Gossip Girl News Bits: Leighton's Mom, A 30 Rock Guest Spot, and Lord Marcus Revealed
We've been devouring the Gossip Girl news, and came across some bits we needed to share.
First off, we've always despaired about Blair's relationship with her mom -- Eleanor doesn't strike us as anyone's idea of a great mom. It turns out actress Leighton Meester's mom is no Eleanor -- but that doesn't mean she's June Cleaver. In fact, Leighton's mom Connie is writing a book about her drug-addled past. Apparently, Connie was doing time for drug-related crimes when Leighton was born, and she was involved in a family marijuana-trafficking ring that was busted by the Feds in 1985. Poing! We can't imagine a less Waldorfian mom for Leighton, Still, Connie's manager, Loch Powell, reports that mother and daughter are "very close."
In other news, People magazine reports that Leighton and Blake Lively will appear on an episode of 30 Rock in a flashback to Liz Lemon's high-school years. Apparently, Liz was a bit of a mean girl in her youth. We can't wait to see whether Blake and Leighton play fellow tormentors, or if they're delicate flowers who Liz used to terrorize.
Finally, we found this interview with Patrick Heusinger, the relatively unknown actor who portrays Lord Marcus, Blair's new beau. He's also appearing as Lancelot in the Toronto staging of Spamalot.
Patrick talks about growing up in Jacksonville, Fla., about how he got into acting (it was a way to deal with his ADHD) and about his experience at Julliard. Check it out!