KJ Apa suits up in a red jacket as he gets takeout after wrapping for the day on Riverdale

Riverdale star KJ Apa made a splash on the streets of Vancouver on Tuesday evening as he picked up takeout in a colorful outfit.

The 23-year-old New Zealander actor was unmissable in a red down jacket and a yellow hoodie as he strolled down the rain-soaked sidewalk. 

He picked up some takeout food for the evening after wrapping for the day on the set of his hit CW series. 

KJ proved he was a fan of bright colors with the red plaid puffer jacket and his canary yellow hoodie.

He had the hood up to cover his red-dyed hair and sported a pale blue surgical mask to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. 

The I Still Believe star added a secondary color with a pair of green sweatpants tucked into his tall white socks.

He rounded out the look with a pair of classic white Nike sneakers with green swooshes. 

KJ (born Keneti James) raised eyebrows late last month when he said working on Riverdale was like being ‘in jail.’

The Kiwi star opened up to his Songbird costar Demi Moore, 58, for Interview Magazine about the seemingly oppressive rules on set

The two screen stars opened their interview with a discussion of their film Songbird, which takes place in 2024, when the novel coronavirus has mutated into Covid-23, a more contagious and deadly strain that forces most of the world’s population to stay indoors perpetually. 

According to Apa, the movie was a refreshing change of pace from his teen crime series.

‘I felt so free coming from a show where I feel like I’m in jail a lot of the time,’ he said. ‘There are so many restrictions on what I can and can’t do.’

He continued: ‘With this [Songbird] character, it was like, “Wow, this is what it’s like to really express myself in a natural way.” I wasn’t covered in makeup or hair products. I had long hair and a beard. I just felt free.’

Apa is best known for his Riverdale look, in which his character Archie Andrews has red–orange hair and usually sports a clean-shaven face.

He departed significantly from that put-together look in Songbird, in which his character sports thick stubble and he wore his natural brown hair in a shaggy pandemic hairdo.

Lest he be accused of being ungrateful for the career-boasting role, the TV star was quick to add that he was ‘so grateful for the show and its success,’ but he also complained of ‘pressure’ that comes with playing a beloved character.

‘There’s been so much pressure in playing Archie. I’m so grateful for the show and its success, but at the same time, there’s a lot of baggage that comes with that success,’ he told Moore. ‘I feel like the only people I can talk to about my issues are my costars, the people who can really relate to me.’

He singled out Cole Sprouse, who plays Jughead Jones, as a helpful presence because of his experience in the film and television industry going back to his work as a child with his twin brother Dylan Sprouse. 

He also complained about being judged for his personal attitudes by fans who can’t always separate him from his character.

‘There are times when I’m like, “Wow, they really have no idea that we are actual people. They can’t separate us from our characters,”‘ he said.

‘You don’t have that in other professions. You don’t dissect the life of a builder and start judging the decisions he makes in his life with his wife and kids. 

‘As an actor, I will be judged on everything: my political opinions, my opinions on drugs, my opinions on the people I want to be with. Everything. It’s something I’ve had to come to terms with,’ he added. 

Apa wasn’t alone in complaining about the restrictive atmosphere on Riverdale, as his costar Lili Reinhart has previously said she felt like a ‘prisoner’ when she returned to shoot the fifth season in Vancouver amid the pandemic.

The series was renewed for a sixth season earlier in February.