“Outer Banks” fans have watched John B.
’s intense journey unfold each season.
After being unemployed for months, Stokes read a script that would change his life.
Indeed, his life has never been the same since picking up that script.
Yet, there’s still a lot that people don’t know about this breakout star.
At the time, ice hockey was on his mind, and he was serious about it, too.
However, after getting injured on the rink, Stokes had second thoughts about pursuing it any further.
“That’s ‘The Goonies.’
That’s for sure ‘The Goonies,'” he said onJimmy Kimmel Live.
He had no interest in being a part of remaking something that was already considered a classic.
“Like, I don’t want to destroy that,” he said.
“So I passed on it.”
“I’ve made a giant mistake.
This is not ‘The Goonies,'” he said.
“Three days later I got the job,” Stokes toldPeople.
Luckily, this was something Chase Stokes was accustomed to already.
“I’m a water child.
I grew up all along the eastern shore,” he toldRefinery29.
And, just like John B., Stokes spent a majority of his childhood surfing.
In addition to riding waves on a surfboard, Stokes also knows how to drive a boat over them.
“They were like ‘Great, that makes everything a lot easier.'”
Even so, there was just one thing that was challenging about acting out on the water.
Hey, a weekend is still a lot more time than John B. had!
Yet, it’s not necessarily his stage name, per say.
His birth name is “James Alexander Chase Stokes,” he revealed toWired.
“If you say James in my general direction, I will not answer,” hesaid.
Stokes’ name, in fact, has been difficult to explain during the course of his life.
While he was still a student, his entire name was always written in roll call.
When he tried to correct his teachers, they never took him seriously.
He was always known as the class clown, so they just assumed he was causing trouble.
“A dove is always signifying that someone is watching over you,” Stokes explained toWired.
Stokes’ second tattoo is a small smiley face on the top of his wrist.
“And I bombed the audition,” he admitted onJimmy Kimmel Live.
The audition had been planned amidst some family drama, and his day progressively just got worse.
“I felt like I completely killed my career,” hesaidto Jimmy Kimmel.
Looking back, not landing the role of a Kook really was meant to be.
“Jennifer Aniston,” he revealed toGlamour.
And he’s a huge fan of hers to this day.
In fact, he still remembers the very moment that she joined Instagram in 2019.
“I actually cried,” he admitted.
“Like, I had tears coming out of my eyes.”
Throughout the 3-minute video, Stokes has his real-life relationship on full display as he dances alongside Cline.
It turns out, music runs in his family.
During an interview withMTV News, Stokes revealed that his father is a DJ.
“I never got caught.”
The crew flew him straight to Charleston, South Carolina, to meet everyone on the team.
“So that was kind of like the bottom of the well for me.”
Though it was a rough road, Stokes attributes his true success to coming from rock bottom.
In addition to dealing with his parents' divorce, he experienced bullying in high school.
Graduating from high school didn’t help, either.
Even as an adult, Stokes found himself dealing with extreme anxiety.
“Whether it was uncertainty or just sheer anxiety.
I mean, I would have full, crippling anxiety attacks,” heexplained.
Stokes has partnered with an organization calledBring Change To Mindwhich helps open up discussions regarding mental health.
In fact, he landed the role of Reed in the series' first season.
Episode 6 is where you’ll see Stokes appear.
Appearing on Netflix has certainly turned Stokes' life completelyupside down.
“My teenage self and John B would probably be getting into very similar circumstances,” he said.
Well, maybe not as extreme as some of the things that John B. and his friends have done.
“I’ve watched it a thousand times over again,” he said onThe Drew Barrymore Show.
“I see a lot of Junie in myself,” he admitted.
“And then who doesn’t love Antonio Banderas?”
“I mean, the dude’s a legend.”
While this certainly helped build their bond on-screen, their friendship quickly began to exist off-screen, too.
Of course, they would all go head to the beach together, too.
“It was kind of like a Y.M.C.A.
Needless to say, shooting the popular series has been a surreal experience for Stokes.
“It’s gone from complete strangers to family,” Stokes toldAccess(formerly Access Hollywood).
“I think it’s been part of the success of the show.”
