Riff is a tritagonist of West Side Story. He is Tony's best friend and the leader of the Jets, who fights against the Sharks for control over the streets of New York City.
Riff was born on the streets of New York City and thus feels entitled to it. Calm and collected and always coming up with a witty retort, Riff does not feel that he needs to step aside for anyone, whether it be the Sharks or the NYPD. He shows great care for his friends and allies and knows how to bring people into his group to aid in his efforts of superiority. Unlike Bernardo, he is better at compromising, but this ultimately does not stop him from making irrational decisions that leads to more pain.
Trivia
Prior to Mike Faist portraying Riff, he was played by seven actors. When the original Broadway show opened back in 1957, Riff was portrayed by Michael Callan and then by George Chakiris when the show opened on the West End the year after. In the 1961 film adaptation, Russ Tamblyn portrayed him with his singing dubbed over by Tucker Smith for the number "Jet Song". In the 1980 Broadway revival, he was played by James J. Mellon, Cody Green in the 2009 revival, and then by Dharon E. Jones in the 2020 revival.
Chakiris would go on to play Bernardo in the 1961 film adaptation.
