Chase Stokes in Real Life (2024)

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The 'Outer Banks' star may be on the brink of mega-stardom, but he’s not thinking about all that. Instead, he’s focusing on honesty, authenticity, and the “next right thing.”

By

Tessa Petak

Chase Stokes in Real Life (1)

Tessa Petak

Tessa Petak is a Brooklyn-based writer who helps to cultivate InStyle's illustrious news coverage across a wide range of topics including celebrity, fashion, and entertainment. She also produces and composes celebrity profiles and features for the site and InStyle's digital issues.

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Published on October 15, 2024 @ 07:45AM

Chase Stokes is everywhere right now—literally. He lives in Charleston, South Carolina, but he’s in Los Angeles at the moment. When he’s not in either of those places, he’s likely traveling across the country to support his girlfriend, singer Kelsea Ballerini, at her concerts or in New York City for work. Recently, he’s been on red carpets for his latest movie, Uglies, and promoting season four of his hit Netflix show, Outer Banks. Stokes is a mental health advocate and an ambassador for Glenn Close’s organization, Bring Change to Mind, for which he participates in panels and Zoom calls with young people. He’s booked ad campaigns for Armani Beauty and Omega watches. Once, I walked past a giant billboard in Manhattan’s Soho of Stokes modeling American Eagle.

Currently, though, he’s in the front seat of a car, still buckled. His Zoom profile name is Abraham Lincoln 3—an example of the sense of humor that’s present in his Outer Banks-coded “tomfoolery” photo dumps on Instagram. He must be heading to one of his many events, photo shoots, or premieres, I think to myself.

I’m wrong. He’s sitting in the parking lot of a veterinarian's office waiting for one of the dogs he and Ballerini share, Dibs. The rescue pup is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatment. “He's been a trooper,” Stokes says. “We're surviving, I don't know about thriving.” The actor just dropped Ballerini off at her own work function. And now he’s doing an interview with me. The stress of everything in his life, however, doesn’t infiltrate our conversation. Stokes is a live-in-the-moment type of guy. His motto? “Do the next right thing.”

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“Life is so crazy,” he tells me. “All I can do right now is control the next right thing.”

It’s a philosophy that makes sense for someone catapulted to stardom suddenly. Before Outer Banks debuted in April 2020, the actor had been cast in a couple of smaller films, including Hallmark’s The Beach House (starring Andie MacDowell, Minka Kelly, and Chad Michael Murray) and independent dramedy Between Waves. He also appeared in an episode of Stranger Things, starred as Adam in four episodes of Prime Video’s Tell Me Your Secrets, and worked alongside Taylor Russell in Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets. But as the Goonies-meets-Gossip-Girl-meets-Dawson’s-Creek teen drama became a TV staple for viewers during the pandemic (much like Tiger King and Love Is Blind), Stokes’s floppy curls, chiseled jawline, and surfer aesthetic worked their way into the homes and hearts of many. Stokes’s character, John B., and his band of trouble-making “pogues” traversed the fictional island of Kildare in search of treasure and offered audiences an escape during a time when we were stuck inside.

“[Outer Banks] is very raw, gritty, and honest, and I think that honesty, in any capacity, is a really magical thing,” Stokes says. “As an artist, my goal has always been telling authentic, truthful, transparent stories.”

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Stokes and his castmates’ lives changed practically overnight. The social media followers, magazine covers, tabloid headlines, and brand deals came pouring in, though Stokes admits it took some time to feel the effects of his newfound fame. After all, nobody was going outside, let alone approaching strangers on the street in the covid era.

“We didn't really know where [the show] was going to go or what the world was going to take it in as,” Stokes tells me, adding that he and his co-stars—including Rudy Pankow, Madison Bailey, Jonathan Daviss, Carlacia Grant, Drew Starkey, Austin North, and real-life ex-girlfriend Madelyn Cline—became very close during the early days of their success. Working on a Netflix show comes with a level of pressure and fear that Stokes said they all shared. (“We don't want to be that one show that doesn't work on Netflix.”) That off-screen bond bled into the on-screen dynamics, making the characters’ relationships feel authentic. “I think that was the secret recipe, truthfully,” Stokes says. “We really did just have this element of building something very fucking special early on [with] these really magical friendships.”

