Archie From 'Riverdale' Looks Totally Different Without Red Hair, But We're Still Obsessed
Any fan of television and movies loves a good on-screen transformation, am I right? Whether it's as dramatic as Jared Leto in Suicide Squad or as subtle as any of the cast members on Orange is the New Black, the actors who play these characters are all practically unrecognizable in real life. Certainly, there's something captivating about watching an actor portray a character on-screen who looks nothing like the real life version of themselves. That being said, Archie Andrews from Riverdale without red hair will have fans of the show in complete disbelief.
That's right, despite his character's appearance, the crimson-haired stud from Riverdale doesn't actually have red hair in real life. Instead, his natural hair color is dark brown and let me tell you, though he looks totally different off-screen, he's still just as attractive. Indeed, actor K.J. Apa's Instagram page has tons of pics of him before he began working on Riverdale, each one featuring his luscious brown locks rather than the signature bright orange dye job we have come to know him for.
Looking through his page, it's easy to see one thing is for sure: Red hair or dark brown hair, K.J. Apa is hot.
What did I tell you? Just as hot as he is with red hair. Granted, Apa has been working on Riverdale for more than a year now, and he has to keep his hair dyed to match Archie's, so in order to find some pics of him with his gorgeous brown locks you'd have to scroll pretty far back into his Instagram archives.
Earlier this year, Apa spoke with Vulture about the laborious upkeep that goes into maintaining Archie's signature crimson look; one thing is for sure, it's not as simple as it might look on screen. The actor told the outlet,
It’s pretty gnarly, man. I had to go to the salon every two weeks to get it dyed and bleached and stuff. So yeah, it’s not my favorite thing to do, but obviously I’ve got to do it because the roots keep coming up and my hair grows really fast. So, two weeks max I can go shooting, and then I have to get it dyed again. I’m sitting there for at least two-and-a-half hours, so I’m on my iPad and I read some scripts and stuff. I keep myself entertained.
That definitely sounds like a process, I can see why it isn't his "favorite thing to do." The actor went on to tell Vulture how painful the process was at first, as well. He said,
It was really painful the first and the second time I got it done because they do my eyebrows as well. They ended up bleaching my eyebrows, and I had two holes — they burnt into my skin. I was like, “Oh, my, we’ve got to sort this out.” Luckily, I haven’t had that again, but yeah, it was pretty gnarly.
As shocking as K.J. Apa's hair transformation is, Riverdale fans might be even more surprised to learn the actor is from New Zealand, which means, yes, he does an American accent for the show. Vulture asked the actor how he learned to speak so effortlessly in an American accent, to which he replied,
I never actively went out and studied the American accent. I just came over here to the States and it was something I was able to do. Like, I never struggled with it. I used to talk to myself as a kid in an American accent. Other than that, I don’t actually know why I can do it.
I'm not sure I can handle anymore surprises from Apa at this moment in time. At least we know his abs are on-screen and off-screen perfection.
Who knows what secrets we'll get from the Riverdale cast next. Nobody better tell me Cheryl Blossom's natural hair color isn't red, I don't think I could handle that.
Riverdale returns to The CW at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 11.
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