American actor Penn Badgley was born on November 1, 1986 in Baltimore, Maryland. He began acting as a child, starting out with his involvement at the Seattle Children’s Theatre, before moving on to voice work for radio stations. At age 11, he moved to Los Angeles with his mother to pursue an acting career, although he initially started out doing voice work for the video game Mario Golf 64. He made his screen debut in 1999, when he had a guest role on the comedy Will & Grace.
After guest appearances in other shows such as The Brothers Garcia, Daddio and Bull, he made his film debut in the independent film The Fluffer. However, he earned his big break in 2001, when he starred as Phillip Chancellor IV in the daytime soap The Young and the Restless, for which he was nominated for a Young Artist Award. This was followed by his first lead television role, in the short-lived comedy Do Over, where he played a 34-year-old who suddenly finds himself back when he was 14, yet with all his adult memories intact. He then appeared in two more short-lived television shows: The Mountain, which was cancelled after 13 episodes; and The Bedford Diaries, which was cancelled after eight.
After films such as John Tucker Must Die and Drive Thru, Badgley got his biggest role yet, for the teen drama Gossip Girl. He plays the role of Dan Humphrey, the son of rocker Rufus Humphrey, and older sibling of Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen). A poet, he goes in the same school as his archenemy Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) and has longed for Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) because she was the only one who was nice to him. He earns, however, the disgust of her best friend Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester), but they later warm to each other.
The Stepfather (2009) (post-production) .... Michael
Forever Strong (2008) (completed) .... Lars
"Gossip Girl" .... Dan Humphrey (19 episodes , 2007-2008-2009)
Drive Thru (2007) .... Van
John Tucker Must Die (2006) .... Scott
"The Bedford Diaries" .... Owen Gregory (8 episodes, 2006)
"The Mountain" .... Sam Tunney (13 episodes, 2004-2005)
Debating Robert Lee (2004) .... Debator
"The Twilight Zone" .... Jace Malone (1 episode, 2003)
"Do Over" .... Joel Larsen (15 episodes, 2002-2003)
"What I Like About You" .... Jake (1 episode, 2002)
"The Brothers Garcia" .... Eddie Bauer (2 episodes, 2000-2002)
-- "When you're wet and your clothes cling to you, you feel more exposed, almost more naked than naked. Everything is more romantic by water. Everyone remembers his or her first kiss in the pool, in the rain."
--"(on getting recognized) Actually, multiple times a day. If I go out in the city, chances are it's going to happen, especially if Blake [Lively] and I are together. We have this Serena and Dan complex going, so people freak out if they see the two of us."