Riley Smith still gets stopped on the street when girls around the US recognize him as a teen heartthrob. Whether it was his role alongside Jared Padalecki in the Olsen Twins’ New York Minute, or, of course, the 2001 Disney hit, Motocrossed, Riley’s early career was set in stone by his spikey blonde hair and deep blue eyes. Now, fresh off Lucy Hale‘s now-cancelled CW series Life Sentence, in which he played oncologist Dr. Will Grant, Riley is focused on his music and new Fox Show Proven Innocent. However, the now-40 year old credits his Disney days for making him into the successful actor, and now musical artist, he is today. “That movie really changed my life, I’ve got to say,” Riley told HollywoodLife in an exclusive interview. “It was one of those, you just never saw it coming, and I didn’t even know it when we were making it. I was just happy to have a job. It was one of those things that will never go away.” Riley joked, “I can’t even ride a bike! When people ask me and I tell them you see their face drop. They really thought I was a motobike rider!”
Since the success of Motocrossed, Riley has guest starred on Frequency, True Blood, and 902010. He also, most recently, joined the cast of Nashville on CMT as Markus Keen — a role which allowed him to explore his love for music. “I was playing in a band in LA for 15 years, but it was just a side project for all of us, and we were just best friends and we enjoyed doing it. When I went and joined Nashville in 2015, that really opened the door for me,” Riley explained. “I had all these great writers that I was working with and I was growing every day as an artist because of singing on the show, and so I got the bug to do it!” Riley started to write his own material, which don’t necessarily fit in the country or pop genres, but are more so along the lines of John Mayer meets Chris Stapleton. It’s heartfelt and honest, which Riley describes as “smoothie music,” saying it’s “just real chill.”
Riley just released his single titled “Hang,” which will be your new favorite summer jam to listen to while sitting on the beach, watching the sunset with a cold drink in your hand. At least, that’s what I plan to do. Expect a lot more music from Riley to come — he plans to release a song every month! Be on the look out!