KJ Apa, beloved (faux) redhead star of Riverdale, is from New Zealand, Twitter discovered Sunday night during the American Music Awards. The actor has an American accent on Riverdale, but he has the accent of a kiwi in real life. This was a little jarring for die-hard Riverdale fans, who are accustomed to Apa's American accent.
One Twitter user wrote, "KJ APA HAS A FUCKING ACCENT?? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?????"
Nope, not kidding.
Another added, "Had absolutely no idea @kj_apa has an accent."
And yet another said, incredulous, "KJ Apa has a [sic] accent?"
KJ APA HAS A FUCKING ACCENT?? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?????
— Tammy Alexa (@tammykitty) November 20, 2017
Had absolutely no idea @kj_apa has an accent ? #AMAs
— Kasey Chronis (@KaseyChronisTV) November 20, 2017
Kj Apa has a accent?! #ERedCarpet
— Shelley (@shellza254) November 20, 2017
Others seem to have forgotten that Apa has an accent — his accent on Riverdale is just too convincing!
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Omg I forgot about @kj_apa's accent! New Zealander ?‼️ #Riverdale him and @madelainepetsch w/amazing red hair though ?
— Kari (@KariHighman) November 20, 2017
Apa has a rabid fanbase. As the star of Riverdale, one of 2017's great television phenomena, he's poised to be a permanent A-lister. Many fans do know about his accent, and love him all the more for it. (Foreign accents and allure have a positive correlation, especially in Hollywood.)
But Apa tries his best to tune out the rabid fandom.
"I try not to spend too much time on it," he told Teen Vogue. "It's easy to kind of be sucked in. [But] it's important to just stay focused on the task at hand, which is, we're trying to create the best TV show that there is right now. That's my goal, and I take it very seriously. Because the show has done so well, it comes with certain things — the fandom, the craziness and all that — but I think at the end of the day, you've got to stay grounded and just get the job done, you know?"
And the job entails attending the American Music Awards, where he must present an award with his real accent.
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