Gossip Girl's Chace Crawford Dishes Upcoming Drama

Spotted: S and B's common thread, N, chatting with TVGuide.com outside school. Is B jealous when she hears her man drop S' name to the online reporter? OK, so that's not exactly how it went, but we did talk to Gossip Girl's (Wednesdays, 9 pm/ET, CW) Chace Crawford about S and B and all that comes with attending an Upper East Side private school. He also shared some scoop on Nate's heated family drama, a Thanksgiving you won't want to miss, and a guest star in tonight's episode that he's really excited about.

TVGuide.com: OK, I'll admit it, I'm addicted. This show is such a guilty pleasure.
Chace Crawford: Hey, that's what I like to hear! I'm even impressed with everything that [I've seen].

TVGuide.com: It's funny to see this teenage hierarchy in Manhattan, because I live in New York, but I never went to private high school here. Do you think the attitudes and some of the behavior is accurate?
Crawford: There's definitely some degree of it being what goes into making a television [show], but I think it's accurate in terms of the family pressure and the social structure of it all. Are there characters like Chuck [Ed Westwick] out there? [Laughs] I don't really know. But there are people in that vein of the whole Ryan Phillippe/Cruel Intentions type thing, and it's great. I think Blair Waldorf [Leighton Meester] is one of the stand-up characters on the show. I've talked to some people who say the story is a mirror image of some things that do go on.

TVGuide.com: There are always going to be cliques, so even if it's taken to an extreme with someone like Chuck, it's still relatable at times.
Crawford: There are some corruptive individuals out there. I've heard that kids do take limos when they're freshmen, and they're not chaperoned, the parents are absent. Teenagers aren't as dumb as everyone thinks. Especially in today's society — it gets worse in terms of the partying early on. I don't think it's too over-the-top in that sense.

TVGuide.com: I'd imagine it's fun to play Nate, because he's quiet and brooding. He hangs with the school jerk, but he's this nice guy underneath who's trying to carve out his own life.
Crawford: Exactly. I totally enjoy playing that. What makes it interesting is the moral conviction. I'd much rather play that than the funny guy. He takes it a little more seriously. There's that side of Nate that is a partyer who loves the girls, but they haven't shed light on that, because that's not where he's at right now. I love that he's having issues with his dad and his family — you're getting a window to what goes into inducing all this behavior.

TVGuide.com: There's a story there and it makes you want to learn more about him.
Crawford: It totally does. You know there's stuff going on down deep. I'm improving my acting by getting to play a character like this.

TVGuide.com: His dad makes me angry. He's completely frustrating and a familiar father figure from many teen dramas and films: "Live my dream, go to my college, be a lawyer." Are we going to see Nate totally pull away from that after admitting he didn't want to go to Dartmouth?
Crawford: It just gets worse. [Laughs] We're filming the Thanksgiving episode right now, and it gets pretty intense between him and his father. [Nate's] mom comes around a few episodes down the line and I'm not always crashing on Chuck's couch. It develops Nate's background a lot more.

TVGuide.com: Now, obviously the biggest storyline is all the romantic turmoil. What can we expect to see between Nate and Serena [Blake Lively]?
Crawford: Ohhh, it's all unexpected. They're putting the brakes on that right now. He definitely has issues with Blair and mainly with his father, but I think it's going to come back full circle. He ultimately loves this girl. He loves both of them, but they represent completely polar opposite things. He loves Blair, he's known her for years, but she also represents the negative side to his family, and Serena represents something else. She possesses something he wishes to obtain — not only to be with her, but to have the freedom she has in her life. I think he's having trouble breaking out of where he is.

TVGuide.com: Will Nate and Dan [Penn Badgley] become friends even though they both have their eye on Serena?
Crawford: I like the possibility [of that]. It's not going there [right now], but it's always open. I think it's going to happen.

TVGuide.com: Are there any newcomers or guest stars coming up?
Crawford: Yes, actually in the next episode. I did a film called The Covenant and Sebastian Stan, who's the villain in it, is a phenomenal actor — and my best friend. He lives in New York and I remember him calling me up going, "I'm reading for Gossip Girl today, are you on set?" I dropped the word to the producers — I didn't really have to — and he got the part, so I got to work with my best friend! He guest-spots this week. They liked him so much they'll probably write him in more.

TVGuide.com: And will we find out who Gossip Girl is this season?
Crawford: Probably not anytime soon. [Laughs] It could be Chuck, it could be Rufus [Matthew Settle].... Who knows?

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