Well, they nearly weren’t.
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Gossip Girl is one of the most iconic teen dramas of all timeand has made most of the series’ cast household names.
It seems two other actresses were in the running to play Serena van der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf on “Gossip Girl” before Blake Lively and Leighton Meester landed the roles.
There may be an alternate universe in which this is the reality because The CW originally pitched Willis and Olsen as the “Gossip Girl” BFFs to casting director David Rapaport. I had seen her in Accepted [a 2006 comedy co-starring Justin Long] and at that time, there were no Lena Dunhams or Zooey Deschanels – it was all about beauty and glamour, but being approachable and Blake was the ultimate It Girl. “I was terrified we wouldn’t get her or they wouldn’t like her because, honestly, they show lived and died on her and I had absolutely no other ideas”. Ed Westwick, who played bad boy Chuck Bass, initially read for Nate Archibald on tape, and for Chuck in person. Although the CW initially urged driving Olsen and Willis on as guides, Rapaport said the lesser-known performers “really procured the use of of one’s tell and transported it for 4 years”.
And just like at Constance, poor B. was forced to cater to S., even IRL. Brought in to emulate what had happened on The O.C, he was instructed that they needed to find “the next Mischa Barton and Adam Brody”. “We were looking for a girl who was on the brink of becoming a woman – I don’t think we saw that goth side yet [because] she was still really young; she was maybe, like, 13 when we cast her. Again, I don’t think anyone had met her in person and everything was fine as far as I knew and then it kind of took a turn”. “What’s ironic is, in the pilot, she ends up having the wavy hair”.
Where do U think the pair would be now if it weren’t for Gossip Girl?!
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As for Leighton, she was the flawless fit, according to Dave, since she didn’t come in trying to flirt or be his best friend. “Leighton wasn’t a b**ch when she came in, but she wasn’t overly nice or overly generous”, he recalled.
