Age: 39
male
Penn Dayton Badgley (born November 1, 1986) is an American actor. He is primarily known for his roles as Dan Humphrey in The CW teen drama series Gossip Girl (2007–2012) and Joe Goldberg in the Netflix thriller series You (2018–2025). For Gossip Girl, he received six Teen Choice Award nominations, and for You, he earned MTV Movie & TV Award and Saturn Award nominations. Badgley first became known for portraying Phillip Chancellor IV on the soap opera The Young and the Restless (2000–2001), which earned him a Young Artist Award nomination, and he followed this with roles in the comedy films John Tucker Must Die (2006) and Drive-Thru (2007). Badgley went on to appear in a number of films, such as the thriller The Stepfather (2009), the teen comedy-drama Easy A (2010), the financial thriller Margin Call (2011), the biographical film Greetings from Tim Buckley (2012) and the independent drama The Paper Store (2016). For Margin Call, he won an Independent Spirit Award.
You follows Joe Goldberg, a bookstore manager in New York who becomes dangerously obsessed with Beck, an aspiring writer he spots in his shop. Using social media stalking and manipulation, Joe insinuates himself into Beck's life, eliminating obstacles to their relationship with calculated violence. When Beck discovers his true nature, Joe frames her ex-boyfriend for her murder. The series expands as Joe relocates to Los Angeles, where he becomes fixated on Love Quinn, a chef who shares his dark proclivities. Together they navigate marriage, parenthood, and their mutual capacity for murder while maintaining a facade of normalcy. The narrative explores themes of toxic obsession, the illusion of privacy in the digital age, and the rationalization of violence by those who believe themselves justified. Each season peels back layers of Joe's psychology, revealing how childhood trauma and societal failures shaped his predatory behavior. The show examines how easily manipulation and violence can hide behind charm and vulnerability, and how social media enables stalking and deception. With unreliable narration and Joe's internal monologue justifying his crimes, the series questions viewer complicity in rooting for an unambiguous villain.
