Who is Chase Stokes?

You may not have seen Chase Stokes on your screen in a few years, but he’s well made up for it with a double-feature Netflix comeback.

The thirty-two-year-old actor is reprising his role as beloved Pogue, John B, when Outer Banks returns on October 10, and he recently starred alongside Joey King in the Netflix film Uglies.

It’s been well over a year since the last season of Outer Banks aired, and Stokes has been hard at work, not on screen, but as the number one cheerleader of his famous country artist girlfriend, Kelsea Ballerini.

Look no further if you’re not a Pogue at heart and have just been wondering who that blonde country music star has been toting around.

According to US Weekly, Stokes was born in Annapolis, Maryland in 1992 and moved to Orlando, Florida as a teenager. Before he got into acting, he played hockey, wrote poetry, and played guitar.

His IMDB page reports that his first acting job was in a movie called Lost Island, in 2014. He was also on an episode of the Netflix series Stranger Things in 2016, and made cameos and recurring appearances in several movies, TV series, and even a music video before landing his role on Outer Banks in 2020.

According to People, Stokes almost turned down his big break. When he first read the script, he thought it was a remake of the 1985 film The Goonies, and he didn’t want to be responsible for messing with a classic. But after the casting director encouraged him, he took the audition and landed the job only three days later.

The show, which follows four friends hunting for treasure in North Carolina’s Outer Banks, includes a lot of time on the water for the cast. Fortunately, Stokes spent many of his teenage years in Florida, where he learned how to surf and drive boats, making him the perfect John B.

Over the years people have fallen in love with the friendship dynamic of Stokes and his costars on the show. He even dated one of them, Madelyn Cline, for over a year from 2020 to 2021.

That is, before meeting his now girlfriend Kelsea Ballerini, when she slid into his Instagram DMs in late 2022 or early 2023, according to People. The two have been attached at the hip ever since. That’s why if you don’t recognize Stokes from his work, you may just recognize him as being a first-class boyfriend. But now it’s his turn back in the spotlight. Catch the new season of Outer Banks on Netflix. Part one will be released on October 10, and part two on November 7.