Keneti James Fitzgerald Apa is from New Zealand. He is an actor and singer and plays music. Apa started playing Archie Andrews on the C.W. drama series Riverdale in 2017.
Who Is KJ Apa?
KJ Apa was born in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1997. In 2013, the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street made him famous. Before he moved to Hollywood and was cast as Archie Andrews in The C.W.’s hit teen drama Riverdale. It based on the famous characters from Archie Comics, he hadn’t done much acting. KJ Apa would later be in the movies I Still Believe and A Dog’s Purpose.
How was KJ Apa’s Early Life?
Keneti James Fitzgerald was born on June 17, 1997, in Auckland, New Zealand. This is where KJ Apa grew up. Apa and his two older sisters are part Samoan because their father, Keneti, is a tribal chief with Samoan roots (known as a Matai). His mother, Tessa, was born in New Zealand, but she is from Europe.
Education:
Apa went to high school in the Auckland area at King’s College.
Personal Life:
In May 2021, KJ Apa told his girlfriend Clara Berry that they were going to have their first child.
How did Apa Start his Career?
Apa’s acting career took off almost as soon as he tried to make it happen. In 2013, when he was still in high school. He got the role of Kane Jenkins, a suicidal teen, in New Zealand’s longest-running prime-time soap opera, Shortland Street. At the time, he had almost no acting experience.
KJ Apa played Kane for two seasons. But when Hollywood called, he had to cut his story short because he was still in school and trying to become an actor.
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‘Riverdale’
After trying out in Los Angeles for the part of Archie Andrews, he got the lead role on The C.W.’s Riverdale, which is a darker look at the troubled lives of teens in the Archie Comics world. But there were some problems on the way to getting the part.
Despite the fact that all of Riverdale’s other major roles had already been cast. It took the show’s creators six long months to sift through a large number of redheads in the Los Angeles area before they finally found their leading man, and they didn’t find him until the very last minute.
Do You Know Anything About the Audition of Apa?
KJ Apa said that his first audition wasn’t very good and that the fact that he had to fly from New Zealand for more than 12 hours didn’t help his chances.
Who is Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa?
In 2017, the show’s executive producer, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, told Vulture, “When K.J. read for us, he was Archie Andrews right away”. “It had just the right amount of sincerity and edge. And he was a dream on the guitar.”
Apa was more himself when he played “Mary Had a Little Lamb” by Stevie Ray Vaughan on his electric guitar for casting directors.
Apa said with a laugh, “There were a few Southerners in the theatre, so I brought my guitar.” “After I played that song, I felt very sure of myself because I’m very good at music and have always been very passionate about it.”
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How did Apa was Casted for Riverdale Movie?
Apa was the perfect leading man for Riverdale because he looked like a boy and had already played a dark character in the past. (His ripped abs might have helped, too, since they were a part of the plot of the pilot.)
Along with Lili Reinhart as Betty, Camila Mendes as Veronica, and Cole Sprouse as Jughead, Apa’s casting made the show complete. When it started in 2017, Riverdale got good reviews and quickly became a hit for the network.
What is the Reason of Apa’s Fame?
“A Dog’s Purpose” and “I Still Believe”: Apa’s quick rise to fame as Archie led to more roles on the big screen, like in “A Dog’s Purpose” (2017), “The Hate You Give” (2018), and “The Last Summer” (2017). (2019). Then, he played Jeremy Camp in the 2020 movie I Still Believe, which is about his relationship with a young woman who has ovarian cancer and is dying.
