Thomas Doherty Discusses ‘Gossip Girl’ Audition, Cancellation, and Meeting Ed Westwick

Thomas Doherty Opens Up About ‘Gossip Girl’ Role Audition, Show’s Cancellation, and Meeting Original Star Ed Westwick

In a recent interview, Thomas Doherty shared insights from his time on the reboot of Gossip Girl. The 29-year-old actor portrayed the character Max Wolfe in the series. While promoting his new show, Tell Me Lies, Thomas appeared on the podcast I’ve Never Said This Before with Tommy DiDario, where he discussed auditioning for a different character, filming a provocative scene, the show’s cancellation, and his encounter with Ed Westwick, the original Gossip Girl star whose character bore similarities to his own.

Reflecting on his role, Thomas expressed, “It was really cool. Playing Max was a blast. I remember originally auditioning for Eli Brown’s character, Obie. They quickly redirected me, saying, no, you’re meant to be this character. So, I read for Max and thought to myself, am I really this guy? But I leaned into it and embraced the role.”

He recounted a memorable scene: “There was an orgy setup in the script with numerous naked bodies around. I was just sitting on the couch during one of those shots, and when they called cut, everyone got up, dressed in robes. I just stayed there, and they asked if I wanted my robe. I shrugged it off and said, honestly, it was two years in—I’m fine. Everyone has already seen everything.”

On the show’s cancellation after two seasons, he noted, “It’s always tough trying to revive something that was already perfect. The original had viewers tuning in at 8 p.m. every Thursday, sparking conversations at school or work the next day. Nowadays, with streaming services providing endless options, that shared experience is lost. The saturation of content makes it hard for reboots to deliver the same impact. There’s just so much shock value across social media now.”

Thomas also shared a story from his meeting with Ed Westwick. “We met at the Red Sea Film Festival in Saudi Arabia. He was such a nice guy, unexpectedly chill. I told him I felt like I was playing a version of him in the reboot. I tried to incorporate some elements of the original Chuck but wanted to make it lighter and cheekier. Watching the original, I found it quite heavy, and both characters were written with dysfunction, but in different styles. I thought the cheekiness was a better fit for the reboot.”

To hear more from Thomas, check out the full interview on the I’ve Never Said This Before podcast with Tommy DiDario.