‘You’ star Penn Badgley blames Netflix for fans’ love of serial killers

Drew Barrymore received an unforgettable birthday surprise, courtesy of “You” star Penn Badgley.

You.Maybe it’s the way Penn Badgley looks with or without a beard. Or maybe it’s the show’s funny, yet cutting satire on the people we suffer through every day.But damn, four seasons in, You (★★★★☆), Netflix’s series about a sociopath who obsesses over women, still hits that same perverse spot it did to make it one of the streamer’s best in recent years.Originally a Lifetime Original adapted from Caroline Kepnes’s book series, You was brought to the screen by producing giants Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble, who installed former Gossip Girl star Penn Badgley as the lead.After one season aired on Lifetime, the show migrated to Netflix, where it blew up and has remained a permanent fixture since season two.Badgley stars as Joe Goldberg, a troubled sociopath with inclinations for becoming obsessed with random women, ingratiating himself into their lives, and then killing anyone who gets in his way.On paper, this seems like a strange recommendation in the #MeToo era, but You‘s greatest strength has become its humor, focusing on entertainment and sardonic musings on everyday life from a truly messed up man.Over the first three seasons, Joe traveled across the coasts, going from being a bookstore manager in New York to a young dad in suburban California.

Breaking Bad, describing the part as “the one that got away”.The You star was asked in a new interview with Buzzfeed to name a role fans would be surprised that he auditioned for but didn’t get.“One I got close on was Breaking Bad,” Badgley said. “It was between me and Aaron Paul, we tested.” Paul ended up getting the role of crystal meth cook and dealer Jesse Pinkman in the hit series, which aired for five seasons between 2008 to 2013.Actually, that was the best television script I’d read at that point,” added Badgley.

Had things gone another way, Penn Badgley would have played Jesse Pinkman alongside Bryan Cranston in “Breaking Bad”.

Penn Badgley saying no to sex scenes in YOU Season 4 has gone down well but would an actress have had the same luxury? If you are as eagle-eyed as Joe Goldberg from Netflix’s psychological thriller YOU, you may have noticed the subtle but significant dialling down of raunchier scenes the show was famous for in earlier seasons. It turns out this is because the former Gossip Girl star asked to do as few sex scenes as possible out of respect for his wife Domino Kirke.

Ever since Netflix‘s Dahmer docuseries hit the streaming platform, idolization of serial killers has been a huge topic on social media. It’s something that’s been around for as long as killers have existed — for whatever reason people feel drawn to these murderers and some even go as far as dating or marrying their chosen slayer. What happens when this admiration goes too far? Well, there are some serious consequences…

You star Penn Badgley has said his character would “probably despise” Taylor Swift.When asked about his first effort at a TikTok video in conversation with Variety, Badgley discussed having set the song to Taylor Swift’s recent single ‘Anti-Hero’.Badgley lip-syncs to the song on TikTok, with the clip having gone viral and Swift commenting “OMG!!!!” on the social media platform.However, the actor said that his character Joe Goldberg “probably despises” Taylor Swift, despite one episode of You containing a reference to the pop icon.“I think, unfortunately, he would despise her,” Badgley said. “Because she’s successful and blonde, maybe? I don’t know, but I think he would.”In a four-star review of You season four part one, NME wrote: “Yes, it’s all very silly, but it’s also surprisingly gripping and consistently witty.”Penn Badgley recently revealed he requested to have no unnecessary sex scenes in the recent season of You, due to his marriage to singer Domino Kirke.Speaking on the podcast Podcrushed, Badgley said: “I asked Sera Gamble, the creator of the show, ‘Can I just do no more intimacy scenes?’“This was actually a decision I had made before I took the show.

Creating boundaries. Penn Badgley, Neal McDonough and more stars have candidly discussed their decisions not to film sex scenes in future projects.

Serial killer Joe Goldberg is resisting an offer of friendship by the Eat The Rich killer in part two of season four.In a trailer for the next chapter, Rhys Montrose (Ed Speleers) attempts to get closer to Goldberg after his identity as the Eat The Rich killer is unveiled.But Joe (Penn Badgley), who has made an effort to stop his murderous ways, is weary of getting closer with Rhys, who is aware of his killing past. The sneak peek begins with Joe (Penn Badgley) finding Rhys sitting by a fire. 'What do you want?' he asks in a measured tone. Rhys turns to face him and replies: 'Isn't it obvious? I want a friend.' Suspense: Serial killer Joe Goldberg is resisting an offer of friendship by the Eat The Rich killer in part two of season four'As someone who shares my interests, someone I can finally tell my secrets to,' he continues. 'I care about you, Joe,' he insists. Joe, who has started a new life under the alias Professor Jonathan Moore in London, seems suspicious of Rhys.  'This is over, right?' Joe asks him over beers.'Over?' he repeats.

