As the royal wedding approaches, we’ve seeing many-a look back at the early days of Gossip Girl. Those classic Blair Waldorf one-liners! Those hot young-love hook-ups! And then there are alllll those tidbits on what the big day will actually be!

(Seriously, has your head exploded yet? Ours are on the verge…)

Ed Westwick ― the man behind one of the show’s most likable (and at times loathsome?) characters ― might be mum on wedding specifics, but he isreflecting on the arc of Chuck Bass over the past 5 seasons.

“I feel like the old Chuck was a playboy and that’s what I would have loved to have been,” Ed told TV Guide recently of the good old days. “That’s like the fantasy for any young man, so it made him so much fun to play. Now he’s like a lovesick puppy. It’s like, dude!”

While he’s still bemoaning the fact that Chuck the Changed Man is a little less fun to suit up for every week ― suit! get it? ― he fully understands why his story has played out the way it has. (Two words: Blair.Waldorf. No?)

“After everything Chuck’s been through, I think there were some major wake-up calls and reality checks that kind of put him in a different place,” Ed said of the Season 5 overhaul. “It’s maturity. I’ve experienced it in my own life as well. I feel quite reformed. I bought an apartment so now I’ve got a mortgage to pay. I sit at home and drink tea and watch Planet Earthas opposed to other… activities.”

Did it just get hot in heeeere? Heh. Heh.

In non-GG news, Ed starts filming the Hailee Steinfeld-starring Romeo and Juliet next month, taking on the role of Tybalt and says, “You see more into Tybalt in [this] version. Instead of his being a straight villain and sort of the fascist that we know from the play, you get some depth. I can’t wait to start filming. It’s unreal.”