Rivkah Reyes (born August 18, 1992 in Chicago, IL, USA) is an American actor, musician, producer, writer and comedian based in New York, NY.
Reyes began playing guitar at the age of 4 in Chicago, IL. At the age of 10 they appeared in the film School of Rock as Katie, the bass player for the band formed in the film. They were chosen for the film appearing on the From the Top radio show at the age of nine. It was on the set of School of Rock that they were given the nickname 'Reeba Deeba' by costar Jack Black. Off-screen, Rivkah and the rest of the cast and crew had karaoke parties, attended one of Heather Headley and Adam Pascal's performances in the original cast of Broadway's Aida and had other enjoyable moments.
Rivkah Reyes's other credits include the short film Cool Nerds (2014), two episodes of Action Nat and the Cat (2020) and Alex/October (not yet released). The actor is also an accomplished bassist, cellist, guitarist and singer. In 2004 they formed the alternative band Sweet Revenge with their neighbors in Chicago, Illinois, their hometown. Rivkah is a stand-up comedian and no stranger to Chicago's local theater scene, partly as a member of the group The Second City.
In March 2020 Rivkah wrote "Confessions of an Obsolete Child Actor" about the pain they experienced after School of Rock was released. In the story they shared they had been bullied, developed an eating disorder, were sexualized by online perverts (which led to a strange man in a trench coat sneaking on to their school's property and attempting to photograph them). When Rivkah's parents brought this to the principal, they (the principal) responded with, "I guess that's the price of fame." The actor would go on to transfer high schools twice, encounter even more mistreatment by their peers, and, starting at the age of 14, began to use, "Drugs, alcohol, sex, food and self-harm to numb all of this pain". (Reyes, "Confessions of....Child Actor") They have gone through more than a handful of toxic relationships and three suicide attempts. They have been in recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction since 2017, something they consider their greatest accomplishment. But that does not mean they regret filming School of Rock. "I'm grateful that School of Rock happened," they wrote in their story on Medium.com. "It's a great film, and it was, to its core, a fun experience. I'm grateful for the fans who picked up an instrument because of us." (Reyes, "Confessions of....Child Actor)
They are an alum of the School at Steppenwolf, the training centers of The Second City and Chicago's iO Theater and the University of Illinois at Chicago. Their recent film credits include Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls (streaming on Amazon), Lifetime's A Picture Perfect Holiday, A Holiday I Do (streaming on Tello) and the upcoming films The Merry Gentlemen (Netflix) and The Jungles, which stars Keke Palmer and SZA.
For more information on The Second City and Chicago's iO Theater check out www.secondcity.com and www.ioimprov.com. To learn more about the prestigious School at Steppenwolf visit their website, www.steppenwolf.org/education/school-at-steppenwolf/. For more information on Rivkah Reyes, go to their IMDb page and check out their Medium.com account where you can read "Confessions of an Obsolete Child Actor" in full.
Trivia[]
- In 2020, they came out as queer and non-binary, changing their name to Rivkah Reyes, and pronouns to "they/she". They were assigned female at birth.
- They are of Filipino and Jewish heritage.
- They currently play bass in a band called Never Sorry with School of Rock cast-mate Joey Gaydos Jr.