Key Points
KJ Apa told Andy Cohen that having his son made him realize he could empathize with murder to protect his child.
The Riverdale star called his son “a gift that saved my life” from substance abuse.
Apa admitted that he wasn’t sober when he found out his then-girlfriend was pregnant.
KJ Apa’s relationship with fatherhood has led to several life-altering realizations, the 28-year-old Riverdale actor said in a new interview with Andy Cohen.
The upcoming Jimmy Stewart biopic star said on the most recent episode of the Andy Cohen Live radio show that, in addition to saving his life and forcing him to get sober, having his son, Sasha, 3, also allowed him to tap into his protective nature as a young father.
Cohen asked the New Zealander about the trappings of fame that came with his starring role in Riverdale, and inquired about how Apa overcame the struggle.
KJ Apa/Instagram
KJ Apa and son Sasha
“Honestly, my relationship with my higher power. Sasha being a gift that saved my life. I truly believe having Sasha saved my life,” Apa replied. “You have a kid and then suddenly you understand the idea of murder. You know, that like, you can empathize with why someone would kill someone.”
Cohen stepped in to clarify, “Because you are so protective of your child?” to which Apa responded, “Because you love someone so much. And that’s that same feeling that I go, ‘I love you so much more than me.’ I had to sacrifice all these things for you and that’s what a good parent does.”
He additionally confirmed that he “was not” sober when he found out his then-girlfriend, model Clara Berry, were expecting Sasha in 2021.
Earlier in the conversation, Apa said that finding fame in his youth impacted his daily life, but that having Sasha “forced me to chill” and “forced me to get sober” in order to be present for his new family.
“A lot of things I realized that I had to button up, I buttoned up. And I realized that there’s no other way for me to do it,” Apa recalled.
Cohen asked, “You succumbed to the old trope of ‘Wow. I’m famous. I have a lot of money and I’m just gonna party?'”
Gary Gershoff/Getty
KJ Apa
Apa confirmed, “Yeah. I got lost in it for sure.”
Though he’d had roles in other projects ahead of Riverdale, including a recurring role on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street, The CW’s series adaptation starring Archie Comics characters marked his breakthrough role in Hollywood.
Apa would go on to star as the lead character, Archie, across the show’s run between 2017 and 2023.
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Outside of his work on Riverdale, Apa has also starred in several films, including A Dog’s Purpose, The Hate U Give, and The Last Summer.
Apa is slated to portray Jimmy Stewart in the upcoming Jimmy biopic that will follow the Oscar-winning screen icon before he enlists in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a at the beginning of World War II, before returning home to make more classic films after his service.
Listen to Apa and Cohen’s discussion about fatherhood and sobriety above.
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