Riverdale's KJ Apa Looks Nearly Unrecognizable As He Starts Making Music Under The Name Mr. Fantasy, And Fans Are Freaking Out

The CW’s Riverdale may have concluded back in 2023, but it feels like this latest development in leading actor KJ Apa’s career should go in our ranking of craziest plot twists from the show. The New Zealander best known for playing Archie Andrews in the Riverdale cast has stepped out with a new music project, and it’s getting a lot of people talking.

A couple of weeks ago, an account called @IAmTheRealMrFantasy popped up on social media where a man with long black hair and goes by the name Mr. Fantasy (that looks like KJ Apa in a wig) started posting updates about hanging out in Los Angeles and teasing new music. It’s a goofy little account that I highly recommend scrolling through on TikTok, but now Mr. Fantasy has just released his first music video (along with releasing the full song on music streaming services). Check it out:

While the actor hasn’t confirmed he’s Mr. Fantasy, he just looks too much like him for it not to be true give or take some fake teeth, a groove hairdo and some very expressive outfits. Another great tell is how Mr. Fantasy has the same tattoos as KJ Apa has been seen to have when baring skin in the past.

Amidst KJ Apa having a lot of fun introducing the world to this offbeat alter ego as his latest project, some other celebrities have taken notice. Take a look at a couple of the comments:

• “Oh my god.” - @Lili Reinhart
• “WAIT A MINUTE!” - @joejonas

Lili Reinhart is, of course, KJ Apa’s co-star from Riverdale, and Joe Jonas is one-third of the Jonas Brothers. As Mr. Fantasy goes viral with each of his videos soaring into the millions with one of him talking in character crossing seven million on TikTok, people are catching on. The fan comments are absolutely a sight to behold though. Take a look:

• “Mr fantasy is probably the most iconic thing to happen this decade” - @gracie.caroline.rose
• “This is the wildest thing a celebrity has done in a while” - @dontcallmegracie
• “These are the kind of antics we want from celebrities” - @l0v3l0stliars
• “This would HIT with some jingle jangle” - @fadedjade94
• "maybe the concept of hannah montana isn’t too hard to believe" - @aliyahquill

While KJ Apa’s Mr. Fantasy alter ego may be out of left field, the actor’s love of music isn’t. Apa sang quite regularly on Riverdale, along with playing Christian singer Jeremy Camp in the 2020 biopic I Still Believe. In 2021, he also independently released an indie folk album called Clocks.

Most recently, the actor was the lead of one of 2025’s movie releases, The Map That Leads To You, with Outer Banks star Madelyn Cline, which is available to watch with an Amazon Prime Video subscription. Mr. Fantasy certainly has our attention now, especially considering the debut song is such a bop!