Gossip Girl’s Ed Westwick takes to the silver screen for the wacky British comedy Son of Rambow, which is in theaters now.

The flick set in 1980s England tells the tale of young boys who emulate Rambo.

“Sylvester Stallone saw it in January,” director/writer Garth Jennings says. “It’s great to have his blessing.”

Brit Ed, 20, chats about the film.

How did you relate to your character, who is mean to his brother?
I have an older brother who was mean to me. In later years, he realized I am his little brother and not his enemy so he became more sweet to me.

Whenever you’ve got an older brother and a younger brother, you’ve got the dynamic in the relationship where there’s going to be – not bully — but you treat your brother like – for [the lack of] a better word – s***.

Otherwise, I remember when I was a kid there were so many days when my mom was trying to start the car in the morning. The old ‘80s cars. Fantastic.

Ever see Rambo?
The Stallone one? I did. I don’t think anyone thought there’d be anything like this. When you think about Rambo, you think action-packed blood, guts and gore, and you think ‘how can you incorporate that into a story that’s about two small children in England in the 1980s about their friendship?’

Do you feel like you missed out on being a teen in the 1980s?
No, I don’t think so, because the ‘90s wasn’t so bad. We started having mobile phones and things like that, so we were all right. And Playstations. I don’t think we missed out.

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Best known as the philandering scion Chuck Bass on Gossip Girl, Ed Westwick is branching out in the charming artsy flick The Son of Rambow, where he plays, well, another callous, spoiled young man. We asked the smoldering 21-year-old Brit about what gets him off.

“This is my trademark: I rip my T-shirt. I’m into the whole showing-a-bit-of-chest-hair thing.”

“The whole buzz of the city turns me on. I’m a nighttime kind of guy, so I love going out. I always sense potential in the night—especially during the summer. When the sun’s out the girls put on nice dresses. It’s like London in the summertime: There’s all this energy that’s been laying under the earth for eight months of the year that’s just been bubbling and cooking until finally it comes out with the sun.”

“I’m in a band called Filthy Youth and we adopted that whole indie rock-&-roll image. I love black skinnies [Westwick for jeans]—their tight fit accentuates the body and makes them sexy on men and women—I hope I have a nice body.”

I’ve added the photo featued in the mini article as well as the two other photoshoot outtakes as well.

Gallery Link :
- Time Out New York Magazine - May 2008
- Ryan Pfluger Photoshoot Outtakes

Ed Westwick’s Chuck is the cause of much drama and trouble on Gossip Girl, but in real life, the actor says he’s been the victim more than he has an antagonist.

The 20-year-old actor grew up with two older brothers, who had their own way of bullying him — much like the dismissive elder sibling character he plays in his new flick Son of Rambow.

“My middle brother, Will, could be a demon,” Ed tells OK! “He pushed me off a stool and broke my arm. But he used to take me on his adventures in back of my parents’ house. There’s a small forest area where we used to build treehouses. One time, he pushed me out of the treehouse. I had a sore back for days.”

Such abuse is typical of brother relationships, Ed says, and it’s almost an unwritten rule that “you treat your brother like – for the lack of a better word – s***.”

But all those cuts, scrapes and bruises are things of the past now.

“In later years, we look back on it and laugh at it,” Ed says. “He was very impulsive when he was younger. He didn’t realize what he was doing until afterwards.”

These days, Will enjoys his baby brother’s success.

“It’s been a hell of a lot of fun,” Ed says.
By Valerie Nome

Ed Westwick may play a bad boy on Gossip Girl, but in our hearts, he’s oh so good!
1. When was your first kiss?
Um … 6? Well, what are we talking, we’re not talking proper kiss, right? Okay, 6 and … 10. No, is that bad? Should I say 11? I’m pure and innocent.

2. Who’s your celebrity crush?
Scarlett Johansson — she has been for a while, and always will be. I love her style.

3. What’s a girl fashion trend that confuses you?
None. As long as it’s done the right way, I think it’ll be attractive. It’s not about what it is, it’s about who’s wearing it. From my limited knowledge of women’s fashion, everything is pretty good.

4. What’s the girly movie you secretly love?
There was a really good one, but I can’t think of it.

5. What’s your TV guilty pleasure?
Watching Gossip Girl [laughs]. I can’t stand watching myself on TV. I think I share the opinion of my character that a lot of the audience shares: It’s a “love to hate” kind of thing. As the season’s progressed, I think everyone’s had sympathy for him. I think he’s an alluring character; he’s very interesting. He has these slices of his personality. He can be the devil, but at times he can be very charming. It can be a very dangerous concoction. I think he has a good heart, but his heart is often tempted by corrupt desires.

6. Who would play you in the movie version of your life?
Chase Crawford! No, no. I don’t know. Chase Crawford can play the villain. I’d like to see Daniel Day-Lewis spend three months getting into my character.

