BLK LIST
Once a household name in New Zealand, beaming into homes each week as Shortland Street’s Kane Jenkins, 19-year-old KJ Apa is about to find a much wider audience in his latest role as Archie Andrews, the namesake character from the iconic comic books, in the CW Network’s new show Riverdale. Following an extensive worldwide star search, Apa now finds himself working alongside Cole Sprouse, Twin Peaks’ alumni Mädchen Amick and with Beverly Hills 90210’s Luke Perry as his on-screen Dad. Set in present day in idyllic of Riverdale, the series explores the surrealism of small-town life, revealing a dark and seedy underbelly beneath its wholesome façade, and fittingly this version of Archie is all-together a darker incarnation: back at school from a summer spent working in construction and having ended a secret affair with his music teacher, and falling out with his best friend Jughead. Described as “a horny, semi-hallucinogenic mystery-drama with a potentially high death toll and lots of skin”, as more information about Riverdale surfaces the makers acknowledge inspiration from “major touchstone” Twin Peaks, the hazyvibed young-love dramas The Virgin Suicides and Heavenly Creatures, with and a touch of Veronica Mars. PostComicCon appearance where the pilot episode was previewed and cast revealed, Apa’s buzz is palpable, as one fan site puts it “He’s not a natural redhead, but I literally couldn’t care less because… Archie got an upgrade.” Hey KJ, Tell us a little about yourself and what you do… I was born in Waitakere City, New Zealand and I’m half Samoan, I love rugby and music and I’ve been acting for about two and a half
years now. After finishing up on Shortland Street, early 2016, I came over to the US to try my luck [at acting]. Things worked out really well and I managed to book some decent work and now I’m currently in Vancouver filming. I’m really close with my family. I have two older sisters; the oldest has just finished her law degree and has moved to Melbourne. The other is currently studying Fine Arts at the University of Auckland. How did you get into acting? It’s funny actually - it was never something I wanted to pursue. Growing up I was really into music and rugby. It was either one, or the other. When I was about thirteen, my Mum made me join local talent agency, Red11. I never really got any work until they told me I had an audition for “Shorty”. Somehow I got the job… Thanks Mum! You cut your acting teeth on the set of a soap opera in NZ… How did you find training by learning on set? And how does your experience there help you now? I came into “Shorty” not knowing a thing about acting. I was self-conscious, nervous, anxious, pretty much everything an actor isn’t meant to be. Acting was so far outside my comfort zone. But after a while, I started to really enjoy it and I was having lots of fun. All those feelings I had at the start were gone. “Shorty” taught me a lot: being placed in a work environment [like that] at sixteen forced me to grow up fast. The ability to learn lines fast was something I got the hang of due to the pace and immense workload. I feel like if you can survive the workload at “Shorty”, you’ll be able to handle any other production. How does your family support you as you work as an actor? I guess there isn’t much my family can do for me when I’m half way around the world, but they’re always there for me when I need a chat, and they send me up the odd Marmite jar every now and then. Do you need to spend time away from
home filming? Do you find that hard? What do you miss about NZ? The only time I go home is to see my family is for Christmas or if I happen to have an extended break. It was tough at the start to be away from home, especially when I hadn’t started filming and I’m just sitting around in some random city I’d never been to. But after doing it a few times I’ve started to develop a routine that works for me and keeps me busy. You play the new 2016 version of comic character Archie, who has his 75th anniversary this year, and have even dyed your hair red to match… what did you know about the character going in? I didn’t know much about Archie. I had to search it up online before my audition. I didn’t really understand how historic the franchise was until I started learning more about it. What can we expect from the show? It’s a dark, subversive drama, based on the most recent adaptation of the comics written by Fiona Staples and Mark Wade. When choosing and accepting roles – what things are the main considerations for you? For me it’s all about the script. If I’m drawn to the script and attracted to the character then I’ll always be interested. What is your dream role? Spiderman was always my favourite superhero. That would be epic. What is the best part about your job? Definitely the travelling to new places and meeting a bunch of new people all the time. What is the worst? Going from job to job you meet a lot of new people and end up developing strong friendships whether it’s with the cast or locals in that particular place. The downside of that is that eventually you have to leave, and more often than not, you never see those people again. KJ wears: Outfit by Zambesi. Styling: David K Shields.
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