Chace Crawford felt he was in "pretty boy jail" after Gossip Girl ended

He told Josh Peck and Ben Soffer on their Good Guys podcast: "First of all, [people] think actors make a ton more money and have way more agency than we actually do, depending on where you are [in your career]. I felt like I was in the wilderness for years after Gossip Girl.

"As big of a show as it was, coming off [it] as a still young guy, it's like, 'That's not cool anymore,' and I'm in this box. I'm in this jail of the CW pretty boy who has no range. I felt that, and I was probably harder on myself than I needed to be."

Following Gossip Girl, Chace appeared in Blood + Oil, but the ABC drama was axed in 2015 after just one season, and he also had a small role in Hulu comedy Casual.

He noted: "It was not lost on me how difficult after those four years of false starts on some TV shows ... like, it could be difficult to find another thing."

Fortunately, the actor's career has revived thanks to his role as The Deep in The Boys, which premiered in 2019 and is due to end with its fifth season in 2016.

And Chace was "really, really appreciative" when the project came his way.

He said: "I just remember that audition hitting my inbox and reading the synopsis, I was like, 'That sounds wild!' And then reading the pilot, I was like, 'Oh, this is great. This is so out-there and original and weird.

"And the specific role of The Deep, I'm like, 'I know that guy. I know a hundred of those guys.' I instantly felt confident and excited about my take on the character.

"I was really, really appreciative when this happened."

Chace previously admitted he "almost had a panic attack" before filming a sex scene with an octopus, who was voiced by Tilda Swinton, for The Boys.

He told Rolling Stone magazine: "It's so funny and brilliant now, but when that came up, I was like, 'Oh God, how's this going to work?'

"[I was] in total denial about it ... And then it got 24 hours out from the first day I had to shoot it and I almost had a panic attack."

Chase decided to talk it over with showrunner Eric Kripke and they managed to put together a plan to make the scene less worrying for the actor.

He added: "I called Eric Kripke - he's so great. He's got a million things going on but his door's always open. So I was worried about the scene.

"I'm like, 'How are we gonna do this? What are the angles gonna be? How naked do I have to be?' He changed one shot for me. And it was great."