For Chase Stokes, it's time, as he says, to hang up John B.'s bandana. Since 2020, the actor has portrayed the leader of the Pogues in Netflix's hit series Outer Banks. But, after five seasons, he's ready to say goodbye.
"I think one of the difficult things is, as we age in the real world, the characters don't, and I think at 33, playing a kid in his late teens, you're starting to butt heads with yourself in ways that you don't really realize," Chase tells HELLO! in an exclusive new interview.
"We've watched so many great shows have such long runs, and you kind of get tired and over the world of it, because it just gets messy and sloppy, and I think we're right on the cusp of that," he adds. "So, I'm really proud of the fact that we are able to tell the entirety of the story and end it on the right note versus going a little bit longer than we should have, and I think, for me, being able to hang up the bandana and let him finally take a nap is very rewarding, in the right ways."
© Jackson Lee Davis/NetflixA grounding experience
That said, he's proud to have portrayed John B. "I think one of the most important things for me always in playing John B. is accepting that flaws are part of the human experience," Chase shares. "I don't think often with sort of the hero's journey and having a character like John B., typically they're pretty straightforward and pretty consistent and I love the fact that I played a young kid who struggled with his sense of self, who struggled with understanding what love was like and struggled with understanding his purpose and his intention in the world, and all through that, he's growing and finding himself as the audience is growing up with him and finding theirselves."
"To create a character that has a sense of truth and honesty that young men can look at and say like, 'Oh, it's okay to slip and fall, or it's okay to say the wrong things, and it's okay to do that,’ and then also have the emotional maturity to apologize afterwards is, I think, a little bit rare in the world of entertainment, and so to do that for 50 episodes over the course of now almost seven years from when we started rolling cameras, that’s, I think, the thing I'll take away from it," he continues.
The experience of Outer Banks has admittedly also changed Chase, both personally and professionally, leaving him more grounded. "I've always been such a fan of the process of how film and television has been made, and I kind of came in bright eyed and bushy browed, and now I feel like I know a hell of a lot more about the process and the ins and outs of it. I think I'm a little more grounded in how I do my work and how I go about my job in a way that I think initially I was just happy to be here, and now I've really allowed myself to settle into being a storyteller full circle versus just a hopeful artist, who was praying and hoping that somebody would kind of pick him and choose him to do the job," he says. "So I'm really thankful for all of it, because it's just allowed me to find a little more grounding in my life."
© Courtesy of NetflixWhile he's ready to bid farewell to his character, the Outer Banks star will miss the camaraderie of the show's cast and the Charleston community that welcomed them. "We're very lucky that over the course of this entire thing, we've all stayed true to the fact that this show has been something that has changed all of our lives, and it's been sort of set in the backdrop of Charleston, and that community has just embraced us and loved on us and given us just as much as any other community around the world," he says. "I'm so thankful for that, and to have the connection and the consistency with my co-stars, who brought this to life."
The fifth and final season of Outer Banks premieres August 20 on Netflix, and according to Chase, it will deliver a satisfying ending for fans. "I think this show is always going to test your patience, and it's going to make your heart race, and you're going to get mad at characters, and then you're going to fall back in love with them for whatever stupid mistake they make, because they kind of right their wrongs, but in true Outer Banks fashion, I think anybody who's gone on the journey with us, they're going to be pretty satisfied with how it all ends," he teases, adding that Season 5 "checks all the boxes."
A new chapter
With Outer Banks now nearly behind him, Chase is excited for audiences to see him take on something different ahead. "I think sometimes you play a character for so long that people sort of lose sight of the difference, and that it is a character, and that it is my job to bring John B. to life," he says. "And so I think, for me, having this chapter end and diving into something very different is exciting. It's going to challenge me, and I think, as human beings, we need challenge in life, and we need to be tested. And so it'll be nice to have a chapter that allows me to dive into something different."
As for which side of "Chase Stokes" audiences will be most surprised to see next, the actor notes: "One of the things that a lot of people are a little bit alarmed by when they see me, as John B., as a kid, and he's a 19, 20-year-old, and I'm 33, so I've made it a huge priority to stay physically and as much as possible in the world of John B., because it's so hard to. I'm not naturally that size, and that's been a hard thing to kind of stay consistent with."
© Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix"The more and more people see me in person now, they're like, 'Oh my gosh, you're like a whole man, like wow, you don't want to look like a kid anymore,'" he continues. "So, I think I'm excited to start dabbling in the world of playing things that are a little more age-appropriate, being in my mid 30s now, which is crazy to say, so I think that's kind of the thing that I hope people take away from this next chapter."
"Slowing things down"
At the moment, Chase is enjoying a period he describes as his "time in between the sprints" of the industry, before he begins doing press for the final season of Outer Banks and heads into another project, AMC's new NASCAR series Thunder Road, at the end of the summer. "I always like to think of this industry as a marathon and not a sprint, but you have your moments where you have to sprint within the marathon, and so this is kind of my time in between the sprints to be able to say, 'Okay, like I can sit down and touch some grass, and do the things that I typically don't have the time to do," he says.
Chase's partnership with Captain Morgan aligns with where he is in life right now. The actor has teamed up with Captain Morgan Sliced to celebrate the launch of the brand’s new colada style drink variety pack, inspired by the "Colada When You Wanna" mindset, and he's encouraging fans 21 and older to pair any of their summer getaways with the tropical flavors. It's a partnership, that in a way, feels kind of Pogue-coded.
© Courtesy of Captain Morgan Sliced"Obviously, captain and pirates and Outer Banks and treasure, it all kind of like coexists in a really interesting and beautiful way," he says. "But I think the beauty of this partnership is not so much the correlation with Outer Banks, but more the correlation of where I'm at in life, and just kind of slowing things down, and really kind of leaning into being a little more laid back with my lifestyle, and not feeling like I have to, you know, be in a sprint all the time."
Looking ahead, Chase is "very open" to whatever project might come next. "There's no part of me that is not interested in and excited about the unknown," he admits, noting that he loves reading scripts and original ideas. He's also a "sucker" for the era of Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey rom-coms.
"I think, for me, I never look at things through the lens of this is exactly what I want to do, because if I would have [had] that mentality, I wouldn't have been open to the world of John B.," Chase says. "If I would have had that mentality, I wouldn't have allowed a lot of beautiful things to come into my life, so I just try to stay as open as possible to any and all."
