Penn Badgley greets the director in the chair.
With Episode 9 of Season 4, the "Gossip Girl" alum made his directorial debut, bringing with him a significant shift both in Joe Goldberg's outlook for the upcoming second half of the highly anticipated season.
“I’m certainly going to direct more,” Badgley told IndieWire. “I’d like to direct something else, particularly features.”
"I'm unsure if I'll be able to direct more of this program," he continued, "but" I'm unable to watch enough, just from a purely practical standpoint. There's not enough time for me to watch every shot, so I'm just directing with my eyes closed a bit."
“I loved stepping behind the camera. I think it's just being Joe and directing,” said the joking actor of a “Easy A” and “John Tucker Must Die.”
Sera Gamble, the showrunner for "You," talked about Badgley's "grounded, centered" personality off-screen as the key to his success behind the camera.
Gamble said of the first time he asked for a job in the coming season: 'Hey, I'd like to direct an episode,' and then the episode he's shooting so he's not directing himself in every goddamn scene. 'I'll set you up for success,' said the producer, adding that this isn't a difficult first step.
Gamble continued, "It's his acting that makes him so brilliant visually." No one has spent more time on set than him. He has a very firm grasp of having a few beautiful moments in your mind that you're just stumbling on to get it done."
Badgley, who recently stated how his acting career might be without sex scenes, has told Interview magazine that he is also planning to compose short stories.
"I was thinking to myself, "I don't know what I have to say about anything at this point," Badgley said about his acting career. "I'm more interested in hearing other people's stories. That's why I'm moving into production and direction and then, down the line, writing."
"As an actor, I'm interested in true stories." I'd like to participate in the recounting of something that intersects with social issues, the story of a journalist, etc.," according to the host of the "Podcrushed" podcast.