‘You’ star Penn Badgley said he almost quit acting at 20 because he was ‘disillusioned and dried up’ after starting work at 12

Penn Badgley said he almost quit acting at 20 because he had become tired of Hollywood having already spent eight years in the industry as a child actor.

Appearing on an episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast on Wednesday, Badgley said he began his professional acting career at the age of 12 and became financially independent at 15.

He said when he was offered the role of Dan Humphrey in “Gossip Girl,” he didn’t want to go back into television.

“By the time I was 20, I was feeling real disillusioned and dried up and tired of being in Hollywood,” Badgley said. “When you’re 20 years old and you’ve been doing something professionally since you were 12, that’s your life.”

“I had a tiredness about me at 20 that I think is not typical for a 20-year-old because I’ve been working for so long,” he added later.

Badgley told the podcast, “I wasn’t always the breadwinner, but I’ve always needed to and wanted to provide support for my parents.”

The average worker has been experiencing symptoms of burnout earlier and earlier. However, the entertainment industry is one of the only careers where children can start working from a very young age.

Badgley, who started his career as a child star “The Young and The Restless,” said he considered pivoting to music, but eventually decided to take the “Gossip Girl” role due to financial reasons.

“I was close to broke, although I was looking forward to figuring that out,” Badgley said. “I was enjoying my way of life, but the future was real unknown, and it’s not like I could go live with my parents. The stakes were high.”

“Gossip Girl” was an instant success and became one of the most popular teen dramas of the 2000s, launching Badgley and his costars to fame.

Since then, Badgley has appeared in multiple movies and series, including “You,” one of Netflix’s major shows, which debuts its final season on Thursday.

Badgley, who is now 38, said on the podcast that he feels he is “finally coming of age as an actor.”

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