Penn Badgley Says It Was a ‘Struggle’ to ‘Differentiate’ Himself From His ‘Gossip Girl’ Character: ‘I Didn’t Have the Emotional Maturity’

Penn Badgley struggled to move on from his role as Dan Humphrey in *Gossip Girl* due to the emotional challenge of distinguishing himself and feeling undervalued by his peers. The show's constant nature made the transition difficult, compounded by "celebrity culture" that pressured him to prove himself through dating and media attention, ultimately revealing Dan as himself in the series' final episode.