Penn Badgley looked as dashing as ever as he posed for a striking Variety shoot to promote the fourth season of his serial killer drama, You.The actor, 36, who plays murderous former bookstore manager Joe Goldberg in the Netflix sensation, cut an edgy figure as he posed in tailored suits, before making rare comments about his previous relationship with Gossip Girl co-star Blake Lively, 35.Penn dated Blake from 2007-2010, after meeting on the set of the hit show where Penn played Dan Humphrey and Blake portrayed Serena van der Woodsen,Penn, who is now married to Domino Kirke, 39 and is father to son James, two - credited Blake's teetotal lifestyle with 'saving him' from forcing himself to experiment with drugs and alcohol.Discussing how he felt a 'dark undercurrent that would bottom out in my later 20s' as he dealt with his newfound fame, he said: 'To be honest, I never struggled with substance.

Penn Badgley doesn’t actually need to be on the internet to stoke his popularity. He’s already the internet’s boyfriend, and has been since the original “Gossip Girl” premiered in 2007. Badgley became famous at the exact moment when the celebrity-industrial complex, fed by the toxic brew of the gossip sites TMZ and Perez Hilton, was at its most pernicious — which was the same moment that teenagers everywhere got their hands on their first iPhones. “‘Gossip Girl,’ if you think about it, wouldn’t have happened at any other time,” Badgley says. “That was the spirit of the show: It was Perez. It was TMZ.” Badgley made it through that poisonous period intact. But now, when it comes to joining social media platforms, he is, understandably, apprehensive. Twitter used to suit Badgley best, he being a news-obsessed man of words, but that’s changed: “I can’t really spend much time on that platform anymore,” he says. Instagram, too, feels “a bit too much like standing on a stage and trying to present,” and Badgley doesn’t need that type of exposure.

SPOILER ALERT: Major spoilers ahead for You season 4 part 2!

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for “You” Season 4, Part 1. The story’s not over yet for America’s favorite serial killer in London. Netflix dropped the trailer Wednesday for the final episodes of “You” Season 4. When viewers last left the clandestine criminal, Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) had just unraveled the identity of a fellow London-based serial killer. Despite avowing to put his days of murder behind him, Joe finds himself at the center of yet another mystery when the members of his posh new friend group start turning up dead. Four bodies have already dropped and there’s no sign of the death count slowing down anytime soon with author-turned-murderer Rhys Montrose (Ed Speleers) on the loose.

“I’m not some cold-blood psycho killer.” To which all fans of Netflix’s You would say, sure Joe, sure.

Penn Badgley isn't holding back when it comes to romanticized portrayals of infamous serial killers on Netflix — even if he plays one.The 36-year-old actor, who plays fictional murderer Joe Goldberg in acknowledged the audience's growing fascination with serial killers amid portrayals of several notorious, real-life killers in TV shows and movies in recent years on the streaming platform.Badgley specifically singled out Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer, two serial killers who were given the Netflix treatment in the 2019 Zac Efron film,  and the 2022 Evan Peters series, though he never mentions the projects by name. Peters, for his part, won a Golden Globe for his performance as Jeffrey Dahmer.«You need to look at that, inside,» Badgley said when asked his thoughts on people admitting their attraction toward problematic men. «Now, to be fair, with our show you're meant to fall in love with him.

, part of the blame falls on the shoulders of itself.While acknowledging that Joe Goldberg, the fictional murderer he plays on You, is written to be attractive to audiences, Badgley doesn't mince words when it comes to how the streamer has romanticized real-life killers like Jeffrey Dahmer. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Badgley said that anyone who finds themselves drawn to serial killer characters should first look inward for why that might be. But, he added, that doesn't excuse how these characters are portrayed to audiences. “To be fair, with our show, you’re meant to fall in love with [Joe].

Kate Aurthur editor Penn Badgley has been in the headlines recently, and not only because Part 1 of the fourth season of “You” dropped on Feb. 9: On his podcast “Podcrushed” last week, Badgley talked about his strong dislike of filming intimate scenes — and the internet exploded with thoughts about his remarks. He also said that he’d shared his feelings with Sera Gamble, the “You” showrunner, ahead of the season. In turn, he said, Gamble had a “really positive response and they came back with a phenomenal reduction” for Season 4. In two wide-ranging interviews for this week’s Variety cover story, which will be released on Feb. 15, Badgley spoke expansively on the subject. In our story, Badgley details how the number of sex scenes he knew he’d have to do for “You” had been a major factor in 2017 in him not wanting to play the role of serial killer/love addict Joe Goldberg. The whole series, after all, revolves around Joe’s romantic fixations, and how he gets the women he’s fallen for to submit to his charms. By design, “You” has a ton of sex.

Penn Badgley has slammed Netflix for causing fans to 'fall in love' with serial killers like Jeffrey Dahmer - despite the Gossip Girl actor himself playing a murderer on the streaming service's series, You.The star, 36, who plays serial killer Joe Goldberg on You, hit out at the 'weird' concept of fans becoming attracted to real-life killers after watching shows such as the Evan Peters' helmed hit Monster.Badgley also said the responsibility for the phenomenon 'fell squarely on the shoulders of Netflix' in an interview with Entertainment Tonight to promote his own serial killer drama's fourth season.Badgley - who previously revealed he asked for less sex scenes on the show, said: 'To be fair, with our show, you're meant to fall in love with [Joe]. That's on us.He added: 'Ted Bundy? That's on you.