All About Chase Stokes, the Breakout Star of Netflix's 'Outer Banks'

From ELLE

Chase Stokes is the leading man of Netflix's new teen drama, Outer Banks. The 27-year-old actor is more than a decade older than his character John B, and is one of the newest entries to the Internet Boyfriend™ club. Like most of the cast, he's a relative newcomer, so let's get to know the man making mullets and Hawaiian shirts appealing.

Stokes almost didn't play the role of John B.

Although it's hard to imagine anyone else filling the shoes of John B, Stokes initially turned down the role. In an interview with Barstool Sports’ Chicks in the Office, he said he was first asked to audition in February 2019. "The first time I got the audition it was the most bland email I’ve ever got," Stokes said. "It was four friends on a treasure hunt, Netflix, and the character’s name was John B. So I was like, 'This is fucking Goonies. It’s a Goonies reboot.' I said no." He added, "I don’t want to touch a piece of iconic cinema and destroy it. I was like that’s my worst nightmare is doing a bad reboot."

Months later, Stokes was introduced to the script when he was asked to consider the role of Topper, which would eventually go to Austin North. "I read the pilot and I’m like 'Oh my god, this is not The Goonies. I screwed this up so bad,'" Stokes recalled. At one point, Rudy Pankow (who plays JJ in the series), was being considered for John B, he told Us Weekly. However, a few casting shuffles later, the Outer Banks ensemble was settled and the rest is history.

He grew up in areas similar to the OBX.

Another signal that Stokes was the right person to play John B? His childhood looked a lot like his character's. He went to high school in Florida, and in an interview with Refinery29, said he drew on those experiences while filming in South Carolina. "I’m a water child. I grew up all along the eastern shore, I spent my time surfing," he told the outlet. "My grandparents lived on the eastern shore in Maryland, and there is a huge boating community there, so I’ve grown up on boats, I’ve grown up driving boats. I didn’t tell any of the creators [of Outer Banks] this when I was cast: When we were in Charleston [where the show filmed,] I reached in my wallet and pulled out my boating license. They were like 'Great, that makes everything a lot easier.'"

He's appeared on Stranger Things.

The actor has made appearances in a few TV shows prior to his breakout Netflix hit. In 2016, he played a role in the first season of Stranger Things. In the years since, he's popped up on the Vh1 series Daytime Divas and the Hallmark drama The Beach House. You can next see him on the TNT series Tell Me Your Secrets.

He's sporty and deep.

When Stokes isn't acting or boating, he's got a collection of other hobbies. He's shared bit of his poetry on Instagram because we needed yet another reason to fall for him.

Apparently, he's also (deep breath) a musician:

And in further proof he could ruin our lives, Stokes told Brief Take that he originally had plans to become a professional ice hockey player. "I was going to play in college and then do the professional route, but after some injuries happened, I had the realization that I definitely don’t want the lifelong effects of that," he told the outlet.

Stokes is exposing his "weird side" on TikTok.

For a look at his "quirky" side, head over to Stokes's TikTok. "Welcome to the weird side of my brain," his bio proudly declares. So far, he hasn't posted much, but has committed to a long-running gag where he recreates a moment from the Outer Banks trailer.

It's got 6 million views so far, which means Stokes's reign as your latest Netflix crush is far from over.

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