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Most of us first encountered Thomas Doherty on the Gossip Girl reboot, the place he performed Max Wolfe with the type of camera-ready confidence that makes you assume he was raised on set. He wasn’t. The Edinburgh-born actor got here up by way of musical theater earlier than transferring to L.A. and studying the ropes of on-camera performing. If Gossip Girl was a part of that schooling, Doherty’s new function in season two of the post-apocalyptic hit Paradise seems like a commencement. The 31 year-old actor is again in New York now, the place he simply completed a run in Little Shop of Horrors on stage, and the place he’s speaking to his good friend and former Tell Me Lies costar Grace Van Patten about what it seems like whenever you’ve lastly arrived.
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THURSDAY 6 PM MAR. 5, 2026 NYC
GRACE VAN PATTEN: Are you prepared?
THOMAS DOHERTY: Hi. Oh, I’ve missed you a lot.
VAN PATTEN: Are you prepared for my hard-hitting questions?
DOHERTY: [Laughs] Always.
VAN PATTEN: I simply watched the primary season of Paradise and I’m obsessive about it. I actually completed the final episode of season one a couple of days in the past, and then I checked my cellphone and there was a textual content to do that. It was loopy timing.
DOHERTY: [Laughs]
VAN PATTEN: It’s an insane forged. Sterling Ok. Brown, Julianne Nicholson, and now Shailene Woodley in season two.
DOHERTY: Your twin.
VAN PATTEN: I’ve to ask, did you’re feeling such as you had been seeing double?
DOHERTY: Okay, this was an actual roundabout second. I watched Tell Me Lies when it first got here out, and I used to be like, “Oh my god, that’s Shailene Woodley.” Then I went on Tell Me Lies and labored with you, and then the job after was with Shailene Woodley. Kind of psychological.
VAN PATTEN: I feel your entire profession ought to be going again and forth between us.
DOHERTY: I might do something for that. And then we might have a 3. [Laughs]
VAN PATTEN: A 3 what?
DOHERTY: I don’t wish to end that. Like, three of us, you realize?
VAN PATTEN: A trio?
DOHERTY: Yeah, a threesome.
VAN PATTEN: I’m probably not certain why I’m not taking part in her long-lost sister.
DOHERTY: Yeah, you guys are one hundred pc sisters.
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VAN PATTEN: Did you watch the present earlier than you bought the half?
DOHERTY: Yes. I’m fascinated with the post-apocalyptic, end-of-the-world sci-fi factor anyway. And the audition took place after Tell Me Lies, so I used to be unemployed-ish. I used to be unemployed for 9 months or one thing.
VAN PATTEN: Were you beginning to get anxious?
DOHERTY: No, by no means.
VAN PATTEN: Wow, good for you.
DOHERTY: Do you get that?
VAN PATTEN: For certain. I hit a sure level the place I’m like, “I will never work again.”
DOHERTY: That’s so fascinating.
VAN PATTEN: It’s irrational. I simply get antsy. I’m actually dangerous at making a routine for myself.
DOHERTY: What actually helped me was transferring to New York.
VAN PATTEN: Oh yeah. I do discover that New York is rather a lot simpler.
DOHERTY: Well, you’re from right here.
VAN PATTEN: I’m from there, and I discover it’s a lot simpler to be lonely in L.A.
DOHERTY: I lived in L.A. for 3 years and it was so arduous for me. Granted, it took me so lengthy to even know the distinction between an agent and a supervisor. I used to be studying from scratch and it was arduous to do it from the surface. But L.A. is a metropolis the place you’ll be able to simply float. That’s why New York’s been so good for me, due to the power right here, and the proximity. Sometimes, if I don’t have something to do I’ll simply go for a wander, or I’ll go for a espresso, as a result of the chance of bumping into somebody you realize is— [Laughs] That makes me sound so unhappy.
VAN PATTEN: [Laughs] You’re so standard.
DOHERTY: I made myself sound like I don’t have any buddies.
VAN PATTEN: I do know what you imply. You can stroll out your door and there’s at all times one thing going on. There’s fixed power.
DOHERTY: I don’t know if that is true, however apparently Manhattan is on prime of the most important quartz mine on the planet.
VAN PATTEN: Is this a headline you learn?
DOHERTY: This was a TikTook on an ex-girlfriend’s cellphone.
VAN PATTEN: A quartz mine? So are you making an attempt to say there’s crystal power coming by way of the bottom?
