Archie Andrews

Archie Andrews is a main character on Riverdale. He is portrayed by KJ Apa.

Archie is a student at Riverdale High School, a football player, and a budding musician.

Early life
Archie grew up in Riverdale the only child of Fred and Mary Andrews. His parents separated and his mother moved to Chicago, leaving him to be raised by his father. Archie befriended Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones, but he and Jughead later had a falling out of some kind, severing their friendship.

As he entered his adolescence, Archie started attending Riverdale High School, where he joined the football team. He spent the summer before his sophomore year working at his father's construction company. This proved to be a defining summer for Archie, as he embarked on an illicit affair with his music teacher Geraldine Grundy, and during the course of one of their trysts, was startled by the sound of a gunshot ringing through the air. He later discovered that his fellow student Jason Blossom had died under mysterious circumstances. Fearful that their relationship would be discovered, he and Miss Grundy kept what they knew to themselves.

Season 1
The night before returning to school, Archie reunites with Betty after a summer apart at Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe, where he reveals to her that he wants to pursue his newly-found passion for music. As Betty is on the brink of confessing her romantic feelings for him, he is distracted by the appearance of a new girl: Veronica Lodge. Archie immediately appears interested, and so Betty stays silent. At school the next day, Archie approaches Josie and the Pussycats with the intention of offering them some songs he has written, but is rebuffed. He also asks Miss Grundy to listen to his songs, but she is wary and wants to distance herself from him after the events of the past summer. Archie expresses his uneasiness about what happened to Jason, but they agree they have to remain silent.

At football tryouts, Archie is offered Jason's spot on the varsity team despite only being a sophomore. Archie is reluctant to accept, citing his father's desire for him to help with the construction company as an excuse. He then runs into Betty and Veronica and agrees to go with them to the back to school dance. When he gets home, his dad confronts him after receiving a phone call from Coach Clayton, annoyed that he had lied about the construction company. Archie reveals that he wants to study music and has no desire to take over the family business.

At the dance later that evening, Archie manages to persuade Miss Grundy to agree to an independent study so he can work on his music. Betty finally reveals her feelings for him, to Archie's dismay. To make matters worse, at the afterparty, Cheryl Blossom coerces Archie into playing Seven Minutes in Heaven with Veronica. They end up kissing against their better judgement, and return to the party to find that Betty has left in distress. Archie sets off in search of her, going first to Pop Tate's, where he finds Jughead instead. Jughead tells him to talk to her, as it would have worked with him. When Archie eventually returns to Betty's house, he tells her that he loves her, but he can't give her the answer she wants as he isn't good enough for her.

Physical appearance
Archie is a tall, muscular teenage guy with messy, light red hair and brown eyes. While we haven't seen Archie's build before the start of the series, he got 'hot' (according to Kevin) during the summer, as he was working at his father's construction company.

Relationships

 * Archie and Jughead
 * Archie and Betty