Penn Badgley

Infobox actor


name = Penn Badgley
birthname = Penn Dayton Badgley
birthdate = birth date and age|1986|11|1
location = Baltimore, Maryland
othername =
yearsactive = 1998 – present
occupation = Film, television, voice actor,
model, spokesperson
website = http://www.safesearching.com/pennbadgley/

Penn Dayton Badgley (born November 1, 1986) is an American actor best known for his role as Dan Humphrey on the CW television series "Gossip Girl.

Early life

Badgley was born in Baltimore, Maryland and split his childhood years between Richmond, Virginia and Seattle, Washington. In Seattle, he attended Charles Wright Academy (in Tacoma, WA), and was involved with the Seattle Children's Theatre. He soon began doing voice-overs for a children's radio stations.

At age 11, Badgley relocated with his mother to Hollywood and began pursuing an acting career. According to Badgley's former homeschool classmate Blake Lively,citeweb|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84lsSwfkOyM|title=Blake Lively and Penn Badgley on E! News] Badgley also pursued a singing career, and recorded a pop single in 1998.citeweb|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne-ndqCF-xE|title= tyra banks show behind the scenes: blake and penn] At the age of 14, Badgley took the California High School Proficiency Exam and began attending Santa Monica College. At 17, after completing two years of credits at Santa Monica College, he was accepted as a Junior at the University of Southern California (USC), where he deferred admission due to contractual obligations.

Career

Early career

Badgley's first credit was voice work for the video game "Mario Golf 64" in 1999 although he claims to have never played it himself. He followed this in 2000 with voice work on "Mario Tennis 64". His first screen acting credit was on an episode of "Will & Grace". He followed this up with appearances on shows such as "Daddio", "The Brothers Garcia" and "What I Like About You", among others.He also appears in John Tucker Must Die playing Scott Tucker. In its opening weekend, the film grossed a total of $14.3 million, ranking third in the U.S. box office results for that weekend. As of November 2, the film has grossed $41 million domestically.

Breakthrough

Badgley's first notice came with his role as Phillip Chancellor IV #8 on the soap opera "The Young and the Restless" (2000 - 2001). He was nominated for a 2001 Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Daytime Series for his work.

In 2002, he starred in the WB half-hour series "Do Over". Badgley starred as Joel Larsen, a 34-year-old man, gets a second chance to get his life right, thanks to a freakish accident that catapults him back to 1980, as a 14-year-old.The show premiered on The WB Television Network, which is currently known as The CW. He appeared on the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" as this show opened. The series was cancelled short of a full season. Badgley later apppeared in "Drive-Thru" playing Van co-starring future castmate Leighton Meester.

Wider audiences may recognize him from his next starring role as Sam Tunney in "The Mountain" (2004 - 2005), but was cancelled after the first season. The same thing happened to "The Bedford Diaries", another series where Badgely had a lead role. While the show was popular, it was cancelled in its first season.

In The CW's new drama "Gossip Girl", Badgley portrays Dan Humphrey, the son of 1990's former rock star Rufus Humphrey (Matthew Settle). He plays the love interest of Upper East Side's it girl, Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively). The show revolves around the lives of socialite young adults growing up on New York's Upper East Side who attend elite academic institutions while dealing with sex, drugs, and other teenage issues.

He is set to star in the announced 2008 remake of the 1987 American thriller film "The Stepfather".

Personal life

In late 2007, it was reported that Badgley was dating his "Gossip Girl" co-star and former childhood classmate Blake Lively, [citeweb|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2007/12/24/2007-12-24_blake_lively_match_isnt_just_gossip.html|title=Blake Lively match isn't just 'Gossip'|date=December 27, 2007|publisher="The New York Daily News"] though, when asked, Badgley declined comment.citeweb|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5L1OJYhA2k|title=Penn Badgley on Ryan Seacrest|publisher=E! News] In May 2008, "People" magazine published photos of Lively and Badgley kissing while on vacation in Mayan Riviera, Mexico.citeweb|url=http://www.people.com/people/gallery/0,,20199754,00.html|title=Exclusive: Blake & Penn's Romantic Getaway|date=May 13, 2008|publisher="People" magazine]

Filmography

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0046112|name=Penn Badgley
*amg name|2:343199