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NEW YORK, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Rumer Willis reflected on her Gossip Girl audition following word she was The CW's first choice to play Serena van der Woodsen. The 27-year-old actress told People magazine she was surprised to learn the network wanted her over Blake Lively, who was ultimately chosen to play the Upper East Side blonde. Series casting director David Rapaport had revealed as much in an interview with BuzzFeed earlier this week.
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"That's so crazy -- it's pretty cool," she said Thursday. "You know, it was actually totally news to me. I felt like I did an awful audition back then. I was so young and it was, like, one of the first things I'd ever auditioned for ... Blake and Leighton [Meester] did an incredible job."
Lively and Meester portrayed Serena and Blair on six seasons of Gossip Girl, while Willis went on to play Gia on season 4 of 90210. The actress also made headlines this week for her rumored relationship with Chris Soules, but told the magazine she and the singer are just friends.
"We became friends from [Dancing with the Stars]," she allowed. "It's really nothing more than that ... We were joking about it last night ... [the media was] like, 'They're dating! They're dating! They've been seen!' I'm like, 'Okay, no, but good try, guys.'"
Willis and professional dancer Val Chmerkovskiy won season 20 of Dancing with the Stars in May, and the actress subsequently performed on the Dancing with the Stars Live! tour. She will play Roxy Hart in Chicago through Nov. 1 on Broadway.
