Join Alex in the studio for an interview with Penn Badgley. Penn opens up about his early insecurities, his take on casual dating, and his unconventional approach to fatherhood. He also reveals how he really feels about his most iconic roles: Dan Humphrey (shoutout to those sideburns) and Joe Goldberg. Enjoy!
Chapter 1: Who is Penn Badgley and what is his style off-camera?
What is up, Daddy Gang? It is your founding father, Alex Cooper, with Call Her Daddy. Penn Badgley, welcome to Call Her Daddy. Hello. Thank you. I'm so happy you're here. So you said this is not normally what you would wear. Is this what anyone would normally wear? No. What would you usually be wearing?
I mean, just my clothes.
Yeah. Like jeans? Sweats?
No. No. I mean, no. I would wear. I would wear. So, I mean, the real answer. I have like three pairs of pants that I wear on rotation. Two of them are in all of the TikToks I've ever made. Or in any of my pockets. I mean, it's just there's green pants and there's gray pants.
Okay. Everyone that follows you is like, what are the green pants?
I know the green pants. So I think I got them right before the pandemic. This is true. And then, you know, fatherhood, pandemic, the fact that my job, I'm never wearing my own clothing when I'm working. I mean, you know what they are? They're J.Crew. Unpaid, I wouldn't ever. I'm not a J.Crew boy at all, but they're just pants.
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Chapter 2: How is Penn preparing for fatherhood with twins?
Okay, I love that for you. Your wife is pregnant with twins. Are you ready?
Who could be? Yeah, as ready as we could be.
When you found out that you were having twins... What was the reaction and emotion?
I really got to stretch for this coaster here.
I know, I'm like, I fucked up.
I'm trying to stay. No, I fucked up.
I fucked up. It's okay, it's okay. Okay, reaction.
Well, so my wife is a doula. So birth is a big part of our world. For me, a 38-year-old man, I think I'm probably...
you know i happen to be birth is just it's like it's in my you know i mean so so actually when we thought we were just gonna have one and we were close to being like no we're good you know we were we were close then we decided no you know what let's let's try it and um i think we thought maybe one would be you know we know what it is.
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Chapter 3: What are Penn Badgley's reflections on his childhood and insecurities?
I hear you and I'm sorry.
That's also what you have to do to your wife. Whenever I'm having a problem with my husband, he'll be like, what was I even thinking? I'm so sorry. I love you. I've learned better.
I like, what was I even thinking? That's a nice...
Okay, your podcast obviously focuses on people's like middle school experiences. So I kind of want to like go back a little bit today with you. Yeah, sure. Let's go back to yours. How would you have described yourself as a kid?
That's actually, I've thought about this. I'm not sure exactly how I saw myself. I think, well, what I can be sure about is that I was in that particular period of 12, 13, 14, I was a bit horrified by like very, very, very self-conscious, extremely self-conscious.
About what?
I mean, probably mostly the way that I looked and then also the way that I sounded. So those are the two.
How did you sound?
Well, before my voice changed, like anybody, I had a bit of a high and nasally voice. Um, and so also I moved to LA to become an actor when I was 12. So I was simultaneously pursuing, you know, this career. And I mean, I had no idea what I was getting into, but I think that made me self-conscious.
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Chapter 4: How does Penn describe his relationship with his parents and early family dynamics?
is that you know you crave what you see on the in the notebook or whatever we didn't have that demo you the titanic you know i'm not a romantic movie or romantic comedy person at all but but see but the titanic or no it's a titanic isn't it it's not the titanic so titanic um like i loved and i didn't see it a bunch of everybody did but i just thought like Good Lord, I wanted that.
Love comes in so many forms. So many forms. And it's actually tragic for us all that we have conflated it so completely with just sex. But, you know, I mean, from a very young age, that's what I wanted.
I think that also makes sense because you didn't have anything like that at home. Then I think once you taste it and you feel it, okay, where these analogies are.
The juices. The juices. Let me just go ahead and reach over here for my tea and bring it on the long trip around.
Fuck. But I think then once you probably felt that you're like going to crave it because it's like I can't get any of that at home. Whereas maybe someone like was like, OK, I've seen it. I know it's out there again. We're once you.
This is I'm going to go right there. I want that thing.
Yes. Yes. Now being a father, I'm curious if there were any like behaviors that you witnessed as a kid in your house that you are never want your kids to experience.
