Leighton Meester threatened to quit acting?

Leighton Meester threatened to quit acting if she couldn’t be in Country Strong.

The actress was determined to do everything she could to appear in the movie in which she played a beauty queen-turned-singer alongside Gwyneth Paltrow because she fell in love with the project and was pleased when Gossip Girl producers were able to free up her time to make the film.

“Obviously we’re under contract for a certain amount of time in Gossip Girl,” Leighton said. “In the fourth year they started going, ‘OK, we know the timing of things. We know how much we need you and how much we don’t,’ so they’ve been kind enough to let us out.

“When Country Strong came up though, I threatened everybody including my manager, my agent and everybody I worked with. I was like, ‘If I can’t do this, if we can’t work out the schedule, I’m moving to Costa Rica, I’m turning off my phone and I’m never going to work again.’

“I was bluffing of course but it worked.”

Leighton is more proud of Country Strong than any of her other work and thinks it has appeal for everyone.

“It’s a beautiful movie. The best thing I’ve ever done,” she said.

“There’s something for everyone the music, the performances, which are super-fun and energetic. Then there are the love stories. There are the struggles of friendships and all the drama that comes with the limelight.”