Chace Crawford once auditioned for the role of Jason Street in “Friday Night Lights.”
The actor recently visited his former “Gossip Girl” co-star’s podcast where he talked about his experience.
On Wednesday’s episode of Jessica Szohr’s podcast, “XOXO,” Crawford shared a few stories from his early Hollywood days. The now 36 year old performer ultimately didn’t land the role on the aforementioned TV series, but found success elsewhere.
Crawford initially saw on-screen success with his role in 2006 thriller film, “The Covenant.” The actor, now 36, noted that he left school in order to pursue a more serious career in acting after the project. When he later landed an audition for the sports drama series “Friday Night Lights,” Crawford knew it was potentially the chance of a lifetime.
“I kind of knew in my head, ‘This is gonna be the best thing this year, or possible, or maybe ever … this could be the coolest thing ever,’ ” Crawford said of the opportunity.
Chace Crawford Auditioned Alongside His ‘The Covenant’ Co Star
His “The Covenant” co-star Taylor Kitsch also had an audition for a different role on the show, crashing on Crawford’s couch in the process. Crawford definitely had his set working on set with Kitsch again, but doesn’t totally remember why he didn’t get the role.
“I remember testing for it with [director] Peter Berg, and seeing all the people who got it in the room … Minka [Kelly] and Zach [Gilford] and [Jesse] Plemons and all these people,” he recalled, adding, “I obviously didn’t get it. I can’t remember what the feedback was. But I think I still looked pretty, pretty young at that time.”
The actor noted that his heart was already attached to the project. “Taylor got it, I was pretty bummed. I was extremely devastated,” he continued.
‘Rejection is a Real Thing in Auditions,’ Says Crawford
“You can’t help but envision your future. It’s like a relationship. It’s like a girl that doesn’t want you. You’re like, ‘I can see us having kids,’ and you can’t help but think about it at nighttime … and then they break your heart. You think you did a great read, Peter Berg loves you, and then he shatters your whole world,” he joked.
The actor explained that rejection is definitely a real thing in auditions. “It takes a while, it’s still tough,” he said.
Crawford eventually recovered, and went on to portray a very different type of role on The CW’s “Gossip Girl.” He portrayed Upper East Side pretty boy billionaire Nate Archibald, who ended up being a main character on all six seasons of the show.
He revealed to Szohr that at the time, doing “Gossip Girl” seemed “ridiculous.” “That’s not Friday Night Lights, that’s ridiculous,” Crawford told his former co-star. “Surely they’re not going to name it that.”
