Those of us who didn't have the pleasure of watching Friday Night Lights on DirecTV are just now getting to see Zach Gilford's heartbreaking performance as Matt Saracen this season. He's been coping with not going away to college, being stuck in his small town in order to be with his girlfriend and grandma and also having to deal with the loss of his father, but now he's finally left town, leaving a devastated Julie in his wake. We were shaken up, but the news that Gilford (who returns to Dillon at the end of the current season) will also be back for four more episodes during the final season (which just began shooting) has made this a little bit easier to take. We were lucky enough to get him on the phone the other day for a super-quick chat about the show and what it's like to be on a football show and not play football.
TWoP: You've been making me cry a lot lately.
Zach Gilford: I'm sorry!
TWoP: Is it weird having some people just see it now? While others saw it months ago?
Gilford: No. I mean, we filmed it not that much longer ago, so I remember most of it. And I love the show, and I've always had a weird memory for it. But it is kind of funny: [The other] night on set, we were talking about-- we realized we've been doing this show for a long time, now. We've done a lot of episodes and we were like, "Wait a minute! Did Lyla and Jason Street get engaged at one point? I don't know, did he propose? What happened?" and no one could remember if they ever got engaged or not. I remember the scene where they were just talking to Buddy Garrity in the driveway. And I'm like, I don't remember if they ever actually got engaged or not.
TWoP: This season you're not playing football. What was it like to play a character that's just pure emotion and not any of the sports?
Gilford: It was a little bit weird. I mean, it was definitely a transition. The kind of experience that I went through personally this season on the show I think was reflective of what was going on with Matt as a character, because I kind of felt like this satellite story -- it was kind of external. I had one connection to the town, really, which was through Julie, but I wasn't on the team anymore, I had almost nothing with Coach, very little with my buddy Landry because he was busy playing football, and then some stuff with my Grandma. I just kind of felt like I'd show up to work once a week on an episode, do a bunch of stuff with Aimee [Teegarden], and go on my merry way. It felt like it was time for me to move on, and same with Matt. He's just there. He's no longer part of the team or anything -- he's just delivering pizza, and every now and then he runs into someone like J.D. when he's delivering a pizza or whatever, and is like, "What am I doing here? It's time for me to move on and just figure out what the chapter in my life is."
TWoP: It feels very real to the high school/college age group experience.
Gilford: Right, exactly. And you know, it's a bummer, because we've seen a lot of characters leave the show over the past few years, starting with Smash and then moving on to Street and so on. But that's what happens in real life. I think a bunch of us keep popping back up and coming back and coming home, which happens in real life, too, whether it be for a holiday or whatever's occurring that brings people back home for a little bit.
TWoP: They announced that you're going to be doing four episodes of the fifth season.
Gilford: Right, that's what we were just filming yesterday. I was really excited to find out I was coming back. But to be honest, I talked to the creators of the show to find out exactly what the plan was, because I didn't want it to be just like, "Oh, Saracen's back for no reason!" But it's actually a pretty cool storyline, so I'm excited about it, and I'm definitely excited to come back and see everyone.
TWoP: Is it a little more uplifting than what you've had to do this season?
Gilford: It is, it's a little more uplifting. I don't think it's quite so depressing.
TWoP: It's been great, though, you've been handling the situation well. There's a lot of people pulling for you to get an Emmy nomination for this.
Gilford: Oh, whatever, in terms of that. Yeah, that'd be exciting, and it's fun that people are excited about the show. It seems like when it first started airing, people loved it and they kept trying to push it but it never really blew up, so then people who loved it were like, "Alright, well this is our thing. We'll watch it and stop bugging people about it." And it's cool that this year, this is a great season. We've got a bunch of new characters coming in and watching the old ones leave, and the new school and everything. I think Kyle [Chandler]'s done an amazing job. I think it's kind of sparked a new energy in people about the show again, and they're trying to get people to start tuning in again.
TWoP: Is there any part of you that misses putting on all of the big, heavy football equipment?
Gilford: Yeah, I miss it a ton! I remember at the end of Season Three, after we filmed the State game, we were getting out of our uniforms and me and Taylor Kitsch just kind of looked at each other and were like, 'This is the last time we're ever going to wear our Panthers uniform.' We'd had it for three years, it was like the last time taking off a real uniform. It was kind of a weird feeling, because obviously it was a make-believe team, but we've had the same football players on our team since the pilot, and it's such a family down here, it really feels like a real team. It was really sad to have to move on from that, especially down in the heat, here. It's so much nicer to be sweating in football pads to be able to just pour water on your head than wearing jeans and a jacket and you're supposed to not be sweating. This is brutal.
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