Yeah, well, it would be just the it would be the. the vibe the the there's the saint calling it coldness i feels a bit unforgiving to my parents it's it's not because it that sounds like there's um intent behind it you know and awareness but it's just uh just uh there wasn't a lot of life at home there wasn't a lot of life
But I get what you're saying. I also think it's like as you get older, I'm sure you've realized like it's weird when you have resentment of your childhood. And then as you become a parent. So I've heard it's like, oh, wow. They were all it is. They were really doing the best that they could. And it doesn't mean that you didn't experience what you experienced.
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Chapter 5: What led Penn to start acting and how did his early career begin?
But this is the thing, though. It is to a degree a fluke. It just is.
You think?
I'm not saying there's no talent involved. I'm just saying those of us who make it are something of the exception that proves the rule because the rate of failure in this town is high. It's high. It's high. It's a bit tragically high for people who want to make art and want to do things, want to perform. And it's like, you know. It's to me, it's not just, it's not a meritocracy.
You know what I mean? I don't know what industry would be, but.
When do you think you started making money off of it?
I know when I did, I was 12. I started working that summer.
Off of acting?
Yeah.
Was there a point in your life where you turned into the breadwinner for your family?
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Chapter 6: Why did Penn turn down Gossip Girl initially and what changed his mind?
I was close to broke. Although that was not I was looking forward to like figuring that out. I'd had a pretty Spartan year behind me, you know, I was like, I, I was enjoying my way of life. But the future was real unknown. And I think, you know, it's not like I could go live with my parents for The stakes, the stakes is high, right?
So, and you know, a few people, I mean, my manager certainly spoke about it in a way that he thought it was a good idea. Few key people close to me. And then it was New York City, getting to live in New York City where I've now lived since, which is my home and I'd always wanted to live there. You know, you also think about a show like that, it's hard to grow beyond it. I'm gonna be 40 next year.
Wait, I'm 30. You lose track at some point. I'm 38.
Am I 38? I'm 38.
So I'm gonna be 39 this year. Next year, I will be 40. I will still be answering questions about this show I decided to do when I was 20, you know what I mean? And whatever, that is what it is. Like, certainly that's fine. But it sets you on a certain track that you have to, in a sense, resist. You have to learn how to work with it, interface with it.
Otherwise, it just sort of takes you on its ride. So, you know, you're kind of playing, you're taking a huge risk, I think, in a way, actually. You know, if it's going to set you up to do only some things and you're going to have to fight to try and do other things, you know.
I think that's so understandable for people. I think people in this industry really get that. And I think people that are consumers don't see that whatsoever. They're like, there are going to be people that watch this and then are like, Penn, what the fuck are you talking about? You run the biggest show in the world. I will forever love you. Oh my gosh, that show I rewatch every year.
But to you, I think a lot of actors understandably have that where you don't want to be typecast into this one thing that people think of you as. Right.
because then you want to you want to keep growing yeah you yeah you want to have some autonomy and you sign so also signing on to a television show what you do is you have to sign a six-year contract there's no other way to do it you don't you know you haven't seen any of those scripts you're just like all right so you know yeah i mean it's yeah i mean i chose to do it
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Chapter 7: How does Penn relate to his iconic role Dan Humphrey?
What he did was sociopathic just in terms of being gossip girl. Sorry.
Yeah. No, actually sociopathic. Can we talk about that? Where were you? What were you wearing? Where were you sitting? Or were you standing? What was the energy in the room when you found out you were Gossip Girl?
I was in the hair and makeup trailer room. Don't remember what I was wearing. JFK was not assassinated on that day. It was just me being Gossip Girl. But I remember just being like, I'm kind of like, Huh. Okay. Like, if I'm trying to math it, it's tough. All right. And we've got to shoot tomorrow. Cool. Okay. You know, I mean, I found out real late. Real late.
You have to tell me who you think should have been Gossip Girl. You have to tell me. who you think should have been Gossip Girl.
It wouldn't have made sense for anybody. We all wanted it to be Dorota. Without a doubt.
Dorota would have slapped you.
They needed it to be a series regular. Sorry.
What about Rufus?
Series regular. They needed it to be one of the core six. Otherwise, nobody cares.
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Chapter 8: Who is worse: Dan Humphrey or Joe Goldberg, according to Penn Badgley?
Okay, what were you doing during your rise to fame in New York City?
Just sitting at home.
Yeah.
Good question. I just had a different friend circle.
Okay.
I did.
What were you doing?
Would you go out? Good question. I mean, didn't go out as much. Where did you live? Gramercy.
You weren't going to One Oak?
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