Now that fans of “Outer Banks” have bid farewell to John B and the Pogues after five seasons of the Netflix hit, star Chase Stokes is ready to move on to new projects.
First, however, he’s confronting some old rumors — particularly a long-held belief that his chiseled facial features are the result of a surgeon’s scalpel.
A ‘Ridiculous Assumption’
NetflixDuring a recent appearance on the “I’ve Never Said This Before” podcast, Stokes set the record straight on whether he’s undergone plastic surgery.
As People reports, host Tommy DiDario asked Stokes to name “the most ridiculous assumption or rumor” he’s seen about himself online, and the actor did not hold back.
“The amount of plastic surgery I’ve had,” he said, responding to DiDario’s query.
“I see these doctors who are like, ‘He’s got an upper [blepharoplasty]’ and, ‘He’s got his lips done.’ Like legitimate doctors,” Stokes continued before offering a definitive response.
“On the record, I will say it, I’ve never had any work done on my face,” Stokes declared. “It’s so funny to me to see them go into the details of it all. I’m like, ‘Oh man, you should probably have your license revoked there.’”
He also explained why he hadn’t come forward earlier to shut down the persistent rumors.
“I used to be a little more online with that stuff, but I’ve realized to just shut up,” he said. “It’s so tough, but then you realize when you comment, you give them more exposure.”
Time to Move On
In an earlier interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Stokes admitted that as much as he’s loved starring in “Outer Banks” throughout the series’ five-season run, he’s also ready to move on.
As he explained, John B and the Pogues have remained more or less the same age — while he has not.
“I’ve been John B more than I’ve been Chase,” he shared. “At 33, playing a 19-, 20-year-old kid who’s been who he is, I needed to go find myself.”
He did that, Stokes explained, through “deep, intensive therapy work.” Meanwhile, he also began visiting an internal medicine doctor to address the issues that emerged from working to maintain the same body he had when he started shooting the show all those years ago.
“I had so much [expletive] wrong,” he admitted. “I left that show… My liver was failing, my kidney was failing. I had so many health issues that I had to figure out, and my brain was all out of whack. It was a really important time for me to get my bearings right versus just go back into work and mask it.”
Addressing his health meant blood testing every other week, in addition to undergoing transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy.
He also explained that his testosterone levels were “alarmingly low” for someone of his age.
As Stokes noted, all that effort ultimately paid off, and his health eventually returned to where it should be.
“It’s been a lot of work to get back to baseline,” he said, “and it was definitely scary for a little bit.”
