Name: Chace Crawford
Character: Glum good guy Nate Archibald on CW’s “Gossip Girl” (Wednesday at 9 p.m. on WLVI, Ch. 56)
Age: 22
Birthplace: Lubbock, Texas
Personal life: He’s dating “American Idol” winner Carrie Underwood.
Where you’ve seen him before: Crawford has had roles in such films as “The Covenant” and the Lifetime movie “Long Lost Son.” “Gossip Girl” marks his first major role. He was a student at Pepperdine University when he decided to pursue acting.
Fun fact: His younger sister Candice, a student at the University of Missouri-Columbia, was crowned Miss Missouri in November.
On his character: “He’s got this mysterious thing going on where he doesn’t fully accept everything that’s been given to him. He has this pursuit to draw something else and go somewhere else with his life. He’s really trying to figure out who he is. And he’s a typical 17-year-old kid trying to have fun. . . . He’s flawed. He is just pulled in different directions with his troubled friend Chuck. I think overall he’s a good guy. He wants to do the right thing. But it’s going to be interesting to see. People, I think, are going to be able to live vicariously through Nate’s having fun and his sort of dark side, and also redeemable qualities of doing the right thing. When he loves, he loves strongly.”
On the books that inspired the series: “I actually thought I owed it to the fans to read them. I got halfway through the first one and realized we can do something else, take it where we want it to go. And I feel like the show is going to be able to stand on its own. We know the gist of our characters and know how it’s supposed to be. I feel personally it kind of gets in my head if I read all 12 (books), or whatever there are.”
Where you’ll see him in five years: Being named one of People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful.
