12 Actors Who Hated Their Own TV Characters

6. Blake Lively - Serena Van Der Woodsen (Gossip Girl)

Several years after Blake Lively finished starring on teen drama series Gossip Girl, she claimed that she found playing over-privileged "it girl" Serena van der Woodsen more than a little taxing on her psyche. Lively said:

“It’s a weird thing when people feel like they know you really well, and they don’t...I would not be proud to be the person who gave someone the cocaine that made them overdose and then shot someone and slept with someone else’s boyfriend...People loved it, but it always felt a little personally compromising — you want to be putting a better message out there...The lines become blurred."

She's certainly not the only one of the show's stars to rag on Gossip Girl's questionable morals and loose grip on narrative logic, with co-star Penn Badgley taking frequent digs at it over the years.

Given that Serena was no doubt an aspirational figure for a generation of teen girls, it's easy to see how playing such a role could weigh heavily on someone after starring in 120 episodes.