Playing the Upper East Side rogue Chuck Bass is Edward Gregory Westwick, a Brit born on June 27, 1987, in Stevenage, north of London, to parents Carole, an educational psychologist, and Peter, a business lecturer. The youngest of three boys, Ed attended St. Ippolyts Church of England Primary School and the Barclay School. When he was just six years old, Ed was in his first musical group.
His parents put him in piano lessons, but little Ed preferred playing soccer. And unlike his onscreen persona, Ed claims to have been the “nice one” of his brothers.
Not sure what to do with himself, at age 18 Ed joined the National Youth Theatre. His first film role came while he was a student at North Hertfordshire College — Breaking and Entering, directed by the late Anthony Minghella. Ed played a teenaged Bosnian criminal. The film turned out to be Minghella’s last feature before passing away in 2008.
From there Ed appeared on British television shows Doctors, Casualty, and Afterlife. He played a bullying older brother in the 2007 Sundance Film Festival sensation Son of Rambow, and appeared in Children of Men. The young actor was in Los Angeles for pilot season when the Gossip Girl script came up. He first auditioned for the role of Nate, and then for the smaller role of Chuck, a part not originally slated as a lead.
Once Ed played Chuck with an American accent, rather than his native British, the producers decided the minor role should be made larger, so captivating was Ed’s performance. But there were “massive immigration issues,” and it looked like Ed’s work visa wouldn’t come through in time to shoot the pilot. Asked to recast the role, the Gossip Girl team held off, and at the very last minute, his visa arrived and Ed was able to play the part. “I learn so much every day, every week, every episode,” Ed told Teen Vogue of his Gossip Girl experience.
Asked to describe Chuck Bass, Ed told the U.K.’s Daily Mail, “He is completely diabolical but he is quick-witted and not intimidated by anyone. He goes after what he wants. It’s just the nature of what he wants which is not good. But there are a lot more differences than similarities between Chuck and me. When I was 17, I had certain characteristics of Chuck’s, but obviously the context was different. I didn’t come from the Upper East Side and I didn’t have the same desires. Oh, and I didn’t have a string of lovers. I’m a good boy.”
On the show’s success, Ed seems unfazed. His onscreen chemistry with Leighton Meester was an unexpected boon to the series, creating a whole legion of “Chair” fans. “You can’t put a finger on what makes two characters connect. It’s just chemistry. We have it. We feel it,” said Ed on the Chuck–Blair sparks, a pairing original to the TV series.
He admitted to being the most flirtatious of the cast to People. While filming season 2 of the show, Ed was spotted with co-star Jessica Szohr; photos of their Jamaican vacation made the tabloids and gossip sites. “I’m all for being in love,” said Ed to Teen Vogue. Other than being the subject of rumors, Ed has said the worst thing about being on Gossip Girl is “shaving every day. Chuck’s supposed to be 17, so he can’t have scruff yet. I get the makeup artist to shave me, because she just does it better. Poor Penn has to shave his chest — that’s worse.”
Other than acting, Ed’s passion is music. With some friends in the U.K., he formed The Filthy Youth, a band he fronts. As if being Chuck Bass wasn’t enough, Ed has kept busy with other onscreen work. In 2009’s straight-to- DVD Donnie Darko sequel, Ed plays Randy. Ed’s also in the thriller 100 Feet, playing a Brooklyn delivery boy seduced by Famke Janssen. Like Leighton and her Reebok deal, Ed’s done an ad campaign with K-Swiss. After landing a part in season 3 of Californication, Ed got even better news — he was cast as Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights, an adaptation of his mom’s favorite novel.
Winner of the 2008 Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Villain, Ed’s proud of the work he does on Gossip Girl and of the show itself. “It’s not just a show about teenagers, it’s a show about fashion, lies and deceit, and all the things we all go through, or I should say, see on a television show. And it’s a beautiful homage to one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I don’t think anyone should feel guilty about watching it.”