Spy: KJ Apa returns to his roots in Auckland

KJ Apa is home in NZ. Photo / Instagram

KJ Apa is home in New Zealand and, having said goodbye to his Riverdale character's red hair, he is embracing a new cropped look and hanging out with his best mate, Boston Ridge and family.

Apa, 25, looks like he is revelling in returning to his pre-Riverdale self, leaving his red-haired character Archie Andrews behind.

Perhaps Apa is scouting out permanent digs on his visit home to Aotearoa after it was announced in May that the hit show would come to an end after its seventh season.

In an recent interview with entertainment publication US Weekly, Apa said the end of Riverdale was both exciting and sad, but he was not going to miss dyeing and bleaching his hair every week.

Apa also told the publication he was planning to return to New Zealand this year and would like his partner, French model Clara Berry, and nearly 1-year-old son, Sasha, to make the permanent move with him. "I'll go back. Yeah, 100 per cent. I'm going back this year," Apa said, "I want my son to know his family over there. I gotta convince my girl to think about moving over there. Maybe," Apa told US Weekly.

From left: Ameila Beder, Astin Parore, KJ Apa, Scott Fitchett, Sally Ridge and Clara Berry. Photo / Instagram

Berry recently shared pictures on Instagram of herself on a New Zealand beach, this week she shared snaps on her Instagram story with Sasha crawling at a home with a view of Rangitoto and at the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

Apa is understood to have returned home to New Zealand this week.

After a day fishing on the Waitemata, Ridge's mum Sally, a great friend of Apa's mum and dad, Tessa and Keneti, posted a picture of herself, Apa, Berry, her son Astin Parore and her boyfriend Scott Fitchett, managing director at AA Smartfuel.

In the US, Apa has been filming One Fast Move, in which he stars in the high-octane racing adventure film about a dishonourably discharged soldier seeking out his estranged father to help him pursue his dream of racing Supersport motorcycles.

Grey's Anatomy and Euphoria star Eric Dane, 49, stars as Apa's father in the flick produced by Gulfstream Pictures, which also produced Apa's 2019 movie The Last Summer.

The former Shortland Street star sent social media and gay websites into a spin last weekend when he posted a picture of himself and Dane lounging, jokingly captioning the pic "New couple alert!" on Instagram.

Eric Dane and KJ Apa. Photo / Instagram

One Fast Move, which filmed in Atlanta, is the perfect new vehicle for Apa to sink his energy into. US entertainment bible Deadline reported the car and bike enthusiast spent more than a year developing the film with its writer and director Kelly Blatz.

The action movie promises to take audiences into the dangerous, exciting world of motorcycle racing.

There have been no sightings of Apa and Boston hitting the roads on bikes in Auckland.

Perhaps Apa will be checking out the engines while helping his mate at Carfe - Boston is now managing director of dad Matthew's two high-end carwash sites. Last month Matthew joined wife Chloe and their two young children to live in France.