How many of you are familiar with the Archie Comics?
If you are then you'll surely remember the title character, Archie Andrews. The all-American boy with carrot orange hair, freckles, and the always-there "R" t-shirt. This past year, Warner Brothers' own CW network has created a live-action tv show adapted from the Archie Comics. The television adaption, called "Riverdale", stars KJ Apa as Archie Andrews, Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones, Lili Reinhart as Betty Cooper, and Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge.
Today, I'll be discussing why KJ APA is perfect for the iconic role of Archie Andrews.
I'll provide a bit of background on our esteemed main character. Archie Andrews is known as America's most typical teenager. The character was born and raised in the small town of Riverdale. He's got a mop of red (orange) hair, a splatter of freckles on his cheeks, and a nice-boy attitude. Archie Andrews is most famous for his indecisiveness and his inability to chose between two girls called Betty and Veronica.
Now, let's talk about the actor taking on the role. Twenty-year-old KJ Apa was born and raised in New Zealand. He has two sisters and his father, who is Samoan, is the Matai (chief) of his village in Somoa. He plays both the guitar and the piano and is often hesitant when asked to sing live, but he has a great singing voice.
The first thing I'll point out is that Apa is a great actor. His previous work includes a role on a New Zealand prime-time soap opera called "Shortland Street" as well as a role in the film "A Dog's Purpose". His performance in the latter evoked a lot of emotion and illustrated his skill level as an actor. Apa also has a great American accent. A lot of fans of the show didn't realize that Apa wasn't from our part of the world due to his amazing American accent, which just adds to his high skill level as an actor. Apa's also committed to his role of Archie Andrews. He originally had dark brown hair but suffers through biweekly dyeing treatments of both his hair and his eyebrows to achieve the Archie-red. Finally, Apa has a unique perspective. He's not American so he has an outside view of our culture. So, he can portray Archie's all-American boy with a New Zealander approach.
Whatever his skills, KJ Apa is the perfect Archie Andrews for "Riverdale". Filled with milkshakes, darkness, and drama, Riverdale is on every Wednesday night at 8pm. Yes, that was me unapologetically plugging one of my favorite shows. Make sure to check it out!
This sounds like it is going to be good. I liked the Sprouse brothers from the Suite life. I watched it with my kids all the time. I watched some of the Archie comics a while back but it'll be nice to see a current version, even though it isn't animation. I will definitely be checking out this series. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI love to read your passion about KJ Apa! I always learn more about him from you and he seems like a great fit for his role.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea what KJ apa is or who he was but after reading your random post about it and the show riverdale i might watch the first episode before i sleep tonight
ReplyDeleteIt was so interesting to read you comment on KJ Apa and actually make me want to take a look at the show. Great marketing!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that this show was based on Archie!! Wow! Thank you for your recommendation and in depth analysis, without spoiling it for me! Definitely plan to watch Riverdale now.
ReplyDeleteI remember loving reading Archie comics as a kid. They have such fun and absurd storylines. I had no idea that river dale existed before this blog post existed before this post. I will definitely check it out!
ReplyDelete-Daniel