Chace Crawford once auditioned for the role of Jason Street in Friday Night Lights and on Wednesday’s episode of Gossip Girl co-star Jessica Szohr’s podcast, XOXO, the 36, talked about his earlier days in Hollywood and how he ultimately wasn’t cast on the 2006 TV series.
According to the report by People, Chace Crawford noted that he left school to focus on acting full time following the success of 2006’s The Covenant and later landed an audition for the role of quarterback Jason Street on the popular sports drama Friday Night Lights.
“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,’ ” Chace Crawford said of the opportunity.
His The Covenant co-star Taylor Kitsch, 40, who Crawford said had been driving down from Canada for the pilot season, asked Crawford if he could sleep on his couch since he also had an audition for the series.
“He’s staying on my couch, he ends up going in, obviously for Tim Riggins,” Chace Crawford shared. “I’m like, ‘This is the greatest thing. This could be the most epic thing in the world. We just did this movie [together]…’ “
But while Kitsch landed the role of Tim, Jason was portrayed by Scott Porter on the series.
“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.”
“Taylor got it, I was pretty bummed. I was extremely devastated,” he continued, noting that his heart was already attached to the project.
“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.
“Rejection is a real thing in auditions. It takes a while, it’s still tough,” he said.
Crawford went on to star as Nate Archibald in all six seasons of Gossip Girl, which he admits he thought “sound[ed] ridiculous” at the time.
“That’s not Friday Night Lights, that’s ridiculous,” Crawford told Szohr of his initial thoughts. “Surely they’re not going to name it that.”