KJ Apa on ‘Loving’ the ’50s of ‘Riverdale’ & Looking Back at His Own Past

The clock continues to count down on Riverdale as the seventh and final season serves up the fourth of its 11 episodes.

In tonight’s outing, the overheated teens of the town with pep are once again causing a ruckus: Betty (Lili Reinhart) puts Kevin (Casey Cott) on warning for refusing her randy advances, Jughead (Cole Sprouse) gets into a pickle only Veronica (Camila Mendes) can get him out of, and Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) decides to pull a fast one on her family with some help from Archie (KJ Apa). Watch an exclusive sneak peek of that last one above.

We’d say it’s all innocent fun, but you know these kids. They are not squeaky clean, never have been. Which is probably why we have spent the past seven seasons with them. Regardless of the era they are inhabiting, Archie and the gang know how to put the bad behavior in a good time. We recently spoke with Apa about his ride as the comic-book icon, which has had as many twists as the show itself, as well as how he has grown up along with his character. And it turns out, just like Archie, he’s gotten by with a lot of help from his friends.

KJ, sir. How are you doing?

KJ Apa: I’m good, brother. I’m good. I’m just here in Vancouver still, have a couple more months. I think we have five or six more episodes left. And it definitely feels a little weird, everything coming to an end.

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I bet. And where you are in filming, are you guys still in the ’50s at this point?

We are, yeah. We are still in the ’50s. And it kind of seems to be working really well for us, so I think… I don’t know how long we’re gonna stay here, but I’m loving it.

You’ve gotten to play so many versions of Archie. This has to have been a great exercise in exploring new levels.

Definitely. A lot of it just comes down to whatever universe the writers are throwing at us. And I think, definitely for me, this season has opened up a new version of myself and of the Archie that we all know from the comics. He’s kind of naive and not very self-aware, but still really pure-hearted and has the best intentions. And that’s the version of Archie that I love most… It’s working with a lighter character. This is the one that’s a lot more fun on set, and I get to do something that I’ve always wanted to do, which is the funny stuff. I love the funny stuff.

The show finally found a way to let you do that!

Yeah. I’ve always wanted to work on a project that brings the funny side out of me, and this heightened world that we’re in with the ’50s creates so much room for me to do that. For all of us, really, because there’s really no limit. So on set now, I’m just going like 150 percent and then, you know, most of the time the directors will tell me to tone it down a bit. [Laughs] I want to go in there with everything that I got because it’s not every day you get to be in that kind of heightened reality.

At the same time, the show has really been looking at the repression of that era and how young people weren’t allowed to express themselves. How has that been playing this more innocent Archie? Because I know Betty is just ready for it.

[Laughs] Well, it’s interesting because we are exploring what it was like for everyone back then and right now, we’re just starting into a storyline with him and Reggie [Charles Melton], and I won’t spoil anything, but we really do get to dive into that. It’s usually the girls who get the cool kind of exploration of sexuality in terms of gender roles and stuff like that. And I feel like the boys haven’t had that much of a chance to do that. So I find that really interesting and [soon] we’re getting into that and I think people are gonna love it. I mean, I definitely love it.

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I think everybody knows that the fandoms have their favorites and who they think is endgame, so let’s not even go there. But as an actor, what has been the main difference for you when they’ve put Archie with Betty versus Veronica?

Ooh, you know, that’s a good question. Because there’s two worlds to that question. I can answer that question for Archie and I can answer that question for myself, because all of us have very specific relationships with each other. After a seven-year stint, there’s definitely people who I enjoy working with more than others, I’m not gonna lie. But when it comes to Cami and Lili, it’s like I get the best of both worlds, you know? Especially when we get scenes with the three of us, when we’re all together.

They’re both so different and they both have such different processes. So it’s refreshing to come out of working on a scene with Lili and then working with Cami…and vice-versa. It’s kind of the yin and yang of Betty and Veronica. I don’t have a favorite, and that is pretty cool. Yeah, it’s really hard to explain just because of how personal all of our relationships are.

But I know for Archie, it’s like Betty is always just being the girl next door. They’re best friends. And for me, I think Betty is someone that he can really see himself being with the rest of his life. And I think he can still see that with Veronica, it’s just that he can’t see as far ahead because they don’t have the history together.

She’s the forward part of his life, whereas Betty has forward and the back. She’s part of his past.

Exactly. Yeah. Exactly.

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And personally, how has all of this been for you? You started in your teens and there’s not a lot of actors who are given the amount of things that you had to deal with, between the show’s massive success when it launched, losing Luke Perry, and then Covid changing how the show could be made. What has that done to you?

You know, experiencing all those huge, pivotal moments in my life and being on a show like this, I think one of the reasons why I consider myself so lucky is because I have been able to make some of the best friends in my life on this show. And this show has given me these bookmarks in my life…with Luke, with having my child, and having that extreme kind of success on this show, which I’m so grateful for. It definitely makes you grow up.

I’ve made so many mistakes while being on this show and trying to get through the notoriety that comes with it and struggling through that. I’ve been through some ups and downs, and I’ve definitely come close to losing a lot. But I consider myself extremely lucky because of the people that I work with and all of us going through this together — some of us having already gone through these things. Luke was such a mentor for me and almost like a father figure over here in the States. And he really helped guide me through it.

Molly [Ringwald] is another key person in my life. She lives in New York, so we don’t get to see each other that often, but when we do, she’s one of those people where the conversations immediately go straight to the heart. She knows so much about me and she’s another person with so much experience, we share so much. Oh, and she’s such an amazing writer! We talk a lot about books. [Laughs]

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It’s clear from your social media that you have an artistic side that expands beyond acting. Where do you see that taking you after Riverdale?

I don’t know, man. I feel like acting and playing characters is just something that has opened itself into my life now. It feels like something that revealed itself to me when I shot this movie One Fast Move last year. One of my best friends, Kelly Blatz, wrote it and directed it, and I came back to Riverdale with this kind of newfound approach to how I want to work when it comes to acting. And that’s kind of how I found what I wanted to bring to Archie this season, to make it more fun and to play more of the character.

But there’s so many things that I want to do. I have so many goals, with my art, with music. I’m really open to whatever medium is showing itself to me at any given point in time. I’ve gone years not playing music. I’ve gone years not drawing, which is something I really enjoy. Drawing and painting stuff. So maybe I’ll take a huge break. I think it’s really important to take a break from your self-expression if it’s something you really love. Take a break from it and then get back to it too, you know?

Let yourself fall back in love with it.

Yeah, exactly.

One thing I need to mention is how impressive it has been watching you and some of your cast mates openly discuss how life — even the life of actors on a big show — isn’t always easy. I feel like that level of honesty means a lot to the fandom.

Thanks. I think, you know, with social media and the way that the world is going now, it’s important that there’s more of a dialogue around that kind of stuff. I try and keep my life as private as I possibly can, but I’m all about sharing my experience, my strength, and my hope with anyone who needs it, you know? Because you never know…someone out there, it may really help them. Listening to a lot of people in my life has been really helpful for me.

You may end up mentoring people like Luke did for you.

Exactly. And maybe one day, I’ll even be playing a father. [Laughs]

Riverdale, Wednesdays, 9/8c, The CW