Why Chase Stokes Originally Turned Down His Role On Outer Banks

Publish date: 2024-05-10

In a 2020 interview with People, Chase Stokes opened up about why portraying John B. almost wasn't in the cards for him. "I thought it was a 'Goonies' reboot," he told the outlet. "The description said 'Four friends on a treasure hunt,' and I thought, 'I don't want to be a part of ruining 'The Goonies.'" However, per People, "Thanks to the urging of a casting director he'd worked with previously, Stokes decided to read through the pilot and realized he'd made a mistake." Needless to say, the rest is history ... or is it?

As it turns out, that wasn't the only bump in the road when it came to being cast. Rudy Pankow, who plays JJ, almost booked the role of John B. instead of Stokes. In a 2020 interview with Us Weekly, Pankow shared, "Originally, I was going out — the first chemistry read — I was John B., and everything was pretty much lined up until the last chemistry read when they were like, 'We're not sure yet.'

He continued, "The last audition I did in L.A. was John B., so I flew to Charleston thinking like, 'All right, they want me as John B.'" When Pankow arrived in Charleston, the show's creator told him to read for JJ once again. Pankow told Us Weekly that he read for the role, and it was clear that he was destined to play JJ. "That's when I met Chase [Stokes], and when I met Chase, the following chemistry read, it was crazy because I even saw it."

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