Does Former ‘Riverdale’ Star KJ Apa Have an Accent? Find out His Origins
KJ Apa gained mainstream success when he was cast in the lead role of Archie Andrews in the CW teen drama series ‘Riverdale.’
Published Aug. 25 2025, 10:10 a.m. ET
Many fans are shocked when they realize that certain actors have a very different accent from what is portrayed onscreen. British actors have consistently surprised the public when they step out of character with their real accent. Former Riverdale star KJ Apa is another actor who has fans questioning what his real accent is, so let’s find out.
KJ Apa gained mainstream success when he was cast in the lead role of Archie Andrews in the CW teen drama series Riverdale from 2017 until the series officially ended in 2023.
Does KJ Apa have an accent?
In short, yes. KJ is a native of Auckland, New Zealand, and as a result, he has a Kiwi accent — which he got to put on full display for the first time in several years in his new film, The Map That Leads to You.
KJ recently noted that he was a bit hesitant to use his native accent since American audiences have been accustomed to hearing him as Archie on Riverdale for so many years.
When it was suggested that he play the role of the character Marty in the film “like a New Zealander,” KJ explained to The Hollywood Reporter how he felt initially. “And I was like, ‘Hmm, I don’t know about that’ because I haven’t done it since I was in New Zealand when I was 16, I haven’t really used my own accent,” he said.
“But there was something about it that was exciting for me to do because it’s a different kind of process when I’m using my own accent, just ‘cause it feels more like me,” KJ admitted. “There’s less of a separation between me and the character, which really worked for us because it meant that all of the improvisation stuff, which is the way that Lasse really loves to work, felt very natural.”
KJ’s father has Samoan ancestry, and his mother is a native New Zealander.
His mother, Tessa Apa is a European New Zealander, but it’s his father’s background that many may be surprised by. Tupa'i Apa is a Samoan chief of his village, a title that was also given to KJ back in 2022, according to Today.
“I have a massive Samoan family. And the Samoan culture has always played a massive part of my life,” KJ said in a 2017 interview with Vulture. “I’ve got hundreds of family on my dad’s side that live in Samoa and in New Zealand.
“I’ve just been surrounded by the culture ever since I was a kid,” he continued. “I actually used to speak Samoan, but me and my sisters all kind of lost it. We go there at least once a year to see family. And my dad recently just got a traditional Samoan tattoo. He’s a chief in Samoa, so he got that tattoo to commemorate it.”
His natural hair color is not the shade that 'Riverdale' fans came to love.
Donning bright red hair was essential to his portrayal of Archie, but KJ is actually a natural brunette. During the first season of the series, he shared that he was initially nervous to transition to such an eye-catching shade but came to appreciate it.
"It was definitely really weird to see," he told Teen Vogue back in 2017. "But now I can't really remember what it was like before. I heard that only 2 percent of the population of the world has red hair, so I'm feeling pretty good right now."