penn badgley
Penn Badgley will return as Joe in "You" Season 2. Netflix/You

KEY POINTS

  • James Scully gushed over his "You" co-star Penn Badgley at the Gotham Awards
  • The "Fire Island" star said he would "sigh wistfully" to himself whenever he saw Badgley on set
  • Scully said he "felt bad" for Badgley, who has repeatedly asked fans not to idolize his character Joe

"You" star James Scully understands why so many people are in love with Penn Badgley.

Scully, who played Forty Quinn in Season 2 of Netflix's hit psychological thriller, revealed Monday that even he is charmed by his 36-year-old co-star.

"I spent many days with him for six months, and every time I walked into the hair and makeup trailer and saw him, I would just sigh wistfully to myself," Scully told Page Six at the Gotham Awards.

"So, I get it," he added. "I understand."

Scully, 30, also shared that he felt bad for the "Gossip Girl" alum, who has repeatedly asked fans to stop romanticizing his character, stalker and serial killer Joe Goldberg.

"I just felt bad for Penn because he was like, 'That's sort of supposed to be the opposite,'" Scully explained to the outlet. "He's doing all this work and I think he's very conscious of the example he's setting for young men. He's sort of eager to clarify that this is the way you shouldn't behave."

However, the "Fire Island" star pointed out that Badgley's charisma was the reason the producers cast him for the role in the first place.

"That's why they hired him," Scully argued. "This person can sell us."

In an interview with Vanity Fair in 2019, Badgley admitted that he hated his "You" character and believed that Joe doesn't deserve a happy ending.

"We can't lead ourselves to believe that if Joe would simply find the right person that he would be happy — because he's a f–king murderer," he explained. "It's crazy. That's akin to victim blaming, being like, 'Oh, they just weren't right for him.'"

Badgley also spoke about the moment Love (Victoria Pedretti) bared her soul to Joe toward the end of the second season, revealing that his character's reaction made him dislike Joe even more.

"He's always saying, 'If only I could show you who I really am,'" Badgley told the publication." Up until that point, he's never been able to do that... Then he gets it, and he's a total dick about it. That was when I was like, 'Joe, I've never liked you less! I've never liked you less.'"

Badgley revealed in his Stitcher podcast, "Podcrushed," last month that he's been "meditating" on what he would do if he ever met his character in real life.

Despite knowing Joe's horrific misdeeds, the actor said he "would actually try to love him."

"Because, the truth is, he's never gotten that. So I would ask Joe... I, honestly, feel like I would look at him for a long time," he explained. "Because of my relationship to him, I would try to love him. I'm not saying he deserves that. I'm not saying anybody else should do that. I'm saying I would try to love him."

Badgley added that Joe "needs love," so he would hug and hold him if he met him in real life.

Netflix announced two premiere dates for "You" Season 4. The first part will debut on the streaming platform on Feb. 10, while the remaining half will stream one month later.

Actor Penn Badgley
Actor Penn Badgley Reuters