Last summer, The Hate U Give re-casted the role of Chris after Kian Lawley‘s controversial past tweets were unearthed, and KJ Apa stepped in.
Now, in a new interview, KJ is opening up about taking over the part and what he learned from the upcoming movie.
“I wasn’t intimidated by it,” he shared. “I knew the circumstances when I walked into that film and I was picked for it. I knew what I had to do. I knew how to play the character, I can relate to the character.”
KJ adds, “All I was really worrying about is doing the character justice and being honest with it because it really is an important character in the film. Obviously, I was aware of the situation when I was on set, but it was pretty smooth runnings. It wasn’t as gnarly as people might think.”
He also spoke about avoiding being typecast with the role.
“It’s easy to fall into that trap, so the goal for me and my team is to always push hard for work during the hiatus,” KJ says. “Whether it’s like a small movie or a big movie. We’ve managed [to book] two amazing movies and The Hate U Give was awesome.”
“Amandla Stenberg is amazing in it,” KJ gushed. “I haven’t seen the movie, but all I’ve heard about it is that it’s a really important film that I’m so happy to be a part of and I can’t wait to be able to see it.”
The Hate U Give opens in October.
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