KJ Apa has opened up about the death of his co-star Luke Perry, and revealed how his passing deeply affected him.
The 52-year-old actor died suddenly in March 2019 after suffering a massive stroke – leaving his family, friends, and co-stars devastated.
KJ played Luke’s on-screen son Archie Andrews in the hit CW series Riverdale, and the pair had a particularly close relationship off screen.
Speaking about Luke’s death during an interview with MR PORTER’s The Journal, KJ said 2019 was the hardest year of his life.
“It changed everything when Luke passed. I had never gone through anything like that before,” he said.
“I’ve never lost anyone close to me, so it was a really hard time. It’s still hard. Going to work, I can just feel that he’s not there any more.”
“We had a really, really, really good relationship, me and Luke. He was just kind of a guy that kept us, especially me, grounded because he’d been through all of this stuff,” he continued.
“I was so blessed to have him in my life to say, ‘Maybe don’t do that,’ or, ‘This is a good idea.’ Just giving me advice.I miss him. I just miss talking to him. I miss listening to him.”
