The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’s Lachlan Watson opens up about nostalgia and growing up in Raleigh.

Q: So whereabouts in Raleigh did you grow up? Did you have any favorite spots?

A: I grew up in North Raleigh right off Yadkin Drive for the first fifteen years of my life, so the playground of Brooks Elementary was always a go-to (until they turned it into a parking lot). But I also don’t know a single Raleigh kid who didn’t spend every waking moment of their tweendom in the food court of Crabtree Valley Mall!

Q: How often do you get to come back?

A: Every once in a while I get a pretty decent break and get to come home for a few days and spend some quality time with my cats and pals, so it’s rare but so worth it.

Q: Did living here have an effect, either positive or negative, on your transition?

A: Honestly, growing up in the Raleigh theater community, in places like RLT, Bare Theatre, etc. really had a huge impact on me growing up and feeling free to be who I was with no judgment. It’s something I can never be grateful enough for. There was never ever a point in my life where I was scared of being rejected by my community by being openly and freely who I was, and the older I get the more I realize how rare and beautiful that was.

It also helped tremendously to have a family that supported me no matter what, and as cliche, as it is for a little queer kid to be like “My mom, was my personal hero,” it could not be more true. My mom supported me through everything and even if she didn’t always understand, she didn’t need an explanation of why she should support her child, she just did.

Q: What do you miss most about Raleigh?
A: I miss the trees SO much. I’ve never been anywhere else in the world that has the same natural beauty and immediate familiarity as Raleigh, North Carolina.

*Follow Lachlan here, and catch up on The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix.

**Read Part 1 of my interview with Watson here:  https://thehowler.org/category/category-5/