DOHERTY: Yeah.
VAN PATTEN: I want to imagine that.
DOHERTY: Even if it’s true or not, it nonetheless has that magic.
VAN PATTEN: I do know.
DOHERTY: But working in L.A. is definitely superb.
VAN PATTEN: That’s a dream.
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DOHERTY: Yeah, truthfully, Grace, working at Paramount Studios—like being from Edinburgh and then driving beneath the arches.
VAN PATTEN: Those studios are the one factor that has stayed the identical for the reason that starting of films. Did you’re feeling like an previous actor, driving to work?
DOHERTY: I felt like I used to be in a film.
VAN PATTEN: That’s so enjoyable.
DOHERTY: The Paramount lot has been actually good at making an attempt to protect as a lot as potential.
VAN PATTEN: Do you’ve gotten a trailer on the lot, or do you’ve gotten a room?
DOHERTY: A trailer on the lot, which I desire. It will get me into the mindset, you realize?
VAN PATTEN: Yeah, a bit of tin field.
DOHERTY: They’re tiny. I feel I’m a 3rd of a trailer nonetheless. I don’t suppose I’ve made it as much as half but, however I’ll get there. But even the sound of the ladders strolling as much as the trailers is so particular. And the scent, and all of them look the identical, with bizarre brown wooden. Then you’ve gotten your meals are available in, and all of it tastes the identical. I really like that facet of my job. [Laughs] When I get requested if I desire theater or movie, I say I really like the 2 hours when performs or musicals are occurring. You by no means got here to see Little Shop [of Horrors], by the way in which. I hate you for that.
VAN PATTEN: Venus and the fly lure. No, what was it? Rocky Horror? Oh fuck, what was it?
DOHERTY: Little Shop of Horrors.
VAN PATTEN: I’m genuinely unhappy I didn’t come to see that.
DOHERTY: Save it, Grace.
VAN PATTEN: Just do one other one, please.
DOHERTY: I can’t wait to do one other one. But I like the approach to life of movie.
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VAN PATTEN: You just like the nostalgia and the routine, it appears?
DOHERTY: I like the entire thing. It’s all-encompassing.
VAN PATTEN: You just like the connective tissue between every job?
DOHERTY: That’s a good way to place it.
VAN PATTEN: I like that too. It looks like you’re a creature of behavior.
DOHERTY: You don’t know in case you’re going to have all of it week, or perhaps you’ll have it on Monday and then Friday, however that’s nonetheless sufficient routine for me. Whereas with theater, it’s too structured.
VAN PATTEN: It’s so disciplined.
DOHERTY: Oh Jesus, yeah. Have you completed it earlier than?
VAN PATTEN: Yeah, it ruined me. In one of the simplest ways. It’s so scary, and a lot whenever you’re doing it, however I’ve by no means felt extra fulfilled than once I was completed.
DOHERTY: Yeah.
VAN PATTEN: I genuinely felt so happy with myself for simply doing it. Like exhibiting up each day. Also, you can’t cover whenever you’re doing a play. You can’t do one other take.
DOHERTY: But I really like that. Even when it’s a foul present, you be taught a lot from it.
VAN PATTEN: Yeah, and you get to repair it in actual time. Did you shoot season two earlier than or after you probably did the play?
DOHERTY: Before. So I did season two from March to August, then I had every week off, and then I went straight into the play. I wanted extra break day.
VAN PATTEN: That’s fast.
DOHERTY: Yeah. I needed to be taught the music in two weeks. Honestly, the traces had been the more durable half for me. There’s dancing, there’s puppetry. You’d have recognized in case you got here to see it.
VAN PATTEN: [Laughs]
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DOHERTY: I feel doing a play could be a wee bit completely different than a musical, as a result of a musical is bodily so taxing. I used to be taking part in towards time with Seymour [his character in Little Shop], and the one means I might persuade myself that I used to be this character was to energise it. When you begin the present energized, you need to sustain that consistency. You need to go to the theater at 5pm, however you don’t get residence till 11pm. You don’t go to sleep till 1am. Then the following day you’re drained and you’re making an attempt to save lots of your voice and stuff.
VAN PATTEN: What do you suppose you’ll take from the play into your subsequent job?
DOHERTY: I feel I’ll be much more grateful. I imply, theater life is tough. Mentally, emotionally, bodily. You suck it up as a result of everybody else does. Whereas we’re type of pampered on units.
VAN PATTEN: Yeah.
