So much of your success is entwined with your (enormous!) social media fandoms. How do you all set the line between who you are publicly and privately?
Rudy: I think everyone’s looking to celebrities to figure that out, but it’s a question for everyone.
JD: Social media is not a medium—not like acting. It’s a platform that’s moving so fast that sometimes you feel like you can’t keep up. When we came onto it after the show launched, it was mainly about the social aspect between us, as friends.
Chase: And it’s turned into an alternative type of marketing that has shaped other projects. I’ve had friends who work for other networks send me a screengrab when they’re going into promo—it’ll be like, “Please review the Outer Banks cast’s social media platforms as a reference for how we want to promote this show.” It’s been interesting that us having a bunch of beers and posting random shit turned into a component of the industry. Drew, you look confused.
Drew: What you said about the reviewing—
Chase: Not yours.
JD: Not you, Drew.
Chase: In quotations, “Disregard Drew Starkey.”
Right. Because, Drew, you only have a few posts on Instagram compared to your costars. Do you have a secret private account?
Drew: I had a private account at one point. Now I don’t know how to get in. I’d sent everyone on my Close Friends, “Hey guys, here’s my finsta account, follow me.” And then it just—
Chase: He doesn’t even know his password.
Drew: Yeah. It’s good for keeping up with people…but I have a hard time on it.
JD: It’s hard for him to text back, let alone—
Drew: It’s a more deeply rooted problem. This is a larger conversation about my communication.
Chase: This is actually not for Cosmo—this is an intervention for you. We’ve planned this for five years. It’s finally come into fruition.
Drew: Oh, I could smell it. I knew it as soon as we got in.
So the problem is…Drew, you don’t use your phone much?
Chase: No!
Drew: I don’t. It’s bad. I think I am getting better?1
JD: You don’t get to decide that.
Chase: I will say you have ebb and flow—you’re like a tide.
Drew: I go through waves.
Chase: Right now, not great.
1. Drew makes a face of uncertainty as he waits for his castmates’ affirmation.
What do you think are the pros and cons of having most of your followers come from one show?
Drew: A pro is that people watch the show. Like, wow. Most of the stuff I make, I have to pretend that no one will see it, as is so often the case. So to have this much of a following is incredible.
Rudy: The biggest pro is that it’s like, “Hey, this many people appreciated what you made.”
JD: The other side of that coin is the fear that comes in when you know you have that many eyes on you. You really get afraid of disappointing people.
Drew: It’s also a tough thing because we’ve been on this show for years. And that’s a bit different than doing a movie here, doing a movie there, and jumping around. This starts to become your identity in a lot of ways. Your relationship to the audience is intertwined with these characters that we’ve been playing. That can make jumping out of this world scarier.
Chase: When you are so invested into one project for five years, there’s that unclear line of your personal self and the character you play on the show. The industry has shifted too because now people see the platform, and they see that social media number. And sometimes there’s an expectation put on us, not as the artist but as the artist with the platform, to have that propel a project. But the artist in you wants to do more. You just hope that with the following the show created, a percentage of those people are interested in seeing you in different avenues.
Cosmopolitan
![](https://drew-starkey.com/photos/albums/Television/2020%20OuterBanks/S4/4x05/Caps/thumb_OuterBanks405_199_DScom.jpg")
