Feb. 11 (UPI) -- KJ Apa is opening up about his Samoan heritage.
The 23-year-old actor discussed his Samoan heritage and the possibility of him becoming a village chief during Wednesday's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Apa, born Keneti James Apa, confirmed his dad is Samoan and a matai, or chief, of his village in Samoa, a Polynesian island country.
"He is a matai, yeah," Apa said. "He holds the matai title, chief title, of the village that he's from and I'm from, called Moata'a, in Samoa."
Apa confirmed his grandfather was also a matai and that the title passed to his dad after his grandfather's death. Apa said he isn't sure if the title will pass to him in the future.
"I don't know. I can't speak Samoan, so it'll be something for me to take that would be kind of, I would think it's a huge responsibility," he said. "I don't really feel adequate, to be honest, but I doubt myself in almost everything that I do."
Apa, whose mom is a European New Zealander, said he grew up playing rugby but never got as physically big as some Samoan football players.
"I was always waiting for the moment where I was going to be huge, growing up, because all my friends and all my family were just getting so big," the star said. "I was the scrawny little white boy in the family, the runt of the family kind of, that just wasn't growing."
"I had to play rugby against these guys who were three times my size; I'm talking like full-grown men, pretty much," he added.
Apa previously said in an interview with Vulture that Samoan culture has "always played a massive part" in his life.
"I've got hundreds of family on my dad's side that live in Samoa and in New Zealand. I've just been surrounded by the culture ever since I was a kid," the actor said. "I actually used to speak Samoan, but me and my sisters all kind of lost it. we go there at least once a year to see family."
Both Apa and his dad got tattoos to commemorate his dad becoming chief.
Apa plays Archie Andrews on the CW series Riverdale, which is in the midst of its fifth season. The show made a seven-year time jump during Wednesday's episode.
