath a lot of muscle.
It’s a classic rom-com setup, sure, but Drew actually did some intense prep for it. He reportedly lost 19 pounds in three weeks through a brutal diet and training schedule.
Beyond the Screen: The Music
A lot of people forget that Drew is actually a musician. Along with his Riverdale co-star Vanessa Morgan (Toni Topaz), he formed a group called These Girls These Boys.
They released "Sleep When I'm Dead" back in 2020. It's not just a "hobby." Music has been a part of his life since he was a teenager in a rap group. You can hear that influence in the musical episodes of Riverdale, where he often had some of the most consistent vocals in the cast.
What’s He Doing Now?
It’s 2026, and the "Riverdale curse" (where actors get stuck in teen roles forever) doesn't seem to be hitting him. He’s been popping up at major industry events like Web Summit Vancouver, talking about how YA content is basically the engine for modern streaming.
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He’s also become a major advocate for Canadian-filmed productions. Being from Victoria, B.C., he’s gone on record saying he wants to tell stories that are actually set in Canada, not just filmed there to look like Ohio or New York.
He’s currently working on projects through Wattpad WEBTOON Studios, like Sidelined: The QB and Me, proving that the "teen heartthrob" label is just a stepping stone for him.
What Most Fans Miss About His Background
If you really want to understand Drew Ray Tanner, you have to look at his pre-fame life. This wasn't a guy with a silver spoon.
- He turned down football scholarships to pursue acting.
- He worked at a tire retread plant to pay for his travel to Vancouver auditions.
- He’s mixed-race (Black and Chinese/Caucasian) and has spoken deeply about the complexity of his identity and wanting to play characters not defined solely by their ethnicity.
That tire plant job is the most telling part. It shows a level of "blue-collar" work ethic that most Hollywood types lack. He wasn't waiting for a handout; he was literally grinding rubber to get to a casting call.
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Actionable Takeaways for Fans and Aspiring Actors
If you’re following Drew’s career or trying to emulate his path, here’s the reality of how he did it:
- Audit for everything: He didn't just go for the lead; he looked at the character breakdown in the room and asked to read for the "extra" role that eventually became his career.
- Stay local but think global: He stayed in British Columbia but worked on projects that had massive international reach.
- Diversify your skills: Don't just act. He sings, he does improv, and he’s moved into the production side of things.
The era of the "Riverdale kid" is over, but the era of Drew Ray Tanner as a legitimate industry player is just getting started. Whether he’s playing a personal trainer or a gang leader, the work ethic he learned in that tire plant is clearly still driving him.