It’s hard to imagine anyone else playing the resident “Lonely Boy” aka Dan Humprey in the hit teen show Gossip Girl, other than Penn Badgley. Dan, whose true identity was revealed in the show’s finale as Gossip Girl herself, wasn’t the first choice for the role. David Rapaport, the casting director of Gossip Girl, originally wanted Alden Ehrenreich, and Ehrenreich even read for the part.
Ehrenreich only had guest appearances on Supernatural and CSI under his belt at the time. After he read for the part, the casting team considered Badgley for the role due to Ehrenreich’s short stature of around 5’8 against Blake Lively’s 5’10. Since Lively was Rapaport’s true vision to play Manhattan’s Upper East Sider and it girl Serena van der Woodsen, Ehrenreich was dismissed as a prospect for the role of Dan Humphrey, and the casting team chose Badgley for the part. However, this puzzled fans, since Badgley is still shorter than Lively at 5’9. The 2-inch height difference between Ehrenreich and Lively didn’t seem that big of a deal, all things considered.
Fans can’t help but wonder how Gossip Girl would have been if Ehrenreich had received the role of Dan Humprey instead of Badgley. It’s arguable that Badgley gives off more introverted-writer vibes than Ehrenreich, and he might not have succeeded in the role as well as Badgley. Also, the on-off again relationship between Badgley and Lively wouldn’t have existed, which is something that might have contributed to their on-screen chemistry. The pair secretly dated for three years during the filming of Gossip Girl.
Since the finale of Gossip Girl, both Badgley and Ehrenreich have had their hands full with various projects. Most notably, Ehrenreich starred as Han Solo in the 2018 film Solo: A Star Wars Story directed by Ron Howard. The film is a prequel set 10 years before the events of George Lucas’ original Star Wars trilogy. Despite being the lowest-grossing Star Wars film, critics highly praised Ehrenreich’s performance, and the film still received an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects.
Rapaport was also behind the casting of Netflix’s psychological thriller series You, which is based on the books by Caroline Kepnes, and is now one of the most watched series on the streaming platform. Rapaport wanted Badgley as the lead role, a serial killer named Joe Goldberg, who takes the title of Peeping Tom to a whole different level. “I didn’t think he would do it. But once we got the idea in our heads, it all made sense. I can’t imagine anybody else playing that character,” said Rapaport in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
Despite Ehrenreich not receiving the part of Dan Humphrey, fans of both Gossip Girl and Star Wars can agree that Ehrenreich and Badgley’s roles in their respective projects were made for each other, and they wouldn’t have it any other way.
About The Author
