(On Riverdale‘s audition process) “I came to L.A., and it was my first audition. I went in there and did it, and it was just like any other audition. And then, I got called about two weeks later to play the same character because they obviously hadn’t found him yet. After I did it, our casting director David Rapaport was like, “Have you been in here before?” I was like, “Yeah.” And he said, “Hold on a second,” and he left. I got called back about an hour later and did the audition again, in front of Roberto [Aguirre-Sacasa], Sarah Schechter, and a couple of the other executives. And then, they called me back for a screen test, a couple weeks later. And then, I did another screen test. Then, I got cast.”
(On working on his American accent) “I never actively went out and studied the American accent. I just came over here to the States and it was something I was able to do. Like, I never struggled with it. I used to talk to myself as a kid in an American accent. Other than that, I don’t actually know why I can do it. It’s an easy accent to do, I think, in terms of accents. It’s harder for Americans to do a New Zealand accent than it is for a New Zealander to do an American accent. I think that’s also because of how popular and how just broad all American culture is around the globe. I think my musical side has always helped as well. I’ve always played by ear with guitar and piano, so I think that can also play into it as well. I’m able to hear and then mimic it or something.”
(On the difference between New Zealand and USA) “Growing up in New Zealand is a lot different than the US. My school was like Hogwarts.”
(On bringing Archie to life) “It was tricky for me at the beginning, coming from New Zealand and playing such an iconic American character. The fans are so passionate and I was thinking, “Man, I hope I don’t get too much stick from these guys,” but the feedback has been really good, which I’m pleased by.”
(On shooting a scene with Ed Sheeran in Shortland Street) “I was real excited because I obviously knew who he was and I’d listened to his music. He was quite funny, quite humorous. Obviously he had that hard British accent and he was cracking heaps of jokes off set. You could see he wasn’t used to acting, but he did such a good job, and it was so good to be able to work with him.”
