In a matter of minutes last week, Neal Bledsoe went from being a mostly unknown actor to the guy who made out with Ed Westwick on Gossip Girl. The headline-making kiss doesn’t air until Oct. 19, but Bledsoe — who plays a gay NYU alumni whom Blair pimps boyfriend Chuck out to — happily offered us a sneak preview of the can’t-miss episode (and broke some big career news in the process).
How has your life changed in the past week?
NEAL BLEDSOE: My mom is certainly a thousand times more proud of me. And it was my first experience with the paparazzi knowing my name, which was strange. I thought maybe Neil Diamond or Neil Sedaka was standing behind me.
Tell me about your character.
BLEDSOE: Initially I was supposed to play the dean of the freshman class. But then they hired a 28-year-old actor so that seemed like a little bit of a stretch. Now I play a lawyer who is a very well connected alumni at the university who has a hand in deciding who is going to give the famous freshman speech.
An honor you agree to extend to Blair in exchange for the kiss. Is it as simple as you just wanting to say you made out with the legendary Chuck Bass?
BLEDSOE: I will tell you this: I have a very unexpected and darker motivation about it.
Was shooting the kiss awkward?
BLEDSOE: No. We were both professionals about it. [It helped] that we got to know each other a little bit beforehand. And we certainly rehearsed it.
Rehearsed it? How many takes did you do?
BLEDSOE: [Laughs] More than a few.
How would you characterize the kiss? Steamy? A little peck?
BLEDSOE: I would characterize it as a nice kiss.
Complete this sentence: Ed Westwick kisses just like…
BLEDSOE: [Laughs] …he kisses just like Chuck Bass.
What did your girlfriend think?
BLEDSOE: She was happy I wasn’t kissing any of the girls on the show. She might’ve had some Blake Lively envy.
At what point in the process did you find out about the kiss?
BLEDSOE: There was an asterisk on the character breakdown that said, ‘Actor must kiss Ed Westwick in the episode.’
Your first reaction?
BLEDSOE: Things like that shouldn’t matter. Unfortunately for some actors things like that do matter and they’ll turn down projects because of it. I thought it was a really fun episode. I had an awesome time doing it. And I think it would’ve been a shame if I was not open-minded enough to do the episode simply because I had to kiss another man.
Might your character return at some point?
BLEDSOE: I have no idea. That’s up to the writers.
Where do you go from here?
BLEDSOE: I don’t think I’d be breaking my confidentially agreement by saying this: I’m going to be in the Sex and the City sequel.
Who are you playing?
BLEDSOE: Um… It’s a character in the Sex and the City sequel.
PHOTO CREDIT: Giovanni Rufino/The CW
aww he seems really nice =)
Thanks Mike!
So Chuck kissed a boy, but did he like it?
awwwww! so naive, so dumb, so american…..
Okaaaaaay…
yeah, really doesn’t make sense.
Lucky Neal. And he kisses just like Chuck Bass would? Sounds divine! Better be HOT.
sounds like wet firehawks
Ok? This doesn’t really reveal anything new. And it certainly doesn’t make up for you wreaking havoc on the Chuck/Blair fandom when you headlined this story originally.
Actually, this reveals specifically what Blair was trying to get by pimping Chuck out, as well as who he was kissing. That would be new.
Does anybody know if in the books Chuck Bass is actually gay? I heard something about it but don’t really know much bout the books.
He was bi in the books but thankfully the writers have said they dont follow the books!
The writers don’t follow much of the plot lines found in the books; whether this is good or bad is your opinion.
Personally, after watching GG, I had absolutely NO interest in reading the prequel, since it was drastically different than the show.
Hmm… So you’re against the books on which the TV series is based? That’s a great message to send to children: Books are stupid, watch TV instead!
Courtney, I’m not against books, anything but; I am constantly reading. Rather, my point was that after watching the television version of Gossip Girl, it was hard to return and read the prequel, as it was extremely different, and kept envisioning the actors/actresses.
It is for this reason that when a movie or television show based on a book is made, I always read the book first. It allows me to form my own visions, instead of having them foisted upon me.
Furthermore, as much as I enjoy the book series, I consider it a guilty pleasure read.
Why do you say thankfully… what would be so bad about him being bi on the show
Because it would ruin chair(chuck and blair) which is the biggest fan base for gossip girl. And then the ratings would go down and it would be canceled. And I say thankfully also because Chuck and Blair were never a couple in the books so im happy they went off and did there own thing.
I don’t see how it would ruin chuck and blair… if he’s with her he’s with her. Just because the character is bi doesn’t mean he is off getting some manlovin’ every chance he gets.
I don’t understand why this is such a big headline news thing. Two guys kissing? Has been done before quite a few times on numerous other shows before this one ever came around.
Same as two girls kissing! It’s done quite a lot.
it makes news because how often do you see a main character on a show kissing another dude? Did Brandon ever make out with Dylan on 90210? They couldn’t even show Matt’s kiss on Melrose Place in the 90′s. America is still very conservative about primetime TV kisses unless it’s on cable. It sounds hot. Also I didn’t read the books because they are really poorly written.
This Neal guy is so friggin hot. He looks like a sexier older version of Penn. Perhaps he can have a gay fling with little eric?!? Yum! Rob that cradle
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check out TheLimeGreenScream if you want another gossip site to waste your time at! it’s funny (sometimes)
ok so at first i was so so sad. but u kno wat? it seems to be ok. he seems like a nice guy and he’s coool about the whole thing. i think that’ll help me get thru the scene lol. and then agen who wudnt want to kiss chuck? [sigh]
I have just read the comment that stated “Also I didn’t read the books because they are really poorly written”. I want to know what makes this person think that the TV show is not written poorly.I actually enjpyed the books and took them for what they are. Trashy novels, The TV show has altered all the characteristics of the principal roles. All that remains are the characters names. Yet that being said I still watch the show. A guilty pleasure you could say.
Hot – Neal seems super down to earth and very cool about the whole thing, can’t wait to see this “nice kiss” :O!
“I thought maybe Neil Diamond or Neil Sedaka was standing behind me.”
Okay, I officially love this guy.