Sebastian Stan Was Told to Tone Down His Gossip Girl Performance

Sebastian Stan reveals that he was told to “tone it down” when it came to his performance as Carter Baizen in Gossip Girl. The MCU star is currently in the midst of promoting his latest project alongside Mamma Mia 2‘s Lily James, Pam & Tommy. Hulu’s hotly-anticipated limited series tells the story of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee during the scandal that rocked the 90s after their sex tape was released to the public. The character is a far cry from one of his other major roles, which sees the 39-year-old star as Bucky Barnes, otherwise known as the Winter Soldier, across the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In the early stages of Stan’s career, the actor scored a recurring role on the hit CW show, Gossip Girl. The teen drama series ran from 2007 to 201. For a number of now-famous faces, including Blake Lively, Chace Crawford, and Penn Badgely, Gossip Girl acted as the springboard for their successful careers. The beloved show received its own modern-day reboot last year, sprinkled with references to the original Gossip Girl series. Stan appeared as Upper East Side bad-boy, Carter Baizen, and despite having only appeared in 11 episodes across Gossip Girl seasons 1 to 3, Stan played a considerably memorable role within the show.

Now, Stan has reflected on his time in Gossip Girl, as well some of his other iconic roles, during an interview with Vanity Fair. The Marvel star shared that his appearance within Gossip Girl came during the early stages of his acting career, revealing that he was still incredibly new to the game when he joined the show. Stan then hilariously recalled a time when he was pulled aside by his co-star’s agent while on set and told he was “doing too much,” and that he should “tone it down.” Check out Stan’s full quote below.

“I was all relatively new at the time. And I remember being on the set and Ed Westwick’s agent at the time came up to me, pulled me aside and he said, ‘You’re doing too much, tone it down.'”

In the interview, Stan also expressed his gratitude for being brought back as a recurring character, despite having been called out for his seemingly over-the-top acting techniques. The star then went on to discuss the mania that surrounded Gossip Girl following its initial release and how its immense popularity immediately shot its stars to fame. While Carter Baizen was somewhat of a thorn in the side for the show’s main characters, Stan went on to reveal his real-life friendship with Crawford, who played Nate Archibald, half-crediting his friend for helping him to land his Gossip Girl role.

A number of famous faces have appeared in short ensemble roles throughout Gossip Girl, including Brooklyn Nine Nine‘s Melissa Fumero and Jessica Jones‘ Krysten Ritter. Stan is certainly among the more successful names to come out of the show, having received his own Disney+ series that ties into the MCU, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, last year. Hearing that Stan’s initial performance on Gossip Girl had to be toned down certainly begs the question as to how Carter Baizen could have appeared on screen had he not been told to change his approach, and whether or not this acting note ultimately shaped any of Stan’s stand-out performances since.

Source: Vanity Fair