DOHERTY: We’re afforded a lot time and house. It’s a special type of arduous. But energetically, it’s not as demanding. I needed to discover a composure inside that power. So now I can deliver that composure into a way more relaxed surroundings. And with that, there’s a calmness, the place I feel genuine selections come to you.
VAN PATTEN: Mm-hmm.
DOHERTY: Does that make sense? I do know it sounds a bit of pretentious.
VAN PATTEN: It sounds such as you’re trusting your self extra.
DOHERTY: Yes, I actually do. I’ve completed 10 years within the trade, and I at all times consult with that as my apprenticeship. But now I’m in areas the place I really feel like I belong, and like I can have a voice. I’m taking possession and possession of my work extra. For a very long time, I used to be simply drifting. But then I needed to actually take a look at issues and ask, “Do I want to stay here or do I want to do more?”
VAN PATTEN: That makes a lot sense.
DOHERTY: I’m not making an attempt to show something both. That’s the place you could be essentially the most trustworthy together with your work, as a result of your ego turns into diminished.
VAN PATTEN: I fully agree. Okay, segue. I wish to speak about Link [Doherty’s character on Paradise].
DOHERTY: Hit me.
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VAN PATTEN: I wish to know what you truly did to organize for this function. Did you be taught survival abilities? Your character is called after a personality in [The Legend of] Zelda. Did you play Zelda to get into character?
DOHERTY: I used to be in L.A. on a Thursday for casting, doing remaining chemistry reads with Annie [Woodley’s character], and by Friday I used to be in L.A. filming. The first scene I did was with Shailene. She cries, I cry, we’re crying.
VAN PATTEN: Oh my god, that scene was beautiful. I might really feel how pent-up these two individuals who haven’t been touched in years had been. I can’t imagine that was the primary one.
DOHERTY: I’ll be trustworthy. In the primary take I used to be simply watching Shailene act, and I used to be like, “What the fuck is going on? This is my life?” Then I used to be like, “Okay, lock in Thomas.” It was identical to working with you. I by no means needed to act. You’re so, so actual. And Shailene’s the identical. And doing Little Shop of Horrors with Madeline Brewer as nicely. All three of you ladies, I might work with all of you for the remainder of my profession.
VAN PATTEN: That’s so good.
DOHERTY: But with Shailene, all it required was vulnerability, and that’s so scary. I talked about the entire drive into Paramount. All these items are actually large moments in an actor’s profession, however you’ll be able to’t deliver them onto set. It’s type of arduous to depart it in a 3rd of a trailer, however whenever you’re working with actually good actors, they lock you in.
VAN PATTEN: Yeah, you’re pressured to go there.
DOHERTY: But I didn’t actually have a lot time to organize. I simply tried to select Dan [Fogelman, the Paradise creator]’s mind. Because you realize what it’s like whenever you get onto a present. They’re nonetheless writing the final episodes, in order that they don’t even actually know who your character is. You need to beg them for as a lot info as potential.
VAN PATTEN: That was my subsequent query. What had been the conversations like with Dan?
DOHERTY: You know what it’s like. It takes you a beat to discover a character. And then as soon as you compromise in, you’re like, “Oh, thank god.” I simply tried to personalize as a lot as I presumably might in a brief time frame. Personalization is an efficient means for me to—
VAN PATTEN: Find your means in?
DOHERTY: Yeah. I feel whenever you endow it with emotion, it involves life extra.
VAN PATTEN: I clearly understand how goofy and foolish you might be, and how a lot you like to have enjoyable. I really like seeing little slivers of that in your efficiency. I’m like, “That was a Thomas laugh.”
DOHERTY: [Laughs] I chortle in Scottish.
VAN PATTEN: You chortle in Scottish?
DOHERTY: Yeah, if I’m doing an American accent, I nonetheless chortle in Scottish. It’s my giveaway. It’s time to get an American chortle.
VAN PATTEN: Were you ever a Boy Scout in Scotland? Did they’ve that?
DOHERTY: We do, yeah. But I used to be too cool for that.
VAN PATTEN: Of course you had been.
DOHERTY: And then I obtained uncool, later in life.
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VAN PATTEN: Thomas, what would your contribution to the tip of the world group be?
DOHERTY: That’s a tough query, Grace. What would yours be?
VAN PATTEN: Don’t flip this round on me. I do know what yours could be.
DOHERTY: Performing for the troops? [Laughs]
VAN PATTEN: Yeah, you’d be the morale booster. You’d preserve everybody pleased.
