Ever since the show’s premiere in April 2020, Outer Banks has been a fan-favorite among teens and young adults. When the teen drama was released, COVID-19 had just begun to spread across the world, and many turned to Netflix to watch the #1 show in the U.S. The action-packed mystery series quickly became popular, partly due to the character’s chemistry on and off-screen.
So, who are the actors in Outer Banks anyways?
Chase Stokes
John B, the Pogue that began season one as the main character, is played by 28-year-old James Alexander Chase Stokes. Originally, Stokes turned down the offer to audition for Outer Banks. He told Barstool’s Chicks in the Office it sounded too much like a Goonies reboot, and his worst nightmare is doing a bad reboot. Stokes ended up auditioning for Topper, but read his lines so poorly he thought his own agent would drop him. A casting director who had worked with Stokes before suggested he audition for the role of John B. “I read the pilot and I’m like ‘Oh my god, this is not The Goonies. I screwed this up so bad,’” he said in the interview. He auditioned for the role and the rest is history.
Before Outer Banks, Stokes had a slew of random jobs and struggles that led him to live in his car for two months, he told guest host Anthony Anderson on Jimmy Kimmel Live. He described working a bartending gig, an Elton John Oscar Party and as a social media manager, all of which were unsuccessful. Following an eviction notice on his door, his agent sent him the script for Outer Banks. “And that’s how I started the journey. I had two pairs of underwear, three t-shirts and a pair of shorts,” he told Anderson.
Madelyn Cline
The Kook-turned-Pogue and John B’s love interest Sarah Cameron is played by 23-year-old Madelyn Cline. The best part about John B and Sarah’s on-screen relationship? It’s real off-screen, as well. The couple officially confirmed their relationship on June 14, 2020 with an Instagram post, after months of fans speculating. They even starred in Kygo and Donna Summer’s music video for “Hot Stuff.”
Cline has had roles in Vice Principals, The Originals, Stranger Things and Boy Erased, and she is currently filming alongside Daniel Craig, Leslie Odom Jr., Kate Hudson and Jada Pinkett Smith for the star-studded, untitled sequel to Knives Out set to be released in 2022.
Growing up, Cline spent many summers in New York City filming for commercials and smaller gigs. She spent some time at Coastal Carolina University before deciding to pursue her acting career full-time.
Something we know for sure: Cline has always been a Pogue at heart.
Rudy Pankow
The reckless Pogue known as JJ Maybank is played by Rudy Pankow, 23. Originally, Pankow thought he was going to play the role of John B. He told Us Weekly, “The first chemistry read — I was John B., and everything was pretty much lined up until the last chemistry read when they were like, ‘We’re not sure yet.’” He read through the roles of Rafe, JJ and John B while auditioning for weeks in L.A. Pankow even flew to Charleston, S.C. to begin filming the show thinking he was going to play the role of John B. When he arrived in Charleston, the creator of the show still wasn’t sure of his role. Pankow credits Jonathan Daviss on his success playing JJ, “JD, the guy that plays Pope, helped me find JJ the day before [the chemistry read] and I brought the version of JJ that’s in the show today, thanks to JD,” he said.
Like Cline, Pankow has had a few smaller acting gigs, but Outer Banks was his first big break. He grew up in Ketchikan, Alaska, and was accepted into culinary school after graduating high school, but ultimately decided to move to L.A. with some friends and pursue acting.
Madison Bailey
The edgy and rebellious, should-be-Kook, Kiara “Kie” Carrera is played by 22-year-old Madison Bailey. Like her co-stars, Bailey’s biggest role has been playing Kiara in Outer Banks, but she had some smaller roles leading up to the OBX premier.
She had a recurring role in Black Lightning as Wendy Hernandez on the CW, and she has also had roles in Council of Dads, Murder Chose Me, and most recently, American Horror Stories.
Bailey is also loved-up with UNC-Charlotte women’s basketball alumni Mariah Linney, 22. The couple confirmed their relationship in June of last year in a TikTok video on Bailey’s page, which is fitting since they are rumored to have met through TikTok. Back in May 2020, Linney posted a video of herself smiling, captioned, “Just me staring at Madison Bailey.” The OBX star duetted the TikTok with a video of her giggling, captioned, “Eye contact makes me awkward.” The couple has been together, happily, ever since.
Jonathan Daviss
Pope Heyward, the more-responsible and level headed Pogue is played by Jonathan Davis (JD), 22. Daviss has played roles in Edge of the World, Shattered Memories and Revolution, and he recently wrapped up filming for Strangers, an upcoming Netflix dark comedy with a star-studded cast including Alisha Boe, Sophie Turner, Camila Mendes, Austin Abrams, and, of course, Jonathan Daviss.
Similar to Outer Banks co-star and friend Rudy Pankow, Daviss graduated high school in Texas and moved to Los Angeles to pursue his acting dream. Aside from acting, Daviss is a skilled guitarist and singer, and is rumored to want to release music someday.
Drew Starkey
This article wouldn’t be complete without some background on OBX heartthrob and villain, Rafe Cameron, played by Drew Starkey. The 27-year-old actor has been in an abundance of shows and films before Outer Banks, including Ozark, The Hate U Give, Love Simon and more, but playing Sarah Cameron’s troubled brother, Rafe, in OBX has been his biggest role to date.
Starkey grew up in North Carolina, the home state of the Outer Banks (even though the show filmed in South Carolina), and attended college at Western Carolina University studying theatre and english.
The actor told Pop Culturist in an interview that he had also auditioned for the role of John B, but the directors didn’t like his audition tape. “I put it on tape and sent it in, and the casting saw it, and they were like you know, ‘he’s terrible for this part,’” he said. “The show runners said ‘he’s not it at all, but we have this other role that we think he might be right for.’” The directors definitely got it right in casting Starkey for the role of Rafe.
What makes this cast’s chemistry so good? The fact that they are all friends off-screen, too. In an interview with Grazia Magazine, Cline said, “We all, kind of, started in the same place when we got the show, and we just stuck together. We’re all going through the same thing and it just helps to have people around you who understand and who are there for you. We keep each other grounded and we hype each other up. We’re all each other’s best hype man.”