Penn Badgley: From The Upper East Side to Wonderland

Penn Badgley heats up the pages in a spread for the February/March issue of Wonderland magazine, on newsstands in the UK tomorrow (February 5).

The 23-year-old actor spoke about fan hysteria and musicians he looks up to. Check it:

On Gossip Girl craziness: “I remember the first time we did a Gossip Girl fan event and about 600 people showed up. And they were all screaming. How do you not let something like that go to your head? The answer is that you just can’t. The first two seasons, I was definitely into it. I admit it. It was an interesting thing to be a part of. Not just seeing yourself on billboards, and getting invited to all these parties, and whatever, but the weirder aspects, too, they were interesting to explore.”

“But now I’m sort of over the whole thing. I don’t resent the attention, but I don’t necessarily invite it, either. I think it’s when people do that – when they become so obsessed with their public image that they don’t feel like themselves when they’re out of the spotlight – that’s when they crack-up.”

On musicians he admires: “D’Angelo is a god to me. I mean, people hear that from me, and they’re always like, ‘Oh, but he got so messed up.’ Who cares? Listen to Voodoo. That’s a record. You know, I listen to it sometimes, and I wonder, maybe you have to be messed up to make art like that. Maybe you’ve got to destroy yourself. Or have that thing that destroys you.”

For more from Penn, check out WonderlandMagazine.com!