K.J. Apa grateful to veteran TV co-stars for helping him deal with superfame

K.J. Apa is grateful to his Riverdale co-stars Cole Sprouse and Luke Perry for helping him navigate TV superstardom, because he has struggled with some fan reactions.

The young actor admitted he has felt a lot of pressure playing Archie Andrews on the popular teen show and had to turn to Sprouse and the late Perry for guidance when the show took off.

"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," Apa told Demi Moore as part of a chat for Interview magazine.

"I feel like the only people I can talk to about my issues are my co-stars, the people who can really relate to me," he went on.

"Cole is an amazing person to have on set, because he's been doing this his whole life... (and) having Luke on the show was such a blessing for me," the 23-year-old explained.

"When I was first experiencing success, Luke had a way of just quashing it and being like, 'You're only as important as the PA (personal assistant) sitting over there'. He knew everyone's name... Luke had the ability to be like, 'Step on your mark. Stay in line. Go home. Show up on time. Treat people with respect'. I loved that about him," Apa shared.

The New Zealand actor also told Demi he's forever trying to figure out how his fans think but added many believe he is the character he plays on TV.

"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.