Phillip Faraone/Getty; Dean Buscher / ©The CW Network/courtesy Everett Collection KJ Apa is spilling some behind-the-scenes secrets fromRiverdale The 28-year-old actor did not hold back during a recent interview as he recalled the "drama" that went down on the CW show's set, as everyone was having sex with each other, which made things "a little complicated" He also revealed that he was a virgin when he joined the show as Archie Andrews in 2017 Riverdalewas a life-changing experience forKJ Apain more ways than one. The CW series was a breakout role for the New Zealand native, 28, following its 2017 premiere. Looking back on the experience, he and hisThe Map That Leads to Youcostar, Madelyn Cline, commiserated over the behind-the-scenes drama on YA shows likeRiverdaleandOuter Banks, on which she stars as Sarah Cameron. "There's a lot of drama that comes on shows like that. Not to say in like a gossipy kind of way, but it's just part of the environment, I guess — part of the deal," Apa toldEntertainment Weekly. "You have sex with them and stuff, and then things start happening, and then things get a little complicated, and then you're on set, and now you're fighting with them," he toldEWof the cast dynamics onRiverdale. Jack Rowand/The CW Then,he offered a candid reflection on how that affected him. "I was a virgin when I started on that show, too, for the first couple years," he said ofRiverdale, which he started when he was just 19. "I was a proud Christian boy. I was." Cline, 27, who famouslydated her costar Chase Stokesfor the first year of the Netflix show, seemed surprised that the dynamics were "the same in Vancouver" as they are in Charleston, whereOuter Banksis filmed. "You sort of just have sex with them, and then you just sort of see what happens," was how Apa continued to frame it. "It's just part of the deal." OnRiverdale, several of Apa's closest costars were linked in long-term relationships.Cole Sprouse, who played Jughead, andLili Reinhart, who played Betty,dated for around three yearsat the start of the show, andCamila Mendes, who played Veronica, andCharles Melton, who played Reggie, alsodatedon and off forabout two yearswhile making the show. He told PEOPLE that he felt "so resentful" toward the CW series, which concluded in 2023, which in turn made him feel "guilty," because the show "had given me everything." "When I finished that show, I went through a year of really having to regather who I was, like re-remember who I was," he said. "I definitely had this crisis of identity with a whole lot of other things that I was going through. Being a dad,my son being one year oldat the time, going through abreakup with his momand navigating all of that while trying to pick up the pieces of who I was." Todd Williamson/JanuaryImages/Shutterstock Apa also admitted that he "felt like my emotional growth was stunted as soon as I started on that show," due to how little control he had over his life during those six years. "It's weird. It's like, I'm the same person I was before I started the show, and then I'm on the show, and suddenly all these people are paying attention to me, but I haven't actually changed as a person. So what is the fame, and what is the attention? That was something that I couldn't quite figure out, because KJ was still the same guy." Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The Map That Leads to Youis now streaming on Prime Video.RiverdaleandOuter Banksare available to stream on Netflix. Read the original article onPeople
