In a recent interview with The New York Post, Penn Badgley talked about the great Gossip Girl cast, along with the opportunity to basically play the lead male role on the series.

"It's a great cast all around," the actor said. "In a lot of teen soap operas, you have a lot of pretty faces and maybe not a lot of talent, but I really do feel that there isn't a weak link in the Gossip Girl cast."

Having starred in several short-lived and quickly forgotten series, such as Do Over and The Bedford Diaries, all three of which aired on the WB (the predecessor of The CW), Badgley has been a network favorite for years.

"[The network has] been grooming him to be a teen star for so long now - some of the characters he's played in the past were a little bit more dorky, but he's grown into his own in this role and this is his moment," CosmoGirl! entertainment editor Rachel Chang said.

We certainly agree. But Penn said he was unaware that the channel was grooming him for success until he landed his Gossip Girl role.

"It definitely felt like, 'What can we put Penn in this year because we want to keep him working for us?' " Badgley said, adding that it's a "very positive feeling" to be wanted this way, and although he initially felt "a little cheesy doing WB show after WB show," he is "definitely grateful for the opportunity they've given me and now that I'm on Gossip Girl, I wouldn't have it any other way."

Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.