Penn Badgley on spending his formative years as 'Joe' from 'You': I think I will miss him

Badgley who has been keeping the audience hooked as the serial murderer Joe Goldberg since 2018 opened up about the character which became a part of his formative years during a conversation with People.

The actor said "I think I will miss him (his character Jeo) a little bit. He's been a profound experience for me. He's not a real person. So what have I been doing? I've been engaging in this long [journey] my entire 30s. I was 30 when I took the role. I'm going to be 39 this year. Even though the show, the way it came out, it's actually been closer to seven years. For me, it's like my 30s."

"I became a father while I was on this show. I only got married just before I took the role. So I've grown a lot and I've grown with Joe in a strange way," Badgley told People.

Sharing what he will be taking away from his character, Joe, Badgley shared, " He taught me a lot about what it is to be a man by knowing what it is not. And I don't mean the obvious things like, 'Oh, don't murder. That's bad.' That's very clear."

Sharing Jeo's perspective, Badgley said that he was an innocent boy who needed protection that he did not get, and growing up he became the protector he believed he never had.

The 'Gossip Girl' actor revealed to People, "That was vital to his identity. So vital that he creates the danger that he needs to protect people from. That is a really interesting phenomenon. That happens in smaller ways, in subtler ways. We are all, unfortunately, sometimes possessive, sometimes coercive, sometimes manipulative [and] jealous in relationships with the people we love the most."