Everything's Archie for "Riverdale" Star KJ Apa

amp8220I think thatamp8217s a pretty good comparisonamp8221 KJamp160told me during The CWamp8217s day at TCA where he joined his fellow castmates and the showamp8217s producers in promoting the show see photo belowamp160 amp8220I didnamp8217t go back and watch the cartoon seriesamp8221 he said amp160amp8220I did do some research about it and learned the basics but I didnamp8217t draw too much from the comics either amp160This is very different and when you watch the whole series you will see that amp160If we had the same situations from the comics nobody would watchamp8221Everything from teacherstudent relationships to mental illness to homelessness gets the Riverdale treatment providing some juicy fodder for KJamp160and the others to work with But who is this guy we are supposed to accept as our new Archieamp160 Where did he come from amp160And what will he be hiding from viewersamp160 I went in search of answers to these questions and others after the Riverdale sessionArchie was always somewhat of a scrawny nerd but in Riverdale heamp8217s quite buffamp160 Did you have to change your physique for the roleKJ amp160Iamp8217ve exercised my whole life amp160My dad got me into it when I was young so Iamp8217ve been training for a long time amp160It was something I didnamp8217t have to think about going in to the show which was goodWe have to talk about the tattoo you are hiding for the series There39s a picture of it on Twitter feed below for all to seeamp160KJ amp160Haamp160 I do have a traditional Samoan tattoo on my right shoulder and yes I have to hide it amp160I got it when I was 15 and my dad became a High Chief of Samoa which was a big deal for me and for him I had no idea I was going to act at the timeamp160 I have to cover it up for the show pretty much for every episodeWas there talk of making Archie a little more edgy and showing the tattooKJ amp160I donamp8217t think so and not at the moment amp160Also Archieamp8217s not Samoan with the red hair so it doesnamp8217t quite workYouamp8217re not a natural redheadKJ amp160My hair is dark brown so that was a real change amp160Iamp8217m getting it bleached every two weeks and itamp8217s sore amp160I have no idea how women do this amp160Iamp8217ll probably be bald by the end of the showDo you like yourself as a redheadKJ amp160Everyone seems to think I look betteramp160 But none of them have seen me with my normal hair coloramp160 I guess Iamp8217m used to it nowamp160 Only 2 of the population has red hair so I do feel specialamp160 Now it looks kind of normal and I almost canamp8217t recall my natural hair color amp160The advantage is I can go back to my normal hair color and no one will recognize me and I can go out for other roles amp160Iamp8217m looking at that as an advantage but as soon as we finish shooting Iamp8217m back to my natural colorWas it the fact that this is a completely different take on the comic books appealingKJ amp160If you go too close to the comics itamp8217s not going to appeal to a lot of people amp160If you go too far away from it itamp8217s not going to appeal eitheramp160 I think we kind of sit right smack bang in the middle amp160We create the same iconic relationships between the characters but it has to be a little bit different for everyone to like itWhy do you think the Archie comics have had such longevityKJamp160 amp160I donamp8217t knowamp160 What I first thought about this was that it was a random idea a kid with red hair between two beautiful girls amp160How often does that happen amp160Thatamp8217s what makes it so great and so uniqueHow is it playing gridiron as an allAmerican jockKJ amp160I always wanted to wear that uniform as a kid and I finally get to do it There are no gridiron teams in New Zealand so thereamp8217s no way I couldamp8217ve ever worn it amp160I understand the rules of the game now and that took me a really long time amp160I didnamp8217t like it at first there was too much stopping whereas rugby is really fast amp160But I like it nowamp160 However Riverdale needs a rugby team and I might pitch thatSo youamp8217re also a rugby playerKJ amp160Itamp8217s the one thing I really wish I were still doing laughs amp160Honestly it was either rugby or music it was never acting and I donamp8217t even know how Iamp8217m doing this at the moment amp160Rugby is big for me my uncle was one of the best allblack players amp160Michael Jones was his name and heamp8217s also one of my biggest role modelsDo you still playKJ amp160The last time I played I was concussed and I think that ended it for me amp160Maybe Iamp8217ll get out there and play again just donamp8217t tell anyone amp160Iamp8217m definitely not allowed to but Iamp8217m going to do itamp160 I was actually concussed twice in my career and then I joined the show in New Zealand so that career ended pretty earlyHow did your parents react when they found out Luke Perry would be playing your dadKJ amp160Both of my parents knew who he was theyamp8217re from the 90210 era and everyone in New Zealand knows who he isamp160 They were pretty stoked and got to meet him when they visited the set in Vancouver We all had dinner Mom was really chill she doesnamp8217t really freak out about that kind of stuffTheyamp8217re doing comic books based on this series so how does it feel to be a comic book character yourselfKJ amp160Itamp8217s pretty surreal amp160Thatamp8217s all I can really say about itamp160 Itamp8217s just surrealRiverdale premieres on January 26 at 9 pmClick on the social media tiles above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggersamp160amp160

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

Everything's Archie for "Riverdale" Star KJ Apa

Author

Publish date

Channel

Archived in

Steve Gidlow

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

More Videos:

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

Everything's Archie for "Riverdale" Star KJ Apa

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Steve Gidlow

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

The payment was successful

Cookies