‘Riverdale’ Star KJ Apa Says Constant Shirtless Scenes ‘Can Mess With Your Head’

Riverdale star KJ Apa says the show’s constant shirtless scenes with him “messed” him up.

The actor opened up about sometimes disagreeing with how his character Archie Andrews was sexualized throughout the series.

“I’ve been through a lot of s— with that. It can mess with your head a little bit,” he explained.

The New Zealand actor recounted how his original enthusiasm about shirtless scenes eventually turned into a stressor.

“At first, as a young child, which is what I was, I thought it was cool – you almost want the opportunity to be shirtless. I was like, ‘Yeah, let me take my shirt off. Boom!’ And then you gotta consistently stay in incredible shape. It takes a toll,” he explained to Variety.

He recalled times when he didn’t know how to advocate for himself regarding this dilemma.

“Even saying that I didn’t feel comfortable I had a hard time with,” he explained. “I thought people would be like, ‘Why not? Just f—ing do it, bro.”

In the same interview, Lili Reinhart, who played Betty Cooper, recalled how filming sexy scenes impacted her self-image.

“It’s been trippy to grow up on this show and constantly see images of myself from when I was 19, 20, 21,” she said.

“My body does not look like that anymore. And suddenly this season we’re 17 again,” she explained when referring to the characters time traveling in the show.

“I’ve looked at myself in the mirror and laughed at myself a couple of times. I don’t look like I’m 17, and I’m ok with that!” she asserted. “But it’s this weird feeling, like you have to fit yourself back into this box that you presented to the world when we first stepped into these characters.”

“Just being an actor in general, you feel like you’re holding yourself to a consistent standard of I must not age, and I must continue to look like I did.”

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Camila Mendes, who played Veronica Lodge, reassured that Riverdale’s creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa established a safe workplace for all of the actors involved with the show.

“We need to say Roberto is always very understanding of us, and there’s nobody forcing us to do anything,” she said. “It’s just the nature of being on a teen show.”

In June, Reinhart posted a reflection on Instagram regarding the show’s final season.

“Goodbye, Riverdale,” she captioned a photo of her character looking out of a bedroom window. “It’s been an honor getting to grow up here.”

The CW announced in January the dates for the final season premiere and finale.

The network shared that the final season would begin airing on March 29, and that the series finale would air on August 23.

Riverdale became a hit after its 2017 premiere and ratings skyrocketed during the second season’s airing after streaming on Netflix.

Mark Pedowitz, chairman and CEO of The CW, said last year: “I’m a big believer in giving series that have long runs and appropriate sendoff. We want to make sure it goes out the right way.”