Quotes

• (On her love life) I am so good at keeping it not complicated.

• (On what she did for Valentines Day.) I was in Toronto and spent the day there. I got a couples massage with my castmate Nicole Fiscella. We went back to L.A., a friend of mine came over and we watched a movie together.

• (on high school in general) I think the biggest thing to know is things aren’t as bad as they seem. Your boyfriend seems like the last one you’ll ever have and the love of your life, your friends and their drama seems so important – but it’s not.

• (on her headbands she wears as Blair) I love them! I love all of it! Whenever I’m getting ready to go on set and I’m in the full outfit, that’s when I feel like I’m truly the character. I love the school uniform, and of course headbands are always in style when it comes to the show.

• (on experimenting with her hair color) I dyed it every color. I dyed it fire engine red and that didn’t work out. It also had it black and red streaks.

• I went through so many phases in high school that I can’t say exactly what my style was. A combination of just rolling out ofbed and going to class and kind of defying my femininity by wearing sweatshirts with holes in them, never wearing heels or skirts. Also, all black almost all the time.

• (on the kind of trouble she got in as a teen) I’ve had a couple fender benders. And I’d always be out for one reason or another, sometimes working, sometimes ditching.

• I’ve been playing 16 or 17 [year-olds] for quite a few years – everyone does that. Hopefully I’ll be playing that age for a few years. This is way more fun than high school.

• I don’t feel guilty at all if I’m just lying around, one of my best guilty pleasures is doing absolutely nothing.

• People say blondes have more fun. I really don’t think it’s about your hair, it’s about how you feel on the inside. I say it’s the person who has the fun!
Leighton (on relationships): I am so good at keeping it not complicated.

• (About her character on “Gossip Girl”, Blair) She’s really dramatic and everybody thought she was a big bitch – and she is – and that’s really fun to play up. But she’s also helped me learn a lot about myself, because she can be really sensitive andinsecure and vulnerable. That makes it such a wonderful and challenging role.

• Writing poetry is one of my favorite things to do and I always find time for it. There are things that I write about most that are just kind of like everyday thoughts that I have, things that come into my mind.

• Leighton (on Blair): I know she’s the bitchy one. But she’s a good girl. The funny thing is she’s not like a normal character on one of these types of shows. Usually the bad girl is the bitch. It’s interesting and she’s actually a real girl. Of course she does and says the most outrageous things that you would never even think to do in real life.

• The more and more I go on I can’t tell if I’m becoming more like Blair or if Blair’s becoming more like me. I feel like they’re writing for us. I mean I feel like I’ve had to put myself into her so that I like her. I couldn’t play a character I didn’t like or sympathize with.

• My nickname use to be Happy Feet. If I’m standing there and music is playing on set, I’ll be doing this. People used to be like, ‘Why are you Happy Feet? You need to stop that now.’

• Leighton (on her upcoming CD): I write the lyrics and I collaborate with my friend and producer… Shahine Ezell.

• Leighton (on the type of songs on her upcoming CD): [On] some of them I just talk, I do a little – not rapping – but talking, sort of spoken word. It’s a little Fergie, a little like Gwen Stefani and M.I.A.

• Leighton (on spiteful gossip): I’ve learned to let things roll off my back. If people say negative things, I could care less, but I let it give me a boost of confidence if they’re saying nice things.

• Leighton (on who she thinks Gossip Girl is): I have my suspicions…If I had to guess, I was thinking it could be Chuck. He seems just evil enough to say those things.

• Leighton (on playing Blair): I feel like I’m becoming more like her and she’s becoming more like me. She’s young and vulnerable, but also smart and feisty. She’s pretty funny and very strong-willed. Then there are other things I don’t relate to and I feel like she’ll grow out of, like her insecurities and self-doubt.

• Leighton (on gossip): I don’t (deal with gossip). This comes from maturing and growing up, but I’ve learned to let things roll off my back. If people say negative things, I could care less. But I let it give me a boost of confidence if they’re saying nice things. If the press says anything, I see it as a plus because at least people are paying attention and watching the show.

• Leighton (on the acting business): [It’s] fierce and discouraging. But I think you can grow out of that, especially if you realize the only way you find success is: Figure out what works for you and what doesn’t.

• When you move from Florida to New York, you’re in for a big shock.

• Leighton (about her Gossip Girl character, Blair): She’s not the girl next door and she’s not the run-of-the-mill bitch either.

• I’m really close to Chace. We’re really good friends. [Along with] Nicole [Fiscella], who plays Isabel on the show. We’re all just really happy people. We have the same views on life.

• There’s butterflies, definitely, but it’s a good kind of nervous energy, because everybody’s really starting to get to know each other, and starting something new that we really hope works out.

• The way Blair and I are NOT alike when it comes to insecurities is: SHE pays SO much attention to hers!

• [Competition] can be so fierce and discouraging. But I think you can grow out of that, especially if you realize the only way you find success is: Figure out what works for you and what doesn’t.

• The only way to play Blair, or any character, and make her human, is to find what she is inside me, and I know I have my insecurities, too.

• Leighton (on Blair): Blair’s shortcomings are because of her insecurities. She feels all this pressure to be perfect: to be the most beautiful, the most popular, the most loved.

• Leighton (on Blair): I can definitely relate to her.

• Leighton (on Gossip Girl): I think the show will be relatable to lots of girls and even grown women, and a guilty pleasure for guys!

• Leighton (on waiting in her trailer to shoot): Like they say: The acting is for free. I get paid to wait.

• Leighton (on saying mean things when she’s portraying Blair): I actually really like it, I shouldn’t enjoy it so much.

• I could almost compare them [spiders] to a weird looking mouse.

• Leighton (about her younger brother having a brain tumor): When something like that happens, it’s meant to show you that something so special, so important can be taken from you so easily.

• They [tarantulas] don’t understand commands. So, it’s not like when you say ‘Cut’ that they just stop moving and crawling all over you.

• Leighton (about her younger brother having a brain tumor): Now he’s perfectly healthy and has been ever since.

• They [Chilean Rose Hairs spiders] walk slowly and are not imposing creatures at all.

• Leighton (about her younger brother having a brain tumor): My mom remained strong enough to get him through that time and all I could do is to say, ‘Mommy, I love you, please don’t be sad.’

• I had this idea that the handler was taking care of the snake, he owns it and knows how to handle it. But when I started putting him [snake] on, the handler was telling me to be careful, not to make him mad!

• Leighton (about her younger brother having a brain tumor): I knew what was going on, but I didn’t totally understand. A doctor at Miami Children’s hospital operated and took out the tumor.

• Working with the snakes was a little bit more nerve racking.

• They had spiderwranglers, which made me a little bit more at ease, but the truth is that you can’t tame spiders.

• There are a lot of things to think about, but my mom just dove right in.

• My mother has been my manager ever since [moving to New York].

• It’s mind boggling to me to look back and think that I actually let anybody do that [wear a space suit covered with tarantulas] to me.

• Even the overhead like rent or parking your car, living in the city or out of city and paying less and having a commute.

• My mother always believed in me and tried to help me pursue my dreams.

• Up until that point I was a regular Florida kid.

• She [her mother] has a lot of faith in me.

• Leighton (about working with Frank Perreti): It was cool having him around. He had a good amount of say about how things were going on the set.

• Leighton (about her younger brother having a brain tumor): He doesn’t remember, but sometimes, he said, You know, I am meant to do something special. I was meant to live.