Ed Westwick is following up his six-season run playing scheming lothario Chuck Bass on The CW’s “Gossip Girl” with a turn as a serial killer prowling LA’s Sunset Strip in 1982.
But that’s not to say the 28-year-old Brit has a thing for playing the bad guy.
“These are two different kettles of fish, to be honest,” Westwick tells The Post. “I wouldn’t have ever said Chuck was a villain. It’s not that I’m drawn to that, it’s just I’m lucky enough to come across these really fantastic, juicy parts.”
In “Wicked City” (premiering Tuesday at 10 p.m. on ABC), Westwick’s Kent Grainger is a man who, haunted by a tragic childhood, prowls the Strip pretending to be a Hollywood VIP in order to pick up hapless young women — whom he then decapitates, dressing up their heads to look like Marilyn Monroe.
“Seeing his mother completely destroyed by the idea of fame and the idea of Hollywood … that becomes perverted in his mind and manifests its way … through taking lives,” he says. “It’s also a preservation of her and her memory.”
While Kent’s mommy issues are typical serial-killer back-story fodder, he’s hardly a one-note monster. For starters, he babysits the young girl who lives next door. And he develops a fascination with a woman named Betty Beaumontaine (Erika Christensen), a nurse and single mother of two who displays her own disturbing tendencies.
“He does something that is very uncharacteristic of these types of people — he appears to fall in love,” Westwick says. “[Betty] is curious about control and pain and she’s a bit of a sadist. And Kent, being the guy who senses and picks up on everything, sees her vulnerability … someone who can be manipulated.”
His ultimate seduction will be pulling Betty into joining his murderous rampage. All the while, two detectives are on his trail — veteran homicide cop Jack Roth (Jeremy Sisto) and his weasely new partner Paco Contreras (Gabriel Luna). Kent taunts them by calling in a radio song dedication before killing his victims.
“It’s cat-and-mouse,” Westwick says. “[The cops and Kent] are drawn to one another for reasons that will be revealed.”
And while “Gossip Girls” fans may be disappointed to see Westwick ditch Chuck Bass’ signature ascots and velvet blazers, “Wicked City’s ’80s-era setting does produce plenty of dapper wardrobe choices for Kent.
“It’s an era where there were a lot of striking pieces,” Westwick he says. “My character is a bit of a chameleon. He changes his look — not just his clothes but his hair. He transforms throughout the season.”
Ed Westwick is following up his six-season run playing scheming lothario Chuck Bass on The CW’s “Gossip Girl” with a turn as a serial killer prowling LA’s Sunset Strip in 1982.
But that’s not to say the 28-year-old Brit has a thing for playing the bad guy.
“These are two different kettles of fish, to be honest,” Westwick tells The Post. “I wouldn’t have ever said Chuck was a villain. It’s not that I’m drawn to that, it’s just I’m lucky enough to come across these really fantastic, juicy parts.”
In “Wicked City” (premiering Tuesday at 10 p.m. on ABC), Westwick’s Kent Grainger is a man who, haunted by a tragic childhood, prowls the Strip pretending to be a Hollywood VIP in order to pick up hapless young women — whom he then decapitates, dressing up their heads to look like Marilyn Monroe.
“Seeing his mother completely destroyed by the idea of fame and the idea of Hollywood … that becomes perverted in his mind and manifests its way … through taking lives,” he says. “It’s also a preservation of her and her memory.”
While Kent’s mommy issues are typical serial-killer back-story fodder, he’s hardly a one-note monster. For starters, he babysits the young girl who lives next door. And he develops a fascination with a woman named Betty Beaumontaine (Erika Christensen), a nurse and single mother of two who displays her own disturbing tendencies.
“He does something that is very uncharacteristic of these types of people — he appears to fall in love,” Westwick says. “[Betty] is curious about control and pain and she’s a bit of a sadist. And Kent, being the guy who senses and picks up on everything, sees her vulnerability … someone who can be manipulated.”
His ultimate seduction will be pulling Betty into joining his murderous rampage. All the while, two detectives are on his trail — veteran homicide cop Jack Roth (Jeremy Sisto) and his weasely new partner Paco Contreras (Gabriel Luna). Kent taunts them by calling in a radio song dedication before killing his victims.
“It’s cat-and-mouse,” Westwick says. “[The cops and Kent] are drawn to one another for reasons that will be revealed.”
And while “Gossip Girls” fans may be disappointed to see Westwick ditch Chuck Bass’ signature ascots and velvet blazers, “Wicked City’s ’80s-era setting does produce plenty of dapper wardrobe choices for Kent.
“It’s an era where there were a lot of striking pieces,” Westwick he says. “My character is a bit of a chameleon. He changes his look — not just his clothes but his hair. He transforms throughout the season.”