Tyriq Withers didn’t expect rehearsals for his latest role to feel like a group therapy session.
While preparing for Reminders of Him, the Young Hollywood listee‘s new tear‑jerker romance arriving in theaters on March 13, the actor shed some tears while working with co‑star Maika Monroe.
“I think we were kind of thrown off at first about how in‑depth the rehearsals would be, which brought us closer together,” he explained. “Next thing you know, we’re both crying in there. When somebody shows you their heart, you just want to protect it a little bit more. I felt protective of Maika.”
That emotional trust carried over off‑screen. “You want to have lunch together, you want to hang out, you want to ride four‑wheelers, you want to karaoke. It was her birthday, she had family coming into town, so it was nice meeting her village.”
Reminders of Him is the latest Colleen Hoover adaptation, and it’s steeped in grief, redemption, and unexpected love. Withers plays Ledger, a local bar owner still grappling with the loss of his best friend, Scotty.
The tragedy traces back to Kenna, Scotty’s girlfriend, who was intoxicated behind the wheel during the car crash that took Scotty’s life. After serving seven years in prison for vehicular manslaughter, Kenna returns home determined to rebuild her life and reconnect with the daughter she’s never really known.
Withers draws out the parallels to Ledger’s journey. “I’m personally connected to the story in a lot of ways; dealing with grief, love, romance, grieving the football life that I once thought I would have,” he revealed. The Him actor once pursued football with dreams of reaching the NFL.
The tragic loss of his older brother Kionte, who died in a car accident in 2021, also had a profound impact on him when playing this role. “I’m protective of my chosen family, and I have an undying love for my nephew.” In the film, Ledger has a niece who is Kenna and Scotty’s child. “But I think I’m a little more outgoing than Ledger carries himself to be.”
At its core, this film is about forgiveness, something Withers believes begins internally. “It starts with self‑love and forgiving yourself and knowing that it’s okay that you are made of a bunch of mistakes,” he said.
“I think we’re an accumulation of all of our best moments and our worst moments. I didn’t seek to judge Ledger to understand him and his journey with forgiving Kenna. I think a lot of it was him forgiving himself for not being a more present friend. There’s a thought in his head that if he had been more present, things wouldn’t have unfolded the way they did.”
Another element that drew Withers to the role is that in Hoover’s original novel, Ledger is not written as a Black character.
“In this story, reading the book, you don’t read it as somebody who looks like me. That was a part I had to navigate, and I was nervous,” he shared. The filmmakers encouraged him to embrace the role fully as himself.
“Simply being in this film is important, and I think it’s gonna open a lot of doors. I’m very open about my race and proud to be Black, and I’m glad that’s how it unfolded for the movie.”
In this love story, race plays no part, which is a refreshing draw in itself.
Reminders of Him arrives in theaters on March 13.