Chase Stokes counts himself lucky for landing the leading role of the hot-headed and adventurous John B. on Netflix's coming-of-age treasure hunter series, Outer Banks.
He almost turned the role down because he says it seemed like a remake of the Goonies and he didn't want to tarnish its legacy. But with an apartment eviction notice and a car in need of repairs, Stokes decided to audition.
Now, three seasons later, Stokes has carved out his place as a hunky, blonde heartthrob - both with his striking eyes and passionate performance in Outer Banks.
The series follows a group of teenagers, led by none other than John B., who live on the "wrong" side of an island off the coast of North Carolina. Known as the Pogues, they clash with their counterparts: the rich, seasonal island residents, the Kooks.
But the journey kicks off when John B.'s father disappears at sea looking for a mysterious, missing treasure, and John B. decides to take up his mantle. He enlists his group of lifelong friends to track down the treasure, all while facing shady cops, plenty of gun fights, kidnappings and webs of lies.
The tropical adventure drama's third season premiered on Netflix in February, and the show has already been renewed for a fourth season. Here's everything we know about the show's leading man and his latest romantic interest:
Grinding for his big break
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Stokes grew up in Florida, only around 30 minutes from Cocoa Beach, so he's used to donning flip-flops and smelling like sunscreen, just like John B. He told the New York Times in February that he got his boater's license before he started driving a car.
Though Stokes didn't always know he had a passion for acting. He played competitive hockey almost religiously until he was 17, when an injury forced him to stop. Luckily, at the time, Stokes was taking a television production class in high school and says he fell in love with the process of creating entertainment.
After auditioning for a few local commercials, Stokes realized he wanted to make a career out of acting and dove all in. He started by creating a Gmail account and emailed every talent agency he could find with a headshot, pretending to be his own manager.
"No one responded, except for one guy," Stokes told Wonderland Magazine. "He gave me an opportunity, and I sent the craziest self-tape I have ever sent."
Six months later, Stokes was connected with an agent who told him he needed to move to Los Angeles. But he hadn't gotten his big break yet. Stokes was asked to audition for the lead role of Steve Harrington in Stranger Things, but he bombed it.
"I got to the studio lot, went in to do that audition and froze," he said to Wonderland Magazine. "I didn't say a single line. They didn't let me try again, so I had to drive the eight hours back to Florida afterward, just beating myself up."
Though he didn't let that slow him down. Broke and down on his luck but determined, he memorized 14 pages of dialogue from the Outer Banks script while on a red-eye flight to South Carolina for the audition. The final audition even ended up being in front of one of the same executives who watched him bomb the Stranger Things audition a few years before.
Luckily, he nailed the audition and found out he got the job that night. Stokes didn't even have time or money to go back to LA for some clothes.
"They sent me to the wardrobe department and gave me some clothes that ended up being John B.'s jeans that I still wear consistently," he told Wonderland Magazine. "Then the journey began."
Outer Banks premiered its first season in 2020, during the height of the pandemic and lockdowns. And this was Stokes' breakout role, which finally put him on the map. He said the unique year elicited passionate feelings from fans.
"I've had people who've fainted in front of me, and we've had people who have cried," Stokes said to the New York Times. "I've had people telling me that I saved their lives, which is always interesting, to know the show has helped people through a troubling time in human history. So the range of emotions is super vast, but all equally heartwarming."
Who is Chase Stokes' latest squeeze?
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While Stokes' acting career has popped off in the last several years, so has his dating life.
He mixed business and pleasure by dating his Outer Banks co-star Madelyn Cline for around a year and a half. But the pair confirmed their break up in November 2021, despite preparing to shoot season three together as characters very much in love.
"We made a promise to each other before we even started dating that the work was always going to come first," Stokes said to Entertainment Weekly. "And that no matter what happens in our personal lives, and the ways that life sometimes takes you in different directions, that we're always going to honor the work. That stayed 100 percent truthful this season."
Both Stokes and Cline have moved on, and Stokes confirmed a new relationship early this year.
The rumors first started that Stokes was dating country singer Kelsea Ballerini when he tagged her in a photo of them snuggled up together at the college football national championship game in January. He told US Weekly that same month they weren't officially dating, rather calling her a "sweet girl" and saying they were flirting.
In late January, the pair were spotted in Nashville holding hands and sharing an appetizer and were seen hugging goodbye as they parted ways at the LAX airport.
The duo seemed to all but confirm the relationship in February. Ballerini shared a TikTok from her bed where you could see a mysterious arm in the frame, but fans quickly realized it was Stokes from his tattoos. Then, Stokes told Entertainment Tonight during the LA premiere of Outer Banks that he was so excited for Ballerini and her career as she had just been confirmed as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live.
And the intrigue continued when Ballerini told the podcast Call Her Daddy that she wasn't single anymore. She admitted she slid into Stokes' direct messages after her manager suggested she reach out. Ballerini had recently started to date again after divorcing her husband, Morgan Evans, of five years last August.
Finally, the couple officially confirmed once and for all they were dating when Chase posted a cute, blurry photo to his Instagram story of Ballerini kissing him on the cheek.
Since, they've been seen together holding hands, backstage at her SNL performance together, searching for seashells on the beach and have told several publications they're having a great time with each other.
And he must be happy because Stokes even hit the road with Ballerini. He's been spotted backstage and in the crowds at several of her concerts. To top it off, Ballerini even changed the lyrics to one of her songs to include a mention of Stokes' Outer Banks character.
READ MORE: 'Outer Banks' Star Chase Stokes on Rumored Girlfriend Kelsea Ballerini: 'I Adore Her'
