Leighton Meester on . . .


BLAIR WALDORF:
"Blair is.... I don't know what she is... I have to enter a completely foreign body to sympathize with Blair and her decisions. You know, Blair grew up very savvy, well-educated, and lonely. I think her mother is not the most supportive person and... Blair is very competitive and conniving, and it obviously comes, usually, from a very human place, but she makes decisions that I would never make."

HER 'COUNTRY STRONG' CHARACTER:
"She is so scared of people thinking of her as this ignorant, vapid, pretty face, and you know, I can totally understand where she's coming from because, especially if you come from Dallas Texas, you're a beauty queen - you don't play the guitar, you're writing seemingly meaningless pop songs. All that I can relate to, totally. It's sad and sweet at the same time."

FAMILY AND FRIENDS:
"I like to be judged by my family and friends because they know me. If they think I'm being an asshole I'd like them to tell me, but if I'm fat or something I'm like, 'Well, so? OK? Great!' It doesn't even matter; it's like, 'What if I am fat? Does it matter?'... I'm a grown woman and sometimes, I might be a little fat, you know! Am I alone there? Not really!

[More in the February 2011 issue of Nylon]