Those “ride-or-die friendships,” as he calls them, are a cornerstone of the show and part of the reason Stokes signed on in the first place. That, and the show’s depiction of first love. “I think being young and in love is also one of the most magical building blocks of the human experience,” the 32-year-old says. “Whether it's getting your heart broken or seeing it all the way through, those are things that build character and help us grow as individuals.”

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Of course, in the show, John B. falls in love with Sarah Cameron, played by Cline. Stokes has nothing but respect for the actress, and the two have made a commitment to keep things professional on set. While playing an on-screen couple with an ex has its obvious complications, Stokes says that the two of them would “never run away from the story of John B. and Sarah."

“I think when you have so many incredible people around both of us and you have such a shared love for something, I can't imagine a world where we would disassociate,” he says. “Maddie and I have really always made it a point that this show and these characters are components of our life that changed everything for us. …If we were not to honor that, we would be dishonoring ourselves and a lot of people who have invested into this show and these characters.”

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“Although things change and life takes different shapes and forms,” he continues, “one thing that's always stood true for her and I is that the show is our first love.”

Stokes says fans can expect season four, which premiered on the streaming platform on October 10 (with part two arriving November 7), to return to what turned the show into a phenomenon back in 2020. “[This season] is lovable, exciting, entertaining, heartbreaking at times, but it's what has made the show what it is at its core.” The cast and crew spent a large part of the previous two seasons in Barbados, rather than the show’s primary filming location of Charleston; this season they go back to the Low Country. “I think the heart of the show will always be home,” Stokes says. “There's something magical that happens when we are in Charleston and we get back to our roots.”

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While Charleston and Outer Banks have become home to Stokes, the actor is taking some time away from the nest with a number of other projects. Last month, Stokes starred alongside Joey King in Netflix’s Uglies, based on the 2005 book of the same name by Scott Westerfeld. In the dystopian Y.A. film, Stokes and King play best friends Peris and Tally, respectively, who live in a society where, at 16 years old, everyone receives the same cosmetic procedure to make them beautiful. When Tally uncovers dark truths about the government and the surgery, she must choose to become a “pretty” or forge her own path. “I just think it’s such a badass young woman’s hero journey,” Stokes says.

Next year, the actor will star alongside Lana Condor (of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before fame) in the military thriller Valiant One, slated to premiere on January 24. He also has an upcoming romance drama titled Marked Men from the director of The Notebook, Nick Cassavetes. He was honored to work with the legendary director, but more than that, it was the film’s message that spoke to him. “Love is not supposed to be easy, and picking a person that you choose to be with, it's a daily battle,” Stokes says.

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The person Stokes has picked to be with is Ballerini. The two started dating in 2023, and their relationship since has been filled with red carpet appearances, cute cowboy-hat-clad couple photos, and a constant singing of each other’s praises.

Instagram photo dumps starring the power couple are plentiful on both of their social media accounts, and Stokes explains that, although they naturally keep some things to themselves, it wouldn’t be authentic for them to hide their love. “Look, it's a delicate dance for everybody, balancing what's public and private. For me, it can be a bizarre thing to watch people hide their relationships,” he says. “Because it's natural, you get so excited to talk about your person who wins something, you want to celebrate all the moments within life. So I think for us, it was kind of a no-brainer to be a little open. We just really value real life. So I think being in a relationship, but hiding it from the world, would feel very false to both of us.”

He jokes that being with the country singer has also brought out the “country boy” in him. “I've gotten a lot of texts from friends from back home when Kels and I started dating,” he admits. “They're like, ‘Ah, there he is: Hollywood went Hollywood, and now he's getting back to his roots.’”

