Chace Crawford recalls being in the jail of the CW pretty boy following Gossip Girl fame

Chace Crawford here.The “Reunion” star, 39, is getting candid on the aftermath of playing Nate Archibald on “Gossip Girl” for six seasons from 2007 to 2012.The early-2000s drama, set in the backdrop of New York City, followed the lives of elite high schoolers and quickly became a cult classic.

But Crawford felt being elevated to the ultimate crush had its downfalls.“I felt like I was in the wilderness for years after ‘Gossip Girl,'” he shared on Thursday’s episode of the “Good Guys” podcast. “Because I felt, you know, as big of a show as it was, coming off of it as a young guy, it’s like, ‘Oh, that’s not cool anymore.'”“And I’m in this box now,” Crawford continued.

“I’m in this jail of like the CW pretty boy, you know what I mean?”“Gossip Girl” ran on the CW and also starred Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Ed Westwick, Penn Badgley, Taylor Momsen and Michelle Trachtenberg.Crawford explained that people didn’t think he had “range” as an actor.After “Gossip Girl” ended, Crawford went on to star in a series of movies, including the 2018 horror “Cry of Fear.” In 2015, the Hollywood vet landed the part of leading man on the one season ABC drama “Blood & Oil” in 2015.For Crawford, the transition wasn’t a smooth one and he felt pigeonholed.“I think people think… actors make a ton more money and have way more agency than we actually do,” he admitted on the podcast adding about the pressure he put on himself: “I was probably harder on myself than I needed to be.”Then came the 2019 Prime Video satirical superhero drama by Eric Kripke: “The Boys.” Crawford plays The Deep, who is a self-obsessed, aquatic superhero with questionable morals.It was a role that changed the performer’s life.“I just remember that audition hitting my inbox, and reading the synopsis, I was like, that sounds wild,” Crawford recounted.

“And then reading this pilot, I was like, ‘Oh, this is f–king great....