KJ Apa on Becoming Jimmy Stewart, Speculation That He Is the Singer Mr. Fantasy and Opening Up About His Addictions and Recovery: ‘This Is A Huge Part of Who I Am’

Oct 17, 2026 12:00pm PT KJ Apa on Becoming Jimmy Stewart, Speculation That He Is the Singer Mr. Fantasy and Opening Up About His Addictions and Recovery: ‘This Is A Huge Part of Who I Am’

By Marc Malkin

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Marc Malkin

Senior Editor, Culture and Events

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When KJ Apa was being considered to star as Jimmy Stewart in the new biopic “Jimmy,” he took another look at “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

“I was watching and thinking, how am I going to pull this off?” the actor, who is best known for his starring role as Archie in the CW coming-of-age series “Riverdale,” tells me. “I don’t look anything like him. I don’t sound anything like him. I’m not as tall as him. Like none of it lined up, but by the end of the movie, I was like, ‘I have to do it.’”

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