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Ed was featured on TVGuide Networks special dedicated to the deliciously sexy stars of television including Gossip Girl’s very own Leighton Meester, Ed Westwick and Chace Crawford.

I’ve added exclusive 101 captures and high quality video from the special, which are now viewable in the gallery and up for download.

It is the latest must-see teen drama that has taken America by storm, and it has now hit British TV screens.

Gossip Girl, created by the producers of The OC and based on the best-selling novels by Cecily von Ziegesar, is set in the debauched world of over-privileged teenagers from New York’s Upper East Side.

One of its central characters is Chuck Bass, the hard-drinking, playboy son of a billionaire, who has become a pinup for millions of teenage girls and the subject of feverish discussion on fansites.

Yet despite his convincing American accent, the actor who plays him in the ITV2 series is an unknown 20-yearold from Stevenage.

Unlike Chuck, who lives with his super-rich father in the New York Palace Hotel and attends a private school, Ed Westwick was brought up in a modest home in Hertfordshire and went to the local comprehensive.

He is the youngest of three brothers but, in contrast to Chuck, insists he was the “nice one” in his family.

“My brother Will was more of a devil,” he says. “Though I was easily led astray.”

To keep Ed out of mischief, his father Peter, a university lecturer, and mother Carole, an educational psychologist, sent him to Saturday morning drama school.

“It started when I was very young,” said Ed. “Mum’s not one of those stage mums. I think she sent me because I enjoyed pantomimes.”

Although he chose to study A-levels in business, law and communication, a two-week summer course at the National Youth Theatre gave him a new ambition.

And then the National Youth Theatre sent him to an audition for the film Breaking And Entering, starring Jude Law.

Despite having no professional experience, he landed the role of the teenage burglar Zoran, a Bosnian immigrant.

Ed says that working with the British director Anthony Minghella, on what turned out to be his final cinema release, was an immense privilege.

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6 questions for … a ‘Gossip’ boy

Ed Westwick
AGE: 20
JOB: Actor, “Gossip Girl” (Mondays at 8 on CW)
HOURS/WEEK: This week, 14-hour days, but it varies.
TIME ON THE JOB: Two years. “Gossip Girl” debuted last fall, but Westwick’s first acting gig was in the U.K. series “Doctors” in 2006.

British-born Ed Westwick is best known as prep school cad Chuck Bass on CW’s popular “Gossip Girl” series. When his character’s not smoking pot on a walk through Central Park, he’s seducing his best friend’s girlfriend or trying to score with all the prettiest freshmen on the upper East Side.

In real life, Westwick is just a well-meaning Brit on the left side of the Atlantic at the right time. Not only is “Gossip Girl” returning tomorrow night with its first new episode since the strike, but Westwick also stars in the new film “Son of Rambo,” out May 2.

What drew you to the role of Chuck?

It’s interesting to play edgy, dynamic characters. He kind of stood out from the rest of the group because initially he seems - I hate to use the word evil, because he’s not evil - but he has this very dark side. It’s the element of fantasy, for me to live out this arrogant, take-what-you-want kind of attitude. And I knew he was going to be involved in some great twists and great drama, which I was extremely exhilarated to be a part of.

So playing a smarmy character on TV doesn’t ruin your chances with the ladies in real life?

No, they’re charmed by my English accent.

From the looks of paparazzi photos of you and the cast on set, it seems you get a lot of fans crowding around when you’re on location.

It’s not hard to spot us. We take over about 15 blocks and block all the traffic off and we’re a huge nuisance to everyone. So we have people come up and ask for pictures and ask for autographs and watch all the magic happen, as they say.

What’s the weirdest thing a fan has ever given you?

This dude who is a big fan of the whole show, he gave us lunchboxes. He gave me my very own Chuck Bass/Ed Westwick lunchbox. I believe he made it himself. Well, I don’t know if he welded the metal and crafted it himself, but he put the covers on it. It was sweet.

What has been your favorite place to shoot around the city?

The Box, where we did the ‘Victor, Victrola’ episode. It’s a burlesque club. I didn’t know about it until we went there. That’s what I love about New York, these really kind of secret places where there’s just a door and you open it and suddenly you’re in this whole nighttime world. It’s very alluring.

What can we expect from these new episodes of “Gossip Girl”?

You haven’t seen anything yet.

Ed, Leighton, Chace and Jessica were on The Early Show this morning, you can watch the video from the show below. I also uploaded some candids from the show of Ed and the gang, photo credit goes to JustJared.com.

While the guys of “Gossip Girl” were over in Sweden they took the time to do some interviews, and now the they have just begun to surface. For those who aren’t aware, Frida is a teen magazine over in Sweden.

For anyone having trouble reading Swedish, be sure to check out the translated interview on our forum here.

Gallery Link :
- Frida Magazine Scan Thanks to salilu of Livejournal.com