DOHERTY: Really?
VAN PATTEN: You’d be the laughs, and you’d preserve everybody’s power up.
DOHERTY: That’s actually candy of you. I’d prefer to suppose so. Honestly, I might like to be like Link. Maybe not with the accountability of management.
VAN PATTEN: To be the chief could be loopy.
DOHERTY: Stressful. The present touches on this for certain, however when it’s about survival, individuals change so shortly and fall again into a really primitive mode which is void of morality, nearly. I imply, we’re seeing it at this time already on the planet.
VAN PATTEN: Yeah.
DOHERTY: But Sterling and Link present that you just at all times have a selection. The takeaway from the present for me was that you may select to be a superb individual.
VAN PATTEN: I really like that. You’ve simply completed a lot. You’ve completed comedy, you’ve performed musicians, you’ve been a vampire.
DOHERTY: [Laughs] Twice.
VAN PATTEN: Really?
DOHERTY: Yeah. I appear like a vampire. Sometimes I take a look at myself and I’m like, “What the fuck?”
VAN PATTEN: You’re an awesome vampire.
DOHERTY: Thank you.
VAN PATTEN: But you had been in Gossip Girl and Tell Me Lies. And now you’re a survivor in the long run of the world. There’s a lot selection. Is {that a} thought-out factor, or are you simply drawn to what you’re drawn to?
DOHERTY: It’s a little bit of each, truthfully. But I’ve at all times had this 10-year apprenticeship concept in my head. Because I by no means did any movie, it was all musical theater, I used to be like, “I need to learn the camera.” I’ve been very lucky, and I’ve an incredible crew behind me. I couldn’t have deliberate it higher myself. Some nights I might’ve gone to mattress earlier. But we had enjoyable, Grace. We had enjoyable.
VAN PATTEN: Yeah.
DOHERTY: And doing a wide range of issues has allowed me to know what I wish to go after.
VAN PATTEN: What is that?
DOHERTY: I wish to work on larger productions, with completely different administrators and completely different actors. I wish to continue to grow as an individual and additionally as an actor.
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VAN PATTEN: Yeah. I’ve a superb recreation we are able to finish on.
DOHERTY: Oh, I really like that.
VAN PATTEN: I used to be going to ask, “Who’s your top five dinner guests that are alive?” But I’m going to do it Paradise type. If you might select 5 individuals to be in your group for the tip of the world, who would you select?
DOHERTY: Do I’ve to personally know them?
VAN PATTEN: No.
DOHERTY: Alright. We’re bringing Eckhart Tolle alongside for certain.
VAN PATTEN: You want that.
DOHERTY: Let’s get the vibe set.
VAN PATTEN: Yep.
DOHERTY: And—oh, god, this can be a arduous one. Honestly, in all probability Shailene.
VAN PATTEN: That’s superb. Who’s going to be your fighter? Sir William Wallace?
DOHERTY: Who?
VAN PATTEN: Braveheart. You know that’s my ancestor?
DOHERTY: [Laughs] Do you know the way many Americans have mentioned that to me?
VAN PATTEN: I’ll present you the paperwork. I’ve proof.
DOHERTY: This is basically arduous.
VAN PATTEN: I’ll change it to, in case you needed to decide 4 characters you’ve performed, who would you select?
DOHERTY: Dracula, one hundred pc.
VAN PATTEN: Did you and Shailene speak about the way you had been each in a film known as The Descendants?
DOHERTY: We didn’t, truly, as a result of hers was actually cool.
VAN PATTEN: So is yours. Okay, it is perhaps a trio. It is perhaps you, Shailene Woodley and Eckhart Tolle.
DOHERTY: Oh, and Daisy, my canine.
VAN PATTEN: That’s a superb one. Well, good luck to you 4.
DOHERTY: Grace, you’re such an angel, I really like you.
VAN PATTEN: That was a lot enjoyable.
DOHERTY: I’ll be out in three weeks.
VAN PATTEN: Okay, hit us up. Let’s do one thing.
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Grooming: Amanda Wilson utilizing Oribe at A-Frame Agency.
Photography Assistant: Diego Salcedo.
Fashion Assistant: Izaake Zuckerman.
Production Direction: Alexandra Weiss.
Photography Production: Georgia Ford.
On-set Production: Tashi Bhutia.
Production Assistant: Giselle J. Quinones.
Location: NYC Film Locations.
