Gossip Girl was adapted from Cecily von Ziegesar’s popular series of novels by producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, who had previously created The O.C. for Fox. The show was developed for the CW network, which had been launched in 2006 from the merger of the WB and UPN and was positioning itself as the destination for young adult drama. The source material had two central characters — Serena van der Woodsen, the blonde, effortlessly glamorous returning exile, and Blair Waldorf, the darker, more controlling best friend who had built her social position through calculation and effort rather than through natural charisma.
When Meester came in to audition, she read for Serena. This was not an unreasonable choice on the surface — Serena was the show’s nominal protagonist, the character whose return drives the plot, the central figure around whom the other characters orbit. But Meester, reading for the role, told the producers that she could do better work as Blair.
The self-assessment was accurate and was also professionally unusual. Most actors in audition situations read the role they are given and make the best case possible for that role. Redirecting the producers’ attention toward a different character — making the argument, in the room, that you are better suited to be someone else — requires a specific kind of confidence that is different from the ordinary audition confidence of believing you are right for the part you are reading.
She dyed her hair brown for the role, since Blair is brunette. This is a practical detail, but it is also a visible marker of commitment: she had assessed the character, decided the character was right for her, and made a physical adjustment to make the match more legible.