Relax John B, you’re going to be a star! Before Chase Stokes nabbed a starring role in the hit Netflix series Outer Banks, the actor had a pretty rough rise to fame.
Multiple times since stepping foot into the spotlight, the actor publicly recalled taking “a red eye flight on Easter Sunday with $100 dollars in my bank account” and never looking back.
“I had no idea five-and-a-half months later I’d be wrapping up on a project that I couldn’t have dreamt up to be any better,” Chase wrote via Instagram in October 2019, months before becoming a household name. “All I gotta say kids is, believe in yourself, and go f–kin’ do what you love. Hopefully, you guys will enjoy this journey with us. I think it’s going to be pretty rad. Alright. John B OUT. Oh, also … Netflix? Thanks for employin ya boi. I appreciate dat.”
The Netflix star grew up in Florida, “between Coco Beach and downtown Orlando,” he told NYLON in May 2020. Over the years, he nabbed supporting roles in Stranger Things and Daytime Divas before the opportunity for Outer Banks came along.
“The first time I got the audition it was the most bland email I’ve ever got. It was four friends on a treasure hunt, Netflix, and the character’s name was John B,” Chase recalled while chatting with the “Chicks in the Office” podcast in April 2020, noting that he passed on the role. After auditioning for the role of Topper (who is now played by Austin North), he eventually read for John B and was cast.
“I went to the airport, got on the plane … and I was reading the entire night all the way through,” he said on the podcast. “I got to the airport, my credit card payment went through on my debit card and overdrafted my account. So, I couldn’t even get an Uber from the airport to go to the production office.”
He remembered calling his mom and asking to borrow $100 to get to the production office. Once he was there, Chase still didn’t think he was going to get the role. “I had nothing at this point,” he explained, adding that costar Rudy Pankow got him an Uber, and, together, they found out they booked the roles.
Chase has since become a major success story, booking more roles, winning an MTV Movie and TV Award and, of course, reprising his role as John B. Scroll through our gallery to read all of Chase’s quotes about his rise to fame.