Early morning in Penn Badgley’s house has the reassuringly normal noisy chaos that comes with a young family. The actor is in his New York home, preparing to talk about murder and manipulation, while listening out for signs that his wife, who is pregnant with twins, needs help getting their four-year-old son out of the door. She does; he excuses himself, and disappears for a few minutes. If Joe Goldberg, the serial killer Badgley portrays on the hit Netflix series You is controlling, devoid of love and unable to form relationships, Badgley appears to have created a life that looks the opposite.
His time as Goldberg – the role that has been his highest-profile after his big break on another hit series, Gossip Girl – is about to come to an end. The series’ fifth and final season is about to air, and after that, says Badgley with a smile, “I don’t have to speak about Joe Goldberg ever again, if I don’t want to,” before adding: “Of course, I’m sure I will.”