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After a whirlwind couple of years, Stokes is getting back to the things that matter most to him. He’s committed to finding work-life balance. “I think I was definitely a workaholic for a period of time, and I masked a lot of wanting to accept my new normal after Outer Banks came out by just drowning myself in work. But now I value real life so much.”

He left Los Angeles and moved to Charleston to be closer to his family. (His sister lives in Charleston, and his parents are in Florida.) He takes time away from work to enjoy the simple pleasures (like his morning routine, which consists of grabbing a cup of coffee, writing his daily intentions, and taking his dogs for a walk). It all comes back to his mantra of only worrying about “the next right thing.”

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And right now, that means picking up his pup from the vet—and, of course, giving him lots of cuddles and belly rubs following his treatment—and calling his mom to catch up. “Those are the only things right now that I'm focused on,” he says. “I think for me it just really is [about] tapping into real life.” The same mentality applies to his career: He’s only looking forward. He doesn't rest on his laurels or get caught up in pinch-me moments.

“I'm not a person who allows myself to get comfortable, whether it be in growth with my work, in growth with myself as an individual, as a partner, as a brother, as a son,” he says. “I think stagnancy breeds the death of art, truthfully. If you're not living, you're not giving yourself an opportunity to create.”

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What’s the last thing you do before you fall asleep?

Drink a glass of water. Actually that's a lie. I set the sleep timer on my TV so that it turns off because I always fall asleep.

Describe a memorable dream.

I just had a dream recently that I was on a train with Robert De Niro, one of those really cool trains that go through the Italian countryside. It was weirdly vivid. I was sitting across from De Niro and we didn't say a word, we were just sitting there.

First album you ever owned?

Songs About Jane, Maroon 5

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If you were required to spend $1,000 today, what would you buy and why?

Truthfully, it would be medical bills for the dogs. That’s literally what I’m about to go do anyways. I am required to spend it, so…

Name one place you’ve never been but have always wanted to go.

Greece.

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Who is your mentor?

Somebody that I’ve gotten to be quite close with and who is a lovely actress who I absolutely adore is Glenn Close. She is an icon, and she’s fucking hilarious. We work together on a charity called Bring Change to Mind, which is all of the mental health work that I do—it's really about continuing to expand and empower the younger generation in learning about mental health.

Favorite tattoo and why?

It’s a tie. One is, I have like the quintessential Mom heart on my arm, and that is because I am a mother’s boy through and through. I love that one. And then the other one, I have a tattoo on my right hand and it says, “Dear me.” In regards to mental health and work in therapy, one of the most profound exercises I have ever done is called “Dear me.” It's about how you would talk to your 8-year-old self if they were in a state of either pain or emotional duress. We’re sometimes incredibly hard on ourselves as adults, and if we can learn to look at ourselves through the lens of 8-year-old us, we would probably be a lot better off. I got it tattooed directly on my hand because I think it's just a beautiful reminder to not be mean to myself.

Last show you binge watched?

I just finished Presumed Innocence with Jake Gyllenhaal and holy shit was that not out of this fucking world good. I think Ruth [Negga] is such a badass in the last scene of the last episode. I was like on the edge of my seat freaking out. And then my co-star Joey King was talking about Top Chef the other day, so I’ve been secretly—not even secretly—watching Top Chef and Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

Most recent photo on your phone? Describe it.

Most recent photo on my phone is actually a map of the timing that it was going to take me ‘cause I just dropped Kels off to do an interview. I thought that the GPS on my phone wasn't working, so I was like, I'm going to screenshot it and use it like it’s Mapquest in 2006.

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Comfort meal?

Definitely boneless buffalo wings.

Boneless? That’s a hot take, but I agree.

I know, I do love bone-in, and I love a flat. But, lately it's been ease of accessibility, so boneless has been winning.

What’s your favorite sauce and do you like them spicy?

I do. I'm a classic buffalo sauce guy.

Cardio or weight-lifting?

Weightlifting, I hate cardio so much. So, so much.

Credits

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