When John B was presumed dead at sea, JJ Maybank got a tattoo on his ankle in honour of their binding friendship. And whilst their real-life counterparts, 31-year-old actor Chase Stokes and 27-year-old actor Rudy Pankow, haven’t commemorated their bond with such a permanent etching (give them a few tequila shots outside an ink parlour and things might change) their indelible camaraderie away from Outer Banks’ infamous Pogue-inhabited Cut is just as perpetual. “I know you like the back of my pinky finger,” Chase tells Rudy, Zooming in from his home in LA, as his friend sits shotgun in a parked car (there was a reversing issue with a nearby BMW, but thankfully the interview ensued). “And I know you in a way that I think a lot of the world is unfortunately never going to get the luxury of knowing you.”

Proclaiming himself as ‘question boy 3000,’ thanks to his inquisitive nature, he got down to changing this pronto, with respect of course, to Rudy’s penchant for keeping certain things within their brotherhood. But it’s Rudy’s upcoming stint as Romeo in the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.)’s production of Romeo and Juliet this Fall that will see him bare all––not literally, but creatively––as he takes on his first theatre role since landing Outer Banks five years ago. Proving to be a loveable rogue on-screen, a devoted friend off-screen, and now the quintessential romantic on-stage—there’s no stopping Rudy Pankow from continuing to make you fall head over heels with his craft––and as Chase swiftly affirms––his heart.

In conversation, now that Outer Banks season four is finally wrapped and ready for release in October, the actors discuss their LA origin stories, the strange nature of celebrity, the need to be malleable in art, and facing their on-stage anxiety.

Chase Stokes: Thank you for allowing me to do this. Obviously, this is surrounding the promotion of the show and everything that’s going on in our world now––but there’s so much more about you that the world doesn’t know and, yes, it’s been a crazy insane journey with Outer Banks but I remember, early on, talking to you about living in a cockroach-infested apartment, riding your bike to go wash dishes at The Cheesecake Factory very shortly before this whole canon of a show happened. So, bring me back to those early times in LA when you were trying to figure out your journey as an actor.

Rudy Pankow: I moved out of that cockroach-infested place and was freshly into Koreatown for three months and then Outer Banks happened. But that location was further away from The Cheesecake Factory, which meant I had to ride my bike five miles to The Cheesecake Factory. I would get off around 2:30 a.m., then bike back and get home around 3 a.m.

CS: I know with me, prior to getting the show, there were so many highs and lows. I would almost get something, and then have nothing for three months. What was your experience as the budding actor going to The Cheesecake Factory and busting your arse?

RP: I started as a dishwasher, and right when I moved up to a busser the call happened. I had a friend, Kyle, who said, ‘Rudy, will you be happy if you’re on your deathbed and you haven’t booked a job?’ And I was just like, ‘Wow, will I be happy?’ And that’s when it got really clear in my brain, no matter what––or if––‘success’ happens, you’re doing what you want to be doing, which is pursuing the dream and love of becoming an actor. And that was my commitment to it where I was like, ‘Audition after audition after audition; do your all and give it your all. Go to classes.’ You told me so many times, ‘You have maybe 100 to 150 bucks to spare on the things you might want…’

CS: Like printing headshots [laughs].

RP: Yeah, everything else goes to food, your rent, and then, obviously, acting class. Having a job that you truly dislike motivates you even more to get out of it. I fell in love [with acting] so much more. So I motivated myself out of that place.

CS: It’s been five years on this show, and it has been a crazy five years of starting with these two best friends who wake up after a hurricane, kind of hungover, and decide to go fishing, to now, this season which has just turned into an entirely different universe. As an artist, what has been your biggest takeaway from the last five years?

RP: I think I told you this on set one day––always be willing to adapt. Thinking about this season in particular, we have that question on Wonderland’s list of prompts right now that says, ‘When do you get the scripts?’ I’m like, ‘A week before.’

CS: What scripts…? [Laughs]

RP: [Laughs] As an artist, be malleable. And when you’re given a note, you just need to Etch A Sketch your prior work, which is probably one of the hardest things for me. But I think after five years of doing Outer Banks, that muscle is strong now. I ask myself, ‘What are you going to do differently physically and mentally?’ What is your new objective? And that is, I think, after five years, something I’m so grateful to now have as an artist.

CS: I have never met a human being who commits to a bit as much as you do. Whether it’s something to fucking trip over, or committing to the intensity of a physical altercation––which we have a few of those this season––to be able to find a way to be malleable but to be honest and truthful to JJ Maybank in the ways that you have is a very admirable thing. I think the world has not just fallen in love with the character, but the way you just want to take in and receive so lovingly; and that truly is a testament to your artistic integrity, to yourself, and to the characters you create, as well as your willingness to, even in those moments, be able to take a note and be malleable, still find a way to commit in a way that is a rarity in this industry and that a lot of people are scared of. I will say after five years you’ve taught me that. There’s been a substantial growth in my willingness to commit to things. I’m question boy 3000, I have a fucking rolodex of questions…

To read the full interview, pre-order the issue now here.