Interview

Watch videos of Chase Crawford filming in New York:

BOLLEN: Where is your new place?

CRAWFORD: I’m in the Financial District.

BOLLEN: That’ll be nice for you, because it’s really anonymous down there. It’s not the kind of neighborhood where the streets are packed with young people and everyone’s paying attention.

CRAWFORD: No, no one cares, no one gives two shits. There’s nothing going on. I like the quiet. And you know there are the traders and bankers and financial guys walking around and all of these women in pantsuits—which I find oddly attractive.

BOLLEN: [laughs] Really? Wow. So your mom came into town to help you move. She’s from Texas, right?

CRAWFORD: Yep, we’re from the big D.

BOLLEN: Dallas. Oh, man. Are you really close to your parents?

CRAWFORD: Yes, superclose. They were really young when they had me. You know, it’s a southern thing. They had me when they were like 21 or 22. My dad was going through med school while my mom was pregnant with my sister. So they’re still young now. I talk to my dad at least every other day. They’ve still got a little hipness left in them. I took my mom out last night. She said, “I want to know what all of the fuss is about.”

BOLLEN: Where did you take her?

CRAWFORD: Well, one of my buddies runs Butter, so he said, “Take her down here. Take her to a nice meal.” I hadn’t been there in ages, but she knew it because it’s been on our show. She was like, “Oh, show me one of those little Gossip Girl places!” I’m like, “All right, if we must.” I also took her out to some local bars that we normally go to.

BOLLEN: Well, I’m not going to put off the inevitable questions about Gossip Girl any longer. Obviously you must feel pretty happy about the show’s success. So, what would be great is if you told me something really shocking about yourself that you’ve never told anyone before—not even a close friend.

CRAWFORD: [laughs] Just getting right to it. I love it!

BOLLEN: Or, if you prefer, just something awful about a castmate. If you can just tell me one really bad secret about one of them. . .

CRAWFORD: Yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s funny. You’re the first person to ask any of that kind of stuff in an interview. It’s weird. [laughs]

BOLLEN: I bet. But seriously, it is rather strange to come to New York and in a matter of months find yourself one of the new symbols of the city. Do you find the attention the most extreme here?

CRAWFORD: Yes and no. When we shoot on the streets, absolutely. You know, the day before we started back at work for the next season, I had just completed a edgy independent film called Twelve that was shot in New York. It turned out phenomenally. I got spoiled because I looked different than I do on the show. I dropped some weight. I was pale and scruffy. No one even recognized me. It was much more of a low-key, smooth situation with Joel Schumacher running it. There were no big master scenes outside. It was more improv—just throw and go. Then I jumped back into Gossip Girl on a Monday, and I was so stressed the first day back. There’s the first shoot of the episode on location, and it’s triple the mayhem. Of course, it would die down in a couple weeks, but there were paparazzi guys flying around like wasps, completely disrespectful.

BOLLEN: I don’t know how you can act in those scenes outside, pretending a really emotional moment when there are a million people waving just off to the side.

CRAWFORD: It’s funny. There are always those Gossip Girl walk-and-talk scenes where you’re walking and just talking about life and death. You’re having a serious conversation, looking someone in the eye, but everywhere around you, it’s literally a circus. Sometimes I sit back and laugh. But it definitely drains your focus and energy. I came out so mentally exhausted, especially after being spoiled with Twelve, where I was incognito. Everyone on Twelve had the same small trailer. So it was really a different experience. It was just easier to focus. But coming back to Gossip Girl is like high school, too, in a sense. You see all of these people who you know from last year.

BOLLEN: Do you think everyone in the cast has handled the success well? I mean, is there anyone who is thinking, Whoa, I didn’t sign on to become the fantasy of every teenager in America, this is too crazy?

CRAWFORD: The overall statement is that everyone has handled it phenomenally. But all it takes is one person to sort of flip the switch and make it a more tense, toxic environment. And I would cite specific examples of other shows from the past, but I wasn’t part of them, so I don’t exactly know.

BOLLEN: You mean like having a Shannen Doherty–90210 situation on your hands.

CRAWFORD: Well, I was superyoung for all that, but exactly. You hear stories about that. But it’s funny because everyone wants to know what’s happening on set. There isn’t anything shocking to write about, so magazines want to stir things up, like “Blake and Leighton hate each other.” But the truth is, when we’re all done with work, it’s like, “Hey, what are you doing? Let’s go do karaoke.” The publicity factor is outrageous. They just want to shoot you down. So that can definitely wear on you a bit. A perception of you is created, and you really have no control over it. To some degree, you learn to adapt. But you also think, Eff you, you don’t know me. It’s exactly what you are saying about becoming a fantasy. Sometimes you think, I just wanted to express myself and be challenged. I didn’t sign on to be a novelty boy. But that’s a double-edged sword and certainly not a constant factor. Even if that feeling ever creeps up a little bit, it’s like, who likes a whiner? I’m not going to sit down and bitch about it, because you can’t.

BOLLEN: So no one’s demanding to have their hair washed with Perrier water like Shannen Doherty did?

CRAWFORD: Yeah, exactly! [laughs] Is that what she really did?

BOLLEN: I’d heard that. I don’t know. That may not even be true, but I remember as a kid watching the show and hearing that and thinking, Jesus.

CRAWFORD: Well, I demand Evian. But that’s okay.

BOLLEN: You do have a certain scented white candle that must be lit in your trailer at all times, right? And the trailer has to be exactly 72 degrees.

CRAWFORD: Exactly. I also must be carried from my trailer in the arms of a security guard.

BOLLEN: Right. And some fans don’t know that during those thoughtful Gossip Girl walk-and-talk scenes, you are actually stepping on people.

CRAWFORD: They’re on all fours. They make it look really natural, and they do such a good job I usually tip them a couple bucks.

BOLLEN: You shouldn’t have your feet touching New York cement. It wouldn’t be good for you.

CRAWFORD: It’s really toxic. I mean, who wants to be touching that?