Gossip Girl star Chace Crawford is convinced he would have been cancelled and “lost everything” if he’d shot to fame in the social media age.
Gossip Girl star Chace Crawford fears he would have “lost everything” if he’d shot to fame in the social media age.
The 40-year-old actor landed his big break in his 20s when he secured the role of Nate Archibald in the CW drama in 2007, but Chase believes his career might have turned out very differently if platforms like Instagram, Twitter and TikTok had been around during his early days in the spotlight.
During an appearance on the Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard podcast, Chace explained: “I feel really blessed actually. In some weird way Gossip Girl was ahead of his time because it was about this blogger, it was looking at that social media think in a different way.
“I am so thankful that wasn’t around when we were there. How many athletes and actors … You know you tweet something when you’re like 18, 20, you do something [and] the video is going to last forever. I probably would have lost everything if the video thing was real [at that time].”
However, Chace admits he also regrets not being able to build up a huge social media presence at the height of his Gossip Girl fame.
He added: “But the flip side of that is I wish I’d started an Instagram account when Ashton Kutcher did at the very begining I would have like a million [followers]. Yeah I kind of missed a generation. I’m not all about putting myself out here all the time.”
During the podcast, Chace also opened up about hitting rock bottom after Gossip Girl ended in 2012 revealing he got “super depressed” after moving from New York to Los Angeles only to find his acting opportunities had dried up.
He said: “With the Gossip Girl thing ending I got super depressed and it was way out of left field because I felt like I had to move back to Los Angeles …
“I kind of remember thinking why didn’t I just buy a place and invest and stay in New York. I’m glad I didn’t but I remember getting plopped back in LA. And you know those people [you work with] become like your identity in a way, they’re family, and I realised that became really important to me.
“Like the hair and make-up girls you talk to every day, the transport guy that picks you up, it’s just that rhythm and that you are somebody and you mean something in that sphere.”
He added of struggling to find work after Gossip Girl: “I got spit back out here and I remember being like depressed for six months. Not like clinically. I was getting out of bed but I was definitely not in a good way.
“People think you’re the star of this show and the reality of it in the industry it’s a double-edged sword. You’re like the pretty boy who was on a CW show that honestly was I don’t want to say you’re in the dog house but there was a little bit of that.
“That was the reality I was facing coming back you think you’re going to have all these options and these offers and whatever but it was like … they offer you the same thing.
“People don’t really have an imagination in casting so you’ve kind of got to prove yourself which is well and good. But I remember being limited and not realising I’m not getting the looks I’m wanting … When I’m getting close to stuff and putting in good work it’s always like: ‘Oh it’s not a good fit’ and it was a bit of really wanting to switch it up.
“It was a real lesson in that I was stripped off all the confidence and how do go into that room and act confident and get that job .. if there’s an air of desperation … That was my first time really navigating that.”
Gossip Girl star Chace Crawford feared being cancelled
