Penn Badgely’s career may be summed up in one role: Dan Humphrey in Gossip Girl, much to his dismay. He may have gained notoriety as the plot-hole-filled Brooklyn inhabitant (who had been illogically torturing people closest to him for many years), but his employment in cinema, television, and music is considerably more extensive.
Penn Badgely’s roles in on-screen media may be compared using IWMbuzz, which ranks his five worst and five finest performances of all time.
1. BEST: Forever Strong (2008): In the 2008 sports film Forever Strong, Penn Badgley plays the somewhat modest role of Lars. The central story of the film is about Rick Penning, a rugby player who must play against a team coached by his father. It is based on a collection of genuine incidents. From a number of perspectives, it appears to be a stereotypically uninteresting sports picture, but it actually ends up being an emotionally painful drama.
2. THE PAPER STORE’S WORST: (2016): Badgley’s most recent film role is in the 2016 film The Paper Store, in which he plays Sigurd Rossdale, one of the main characters. It adapts Katharine Clark Gray’s play 516 and stars Badgley in his now-signature unsettling character, which is certainly aided by the fact that we now associate his visage with creepiness. Despite this, the picture was panned by the majority of critics.
3. BEST: The Twilight Zone (2003): In 2002, one of the numerous Twilight Zone revivals took place, with Forest Whitaker taking on the position of host and Penn Badgely securing an early-career part in the episode ‘Homecoming.’
4. WORST: The Stepfather (2009): While it may appear to be a low-budget comedic version of The Godfather, The Stepfather is a 2009 slasher remake based on the real-life killings of John List, a serial killer who avoided punishment for eighteen years. Michael, a kid returning from military school, was played by Badgely, opposite Amber Heard and Dylan Walsh.
5. BEST: Gossip Girl (2007-2012): Penn Badgley’s most well-known part is certainly that of Dan Humphrey in Gossip Girl. He gave a melancholy, indie-kid performance as Dan Humphrey, engaging with individuals who believed they were above him with the unmistakable sensation that, by being ‘below’ them, he stayed ‘above’ them. At the same time, he was somehow relatable, which helped him gain a large following. The nonsensical climax, which revealed Dan to be the eponymous Gossip Girl, detracted a little from his character’s significance. Despite the fact that we had witnessed him respond to Gossip Girl blasts (when alone) and the fact that Gossip Girl was accountable for pulling down pretty much every single show on television, he continued to do so.
6. WORST: Soap Operas in the United States (2000-2001): 5.1 THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS (2000-2001): 5.1 The Young And The Restless has aired almost 11,000 episodes since its debut in the 1970s. Between 1988 and 2001, a series of child actors played Chance Chancellor, with a young Penn Badgely playing one of the final renditions of the character in the early 2000s. He’s still in the show, however, he’s currently played by a different actor.
7. BEST: Joe Is the Real Dan – You and Gossip Girl (2018-) Penn Badgely was hired in another ‘psycho stalker who appears to be a normal person’ part, this time through Netflix’s You, after a few years of not caring for Gossip Girl. It has some similarities to Gossip Girl, and there are some similarities between Badgely’s two characters, but You takes a more adult, far more homicidal approach that appeals to a wider audience than Gossip Girl. Furthermore, Badgley has clearly progressed as an actor.
8. WORST: Drive-Thru (2007): Penn Badgely features in the comedy-horror Drive-Thru alongside his Gossip Girl co-star Leighton Meester. The premise is ridiculous throughout (it’s about a clown dubbed ‘Horny,’ who is a burger chain’s mascot, who begins murdering adolescents with a butcher cleaver), and the picture has gotten nothing but negative reviews since its premiere. Van is the name of Badgley’s character.
9. Angela Goethals, Penn Badgley, and Gigi Rice star in Do Over (2002). Badgley starred in the comedy-drama Do-Over early in his career, before shows like Gossip Girl and You ever appeared on his radar (not the Adam Sandler disaster). He portrays Joel Larson, a 34-year-old man who is transported back to the 1980s in his 14-year-old body.
10. WORST: Parts Per Billion
Parts Per Billion, a love drama that tends to suck all of the excitement out of a potentially thrilling scenario, leaving us with a boring, failing attempt to bring the end of the world down to a human level, is Badgley’s worst film portrayal.