If there is one thing 2020 has been good, we are blessed with the cast of Outer Banks. Their close friendship at the moment is palpable — both on screen, as their characters join together to hunt down a hidden treasure, and out of the screen, as they hang out in real life after the cameras stop rolling. And according to Chase Stokes, who plays the protagonist of John B in the success of the series of Netflix, their strong bond is formed instantly.
While speaking with the 27-year-old actor about his association with the food plant of the brand Sweet Earthhe reminded the meeting of her peers — including Jonathan Daviss, Madison Bailey, Rudy Pankow, and Madelyn Cline — at her first table read. “They all looked at each other and were like, ‘OK, so here we go on this trip”. The table reading was followed by a group dinner of the trip, and the next morning, we dove into boating lessons to learn how to safely navigate the coastal waters of South Carolina, where the show is filmed . “[It] it was a kind of perfect recipe for an awesome start to a friendship that is now, the family,” Stokes said POPSUGAR.
“Honest to God, you could probably make another 10 episodes only blooper reels.”
Fans who closely follow the OBX the cast members social media you know that your friendship involves a lot of “joy”, as Cline describes often when share behind the scenes photos and videos on Instagram. The shenanigans often in conjunction, too, which make it very difficult to keep the composure in front of the cameras, Stokes, admitted. “There are many comedic moments, especially with Rudy and JD [Jonathan Daviss]where I have had stomach cramps from laughing so hard,” Stokes said. “Honest to God, you could probably make another 10 episodes only blooper reels between all the unpleasant things that is happening in the show.” Umm, yes, please! We’re holding you to that one, Stokes.
At the end of the day, the colleagues who became BFFs put his antics to one side and rolled over a whole season exciting, bingeable episodes, free of accidents. “I am very fortunate that not only to me, but we all take the craft very seriously, and we’re all very respectful of each other personal space when it comes to getting into character and taking in those moments,” Stokes told us.
Getting into the character of John B, that is to say, put yourself in the shoes of a teenager who lived on his own after his father disappears at sea and is presumed dead. “I think the most interesting thing for me was trying to layer throughout the season, because it really starts with the idea that his father is dead,” he said. “I just kind of tried to create nuances in the way that he walked, the way he would put himself in the circumstances. So that was a sort of deep immersion.”
Stokes uses his own personal experience with the death of a loved one, your grandmother, to help him through. “Unfortunately, I had lost my grandmother a couple of months before you start Outer Banksand I had to return to Florida for the funeral, I think it was three weeks into the shoot. So that was a big motivation and draw to me was my grandmother,” he told POPSUGAR.
“The first season was sort of an ode to my grandmother in a strange, beautiful way.”
And it seems that his grandmother was watching over him as soon as he got back to work. “She always spoke of seeing things in sets of three, and his favorite animal was a dolphin,” Stokes shared. “The first day we went to work on set, we were filming in the Castle, that is my home. I went out on the pier and in one day, I saw three dolphins. Therefore, it was very cool, surreal moment where I was like, ‘OK, she is with me, and allowing her to guide me through it. So the first season was sort of an ode to my grandmother in a strange, beautiful way.”
Now that Netflix has officially renewed Outer Banks for a second season, we know that we will get more glimpses of John B of the signature of the handkerchief in the future — but that’s not all that Stokes the future. He can also play the role of TJ Forrester in One of Us Is a Liea mystery drama series based on Karen M. McManus the young adult novel of the same name. The show will be on NBC, the new streaming service, the peacock, although the cast has not yet finished filming the rest of the first season once the pandemic allows.
Perhaps even more exciting for John B and Sarah Cameron carriers in particular: Stokes and his screen and real-life girlfriend, Cline, are associated with the Norwegian DJ Kygo for a great collaboration. “Maddie and I are doing a music video for one of their new singles coming out later this year,” Stokes said. “So it’s going to be . . . a small teaser for fans excited hopefully for when the second season comes around. We’ll have something to keep them entertained. It is a very, very good song. I’m super pumped to be a part of it.”
