The Gossip Girl cast answer juicy DMs from original show superfans

Taken from the spring 2021 issue of Dazed. You can pre-order a copy of our latest issue here

@BlairWaldorfs + @2000snowbunny both ask: Who was your favourite character from the original Gossip Girl?

All girls, at once: Lily.

Whitney Peak: Dude, yes. Lily’s badass.

Evan Mock: I like Dan.

Girls: Aww.

@BlairWaldorfs: Which of you is most likely to be Gossip Girl, according to her way of being?

Emily Alyn Lind: Probably Whitney.

WP: But I feel like I wouldn’t.

Jordan Alexander: Not like you’re mean – but, like, you know everything.

EM: Everything.

EAL: If we need information on anything, we’re like, ‘Whitney, can you figure it out?’

@BlairWaldorfs: Have you been inspired by any of the old Gossip Girl characters in developing your own?

WP: I would say so, for sure. But I can’t say who because that could give it away... There’s nobody specific, it’s just kind of a mash of traits between some of the original cast members. I can’t say more... (squeals)

@SpoiledVenus: Gossip Girl is renowned for its costume design. What to you was the most iconic fashion trend of the early 2000s?

JA: Skirts with tights.

WP: I feel like matching suits and stuff, like sets.

EAL: Baggy jeans.

JA: Evan would say glasses.

EM: Yeah... glasses help. I mean, there’s a lot of components but glasses are definitely a main factor.

James Abraham aka @2000sanxiety: What is your single biggest inspiration in acting out your character?

WP: I actually don’t know. Josh (Schwartz) had a really specific idea of what our characters’ motivations would be. We all had one-on-ones with him, just basically setting the backstory of our characters, the arc of their lives and what makes them who they are. I think there’s a pretty well-painted picture for Josh.

EAL: We spoke to Josh a lot before even starting production; we had multiple conversations with a lot of the writers. I think he found it important to look at it from the perspective of the generation of people that we’re playing, and there’s things that we would know and incorporate (into our characters).

WP: What I like about Josh, too, is he’s a very open person. So when there’s anything in the script that might rub somebody the wrong way, if you bring it to him, he’ll definitely acknowledge it and change it.

@2000twitches: The original Gossip Girl is based on a book series. As an actor, have you found it more difficult to study or portray your character without that material (to draw on)? How do you dive deeper?

WP: Like I said, Josh and the writer’s room and everyone who’s been working behind the scenes has put a lot of thought and a lot of work into it, so it’s a lot easier for us to connect with these characters.

EAL: Even watching the original, they were very different (from the books). The coolest part is we’re really finding these characters as the original cast found theirs and made (them) their own – we’re doing the same thing. I don’t find anything to copy or look up to – we want to create new characters
that people could relate to in different ways and fall in love with for different reasons.

@2000sfashionista: Who do you think your character would describe as their style icon?

WP: Probably Lauryn Hill, Zoë Kravitz, Amandla Stenberg.

EAL: Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, older icons.

EM: Dennis Rodman and Larry David.

JA: I think it would be someone in the early 2000s, like Rihanna... the hoops, the sparkling lip gloss. Julien is very bad, I love it.

Hair Dylan Chavles at The Wall Group using Bumble and bumble., make-up Seong Hee Park at Julian Watson Agency using NARS, photographic assistants Jordan Strong, Ari Sadok, styling assistants Mirko Pedone, Marcus Cuffie, Katie Dulieu, Amanda Burkett, Jade Boulton, hair assistant Megan Motter, make-up assistant Tanya Marques, digital operator Jonathan Nesteruk, videographer Nolan Zangas, production Peter Murray at Hen’s Tooth Productions, executive talent consultant Greg Krelenstein