Who Is Gossip Girl Star Thomas Doherty?
When Gossip Girl first hit the CW in 2007, it served as something of a successor to Sex and the City, taking millennials on a journey into "the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite." High schoolers across the country were mesmerized by the show's impossibly glamorous characters (hi, Serena van der Woodsen), who schemed and fell in love while wearing the latest designer wear. And though Gossip Girl is now available to watch on HBO Max, there's no need to go digging into the archives to relive their juicy storylines.
In January 2021, Harper's Bazaar announced that Gossip Girl was getting a reboot to "show a new generation of rich and famous prep-school teens." Indeed, for Gen Z'ers who have grown up in a world of livestreaming, influencers, and bloggers, the time seems ripe for such a remake! To tease the upcoming series, which is slated for debut later in 2021, Gossip Girl released Instagram posts of each of the major characters, along with a one word description of their on-screen personas. Among the 10 new characters is Thomas "Freedom" Doherty — and though little is known about his role as Max Wolfe, he may be giving off some Chuck Bass vibes. Here is what we know about one of Gossip Girl's rising stars.
Thomas Doherty is one of Gossip Girl's most recognizable faces
Because the cast of Gossip Girl is centered on the lives of high schoolers, HBO scouted up-and-coming talent to fill the roles. While some of Thomas Doherty's co-stars are still finding their footing in Hollywood, the Scottish actor already has some impressive roles under his belt. Viewers may recognize Doherty's face from Hulu's 2020 adaptation of High Fidelity, where he plays one of Zoë Kravitz's lovers, according to W Magazine. He also acted as Peter Zavadovsky in Catherine The Great and Harry, the son of Captain Hook on Disney's Descendants, where he met Dove Cameron (more on that later). Of his role as Hook Jr., Doherty explained that he wanted his character to come across "as a young man with a lot of problems — peer pressure, father pressures and loss in his life ... but it's all good fun" (per Bustle).
Doherty, who rose to fame singing on Disney, also dabbles in music. According to his IMDB page, the star is "trained in acting, singing and various types of dance" and performed an original song called "Masterpiece" in the 2018 musical, High Strung Free Dance (via Entertainment Tonight).
Thomas Doherty is a heartthrob
It's not just his acting chops (impressive, as they may be) that have thrust Thomas Doherty into the spotlight. In 2017, the Scottish-born star was named one of Vogue's "50 Fittest Stars of 2017." Along with spotlighting fellow heartthrobs like Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, and Cole Sprouse, the outlet wrote that, after watching Doherty act as a villain in Descendants 2 and 3, "marrying a prince [should be] the last thing on anyone's agenda."
As well as his boy band good looks, Doherty believes that his exotic accent contributes to his sex appeal. After all, it helped him land the role of Harry in the Descendants franchise! "I thought the Scottish accent would be cutting, raw and almost aggressive, especially compared to an American accent," Doherty revealed to Daily Record in 2017. "I also thought it would be a good choice for the character, as Hook's son."
Thomas Doherty recently weathered a breakup
Though love bloomed for Thomas Doherty and actress Dove Cameron on the set of The Descendants, the relationship wasn't meant to last. On Dec. 10, 2020, Cameron broke the news of the couple's split in an Instagram story. "Hi all, we know there have been some rumors and confusion lately about the status of our relationship and we wanted to set the record straight," Cameron wrote, per Entertainment Tonight. "In October, Thomas and I decided to part ways. The decision was incredibly difficult, but we still have love for each other, and will remain friends."
Breakup rumors had dogged Cameron and Doherty for months, after the loved-up duo had ceased posting about each other on their respective social media platforms. Cameron had last posted on Doherty's birthday in April 2020, when she had wished a "happy birthday to my world ... the best human being to ever be created." As of this writing, Doherty has not publicly commented on the split, so Cameron's response is all we have to go on.