How Penn Badgley Gets Into Creepy Mode For Netflix’s ‘You’
Penn Badgley has been making headlines for his creepy character on the Netflix series You. Season 2 of the psychological thriller arrived to the streaming platform on Dec. 26. The actor stars on the show as a sociopath known as Joe Goldberg. Even though fans love him, he’s a very creepy dude.
Earlier this week, the actor appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to talk about You season 2.
How does he make himself creepy?
Colbert asked the Gossip Girl star one question that’s on everyone’s minds lately, as reported via BuzzFeed. How does he prepare himself to be so downright creepy?
“You as this character have this neat trick of going from charming to very creepy fairly smoothly,” Colbert said. “Is there a trick for making that turn from charming to creepy?”
Badgley admits that trick is simpler than you may think. He told a story to explain how he gets himself into creepy mode. He explained that it doesn’t take much to make his character creepy because Joe is already creepy on his own.
“If you put a fully clothed person starting at a woman in her underwear in her bed when he’s not supposed to be there, it’s inherently creepy,” Badgley admitted. “So you put yourself in a really questionable circumstance, and then you do nothing.”
Colbert then asked him if he could go from his charming self to creepy. And if course, it was as uncomfortable as you’d expect it to be. He went from his normal self to creepy Joe Goldberg in less than 10 seconds. Check it out for yourself below. You won’t be disappointed.
How Penn Badgley became the creepiest TV villain
The 38-year-old actor was best known for his role as Dan Humphrey on Gossip Girl. He returned to his creepy self when he starred in the Lifetime thriller You last December. That’s when Badgley found himself with a new crop of fans. He’s the kind of guy that most 20-year-old women would fall in love with. Except that he’s a stalker and cold-blooded murderer. During his interview with the Wall Street Journal, he admitted that rehearsing some of the most grotesque parts are difficult for him.
“It’s even kind of impossible to rehearse the scenes a lot of times. I mean, of course we do, but I often am not even close to full speed until we shoot because he’s just unbelievably bad,” Badgley admitted. “There’s something about him that’s kind of impossible to access until it’s really time.”
He also admitted that learning more about Joe’s past in season 2 is not necessary. But there are times when he feels bad for his character. Joe is such a complex character that it even bothers him. Even though he feels that learning more about Joe’s childhood in season 2 is unnecessary, he enjoyed filming the new season.
“I think in some ways this season is actually darker than season 1 probably,” he said. “And then it manages to also be more fun.”
What’s the one thing Badgley wants fans to stop doing?
As reported by Showbiz CheatSheet, Badgley wishes that fans of You would stop romanticizing his character. Joe clearly has an unhealthy view on women, sex and relationships. Ever since the show gained popularity when it switched over from Lifetime to Netflix, fans have been falling in love with Joe. Badgley has vehemently told fans on Twitter not to root for his character.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he reminded fans that his character shouldn’t be romanticized. He believes that Joe isn’t “looking for true love.”
“Joe is not actually looking for true love,” Badgley said. “He’s not actually a person who just needs somebody who loves him. He’s a murderer! He’s a sociopath. He’s abusive. He’s delusional. And he’s self-obsessed.”
Do you agree with Penn Badgley? What are your thoughts on You season 2? Sound off below in the comments section.
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