Two in the afternoon is not too early for Ed Westwick to enjoy a Delirium Tremens beer—or to flirt with the bartender. The actor is perched on a stool inside Chelsea gastropub the Half King and is wearing a white oxford with three buttons undone to reveal a tuft of chest hair, a pile of silver necklaces, skinny jeans and his signature facial expression. The look combines a flash of the eye, one cocked brow and pursed lips, and is the villainous trademark of Chuck Bass, Ed’s alter ego on Gossip Girl. On anyone else, the stare might look creepy or impish. On Ed, however, it is both dangerous and charming. He knows it, too.
The 21-year-old punctuates most of his phrases with “baby,” a tic that veers dangerously close to Austin Powers territory, given his English accent. Still, he is irresistible, and it’s no wonder that he has garnered so much attention among male and female fans alike, not to mention gossip Web sites that chronicle his every move (Ed plays in a band! Ed lives with his co-star! Ed ate an apple on the street today!). Still, the actor says he refuses to let all the bootlicking go to his head. “There are perks to this job,” he says with a wink. “We [the Gossip Girl cast] were all thrown into this situation with a lot of attention on us, and you get a lot of free clothes and s–t but that’s no reason not to stay grounded. What am I really doing, baby? Saving the world? Nah, I’m on television.”
Ed, who grew up in Hetherington, England, started acting “at age 6, when my mum put me in a drama program. I quit to play soccer because the two activities both fell on Saturday. But after secondary school, I thought, ‘What the f–k am I going to do with my life, man?’ I was so frustrated with the idea that you had to figure it all out right away.” To put off making life decisions for a while, Ed joined the National Youth Theatre in London at age 18, and soon after landed roles in Children of Men and Breaking and Entering, starring Jude Law. And then, in 2007, he was cast in Gossip Girl. It’s hard to imagine how the show would look without Ed in it. Chuck’s style has earned almost as much notice as his bad behavior. “Chuck is an iconic character and the clothes are iconic,” says Ed of the Tom Wolfe–meets–Mick Jagger wardrobe. “I think I rock the look well.” As for his own fashion sense, Ed notes, “My style has always been good. Top notch, baby. I like the glamorous indie rock look, like the Libertines. But you know, without the heroin needle sticking out of my arm.”
Fittingly, the actor has built up quite the reputation as a party boy about town. Frequent sightings place him at clubs like the Beatrice Inn and Santos’ Party House, where he played a gig in June with his band, the Filthy Youth. “If I want to go out and drink and throw a glass in the street, I’ll do it,” says Ed of his late-night behavior. “As long as the reason is that I want to have fun and not that I want to create some sort of tension around me. Then I’d be a d–k. But I’m not.”
Earlier in the summer, pictures surfaced of Ed frolicking with his roommate and castmate Chace Crawford, sparking rumors about the duo’s relationship. “People think Chace is gay, and thought I was gay, that we were humping,” Ed says. “It’s not true, but hilarious. People project their fantasies onto people. I’ve never been someone who makes it my objective to go out and pick up chicks. But I’ve met some fantastic ladies here. You know, those amazing conversations where you find yourself in a café talking until 2 a.m. and never see them again.”
It’s hard to blame him—Ed barely has time to socialize these days, let alone date. He just wrapped S. Darko, a sequel to Donnie Darko, the movie that launched Jake Gyllenhaal’s career as a serious adult actor. “I don’t want to get pigeonholed in the teen genre,” he says. For now, Ed plans to enjoy the city and the last warm days of the season. “I love going out in the summer. The girls wear their nice dresses,” he says, then stops himself. “Did that sound sleazy? It really did, didn’t it? Put it like this: Everyone comes out looking gorgeous in summer. We are a more beautiful species in the summer.” No doubt Chuck Bass would say “cheers” to that, baby.
