Riverdale Actor K.J.Apa In Car Crash After Long Working Hours
CW series 'Riverdale' actor K.J. Apa, met with an accident late at night while he was driving home from his shoot outside Vancouver. He apparently fell asleep at the wheel according to a report. The Riverdale actor plays the role of Archie Andrews in the series. The 20-year-old was shooting for 16 hours and was returning to his Vancouver hotel after midnight which was a 45-minute drive. Another actor of the series, Cole Sprouse, who stars as Jughead Jones was originally going to ride in Apa's car but changed his plans, according to a report by The Hollywood Reporter.
The series is being shot in Canada and the actors have to stay on the sets for long hours which becomes very strenuous. As per reports, the cast and crew are not provided with any transportation to or from the sets. Sprouse has reportedly asked for transportation for the cast and crew who work late.
Warner Bros representatives issued a statement which said that production houses must comply with the Screen Actors Guild-mandated turnaround time of 12 hours between shifts. The statement also mentioned that of any cast or crew member that "feels tired or unsafe at any time after working" can place a request for the studio to provide a cab, a private driver, or arrange for a hotel room nearby.
"This is communicated to all cast and crew, both in writing and verbally, at the beginning of production and is reiterated continuously throughout the duration of the production," the statement read. However, studio reps clarified that Apa had worked 14 hours and not 16 hours on the day of the accident. They issued a statement saying "We have a large cast of series regulars, and our actors do not work every day. It said that Apa had been asked repeatedly to make the production aware if he feels tired or unsafe."
SAG-AFTRA is likely to send a team to the Vancouver sets of Riverdale, to review the situations which surround safety issues affecting the crew and performers.
The statement read, "This is an extremely troubling situation and we are deeply concerned about the safety of performers on the Riverdale set. We are sending a team to Vancouver to review the circumstances surrounding safety issues affecting performers on this production," Reported The Hollywood Reporter.
Check out the trailer of Riverdale Season 2 Comic-Con below:
