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chase-crawford

Chace Crawfordonce auditioned for the role of Jason Street inFriday Night Lights.

He noted that he left school to focus on acting full time following the success of 2006’sThe Covenantand later landed an audition for the role of quarterback Jason Street on the popular sports dramaFriday Night Lights.

“I kind of knew in my head, ‘This is gonna be the best thing this year, or possible, or maybe ever … this could be the coolest thing ever,’ " Crawford said of the opportunity.

HisThe Covenantco-starTaylor Kitsch, 40 — who Crawford said had been driving down from Canada for pilot season — asked Crawford if he could sleep on his couch since he also had an audition for the series.

“He’s staying on my couch, he ends up going in, obviously for Tim Riggins,” Crawford shared. “I’m like, ‘This is the greatest thing. This could be the most epic thing in the world. We just did this movie [together]…’ "

“I remember testing for it with [director] Peter Berg, and seeing all the people who got it in the room … Minka [Kelly] and Zach [Gilford] and [Jesse] Plemons and all these people,” he recalled, adding, “I obviously didn’t get it. I can’t remember what the feedback was. But I think I still looked pretty, pretty young at that time.”

“Taylor got it, I was pretty bummed. I was extremely devastated,” he continued, noting that his heart was already attached to the project.

“You can’t help but envision your future. It’s like a relationship. It’s like a girl that doesn’t want you. You’re like, ‘I can see us having kids,’ and you can’t help but think about it at nighttime … and then they break your heart. You think you did a great read, Peter Berg loves you, and then he shatters your whole world,” he joked.

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“Rejection is a real thing in auditions. It takes a while, it’s still tough,” he said.

Crawford went on to star as Nate Archibald in all six seasons ofGossip Girl, which he admits he thought “sound[ed] ridiculous” at the time.

“That’s notFriday Night Lights,that’s ridiculous,” Crawford told Szohr of his initial thoughts. “Surely they’re not going to name it that.”

source: people.com