2014RIVERDALE FROM FERNDALE TO

Two months after Spy did his first interview,

KJ Apa had become a household name as Kane Jenkins after only a few weeks on Shortland Street.

Apa would spend two years on the soap, but raised eyebrows by quitting his successful role in mid-2015 to try his luck in the US.

In 2016, Apa beat a huge field to take the role of Archie Andrews in drama series

Riverdale. Its fourth season is about to screen on Netflix and Apa has become a global star.

By way of comparison,

Lorde has 6.3 million

Instagram followers, Apa has 16.1 million, the most of any New Zealander.