Zach Gilford botched a seize on “Friday Night time Lights”

Zach Gilford grew to become a family title enjoying highschool soccer participant Matt Saracen on the TV sequence “Friday Night time Lights.” He’s change into one thing of a horror specialist these previous few years with “The Purge: Anarchy” and exhibits together with “Midnight Mass” and “The Midnight Membership,” each on Netflix. Lets embody a serial killer on that listing, as effectively? He’s enjoying the principle antagonist on this season’s “Prison Minds: Evolution.” And he’s additionally starring within the horror film “There’s One thing Fallacious with the Kids.”

In that final movie, two {couples} go away collectively to a cabin within the woods. One couple has younger kids, who encounter a mysterious place. “The children go there and after they come again, they’ve a mysterious vibe. And I’m selecting up on it however no person else is. And slowly it begins to unravel and my character is like, is that this actual or am I loopy?”

A local of Evanston and a Northwestern alum, Gilford’s profession has been stuffed with excessive factors. When requested a couple of second that felt like the other, that stands out as cringey or awkward, he instructed a narrative about taking pictures a particular scene for “Friday Night time Lights.”

“Fortunate for me, my worst second was sort of hilarious,” he mentioned. “However it was undoubtedly essentially the most embarrassing second of my life.”

My worst second …

“Once I say I’ve been fortunate, I imply that I’ve by no means discovered myself in a second the place I used to be handled unwell or in a disrespectful method. You typically hear all these horror tales about Hollywood, and there’s that facet of it. However I’ve been so lucky in that each actor, each director, each producer I’ve ever labored with has been respectful and sort and enjoyable. As a result of we’re all simply enjoying make-believe for a dwelling, and most of the people on this enterprise get that.

“All that being mentioned, my worst second was on Season 3, I feel it was, of ‘Friday Night time Lights.’ I had a scene with Louanne Stephens, who performed my grandmother. In actual life, we developed such an incredible relationship. She sends birthday and Christmas presents to my children. They name her Grandma Saracen. We really feel very shut. I feel a part of what that relationship was to the viewers grew to become one thing related in actual life, as a result of we actually did have a particular bond. She lived in Dallas and when she would come right down to Austin (to movie) she would carry newspaper clippings if I used to be within the Dallas papers, which was simply the sweetest factor.

“She’s additionally the good, funniest lady.

“Anyway, we’re doing this scene that’s fairly dramatic for her, the place she’s getting in her automobile and it begins to maneuver and he or she hits her head and there’s blood. She’s crying and hysterical as a result of her character has early-onset dementia and I run over and I be certain she’s OK.

“So we’re doing the scene. She falls. I run over to seize her and I’m going to roll her over. I’m presupposed to seize her by the shoulder.

“And I by accident grabbed her boob.

“And I’m like, oh my god.

“I launch my grip.

“However she’s in a giant scene and he or she was nonetheless in it, so I used to be nonetheless in it and we did the remainder of the scene: ‘Grandma, are you OK?’

“In my mind, that is what I used to be considering: This scene is about Louanne and he or she’s not reacting to my unintentional seize, so I don’t need to cease and make every little thing about me and ‘I’m so sorry,’ blah, blah, blah. Since you’re considering: Is that this scene about me or any person else? If it’s about any person else, you need to give no matter you may. So if she didn’t discover, then I didn’t discover! I’ll simply keep within the scene.

“So I’m like: I don’t suppose she seen, she was in all probability so into the scene. Phew.

“We get via the scene and so they yell minimize. And since it was technically a stunt, the assistant director was like: ‘OK, minimize. Nice. Is everybody all proper?’

“And Louanne says in entrance of the entire crew who I’ve been working with for years: ‘Yeah, I’m nice. It was somewhat uncomfortable when Zach grabbed my boob. However aside from that, I’m OK.’

“Apparently she did discover but additionally determined to remain within the scene.

‘And I’m similar to: Oh my god.

“She was completely simply messing with me (laughs). I can’t think about what shade of crimson I turned. 100 individuals are laughing at me.

“After which there have been hours of jokes afterward about me being a granny molester. And he or she laughed so arduous. And for weeks she would carry it up: ‘Simply watch my boobs, OK?’ And I’d be like, oh my god.

“I feel that was the final take, which was lucky that I didn’t must do it once more and fear about being tremendous cautious and anxious about not grabbing her boob (laughs).

“It’s attention-grabbing that she wasn’t like, ‘Whoa, whoa, that took me out of the scene!’ However she was simply so in it, she stored going. So I stored going.

“However she acquired me again for it (laughs). She wasn’t fazed within the least, she simply knew I’d be embarrassed and why move up that chance? When it’s good-natured making somebody embarrassed? It’s the perfect.”

Did Gilford watch the episode?

“I did and I in all probability cringed. I watched every little thing as soon as, in order that was earlier than it was on Netflix. I’d have it on my DVR and watch it that evening or the subsequent day — after which not likely once more. Really Scott Porter, who performed Jason Road, reached out to me as a result of somebody needs us to do a re-watch podcast. So I’m re-watching the present now for the primary time in 10 years.

“There’s lots of roles I’ve executed that I’ve by no means even watched; I used to be there, I do know what we did, I understand how we shot it, I don’t want to look at it, I do know what it’s going to appear like.

“However it’s good going again to this one. It’s good watching it and going, ‘This was good!’ I’m happy with it nonetheless. It’s not simply because it was my huge break and critics cherished it and no matter. It holds up. The worst factor I might say about it’s my haircut. What was I doing with my hair? However he was a highschool soccer Texas child. However that’s my solely grievance.

“My spouse, really, had by no means watched the present and after I began the re-watch, she watched the primary two with me and he or she turned to me and was like, ‘This present is good.’ And my spouse is from the Midwest, in order that’s a giant praise!

“I haven’t gotten to the episode in query but, so I’m questioning if I’ll be capable of clock on my face in the event that they used the boob take or not.”

The takeaway …

“(Laughs) You understand, I’d like to have a terrific takeaway. However this was only a tremendous embarrassing second.

“I’ll be sincere, I’m embarrassed on a regular basis. In rehearsals, I don’t act. I sort of simply say the phrases, as a result of I’m embarrassed to be performing as a result of I really feel foolish. A minimum of if the cameras are rolling and everyone is aware of that is what we’re doing — we’re recording it, Zach’s gotta act, OK, I’ll act now — however I’m too embarrassed in rehearsals to do what I’m going to do.

“However even when the cameras are rolling, it’s somewhat embarrassing. We’re actors, we’re all fully insecure. So that you’re all the time sitting there considering: Does everyone suppose I suck? In the event you’re presupposed to be humorous, you’re like: Was it humorous or do I simply suppose it’s humorous and everyone is rolling their eyes? In the event you’re presupposed to be dramatic, you’re like: Does everybody suppose that was over-the-top?

“And there are in all probability folks on the crew who’ve each feeling about you. So that you do it the perfect you can and roll with it.

“But when I ever needed to do a scene like that once more, I’ll simply be very cautious of the place my arms are.”

Nina Metz is a Tribune critic

nmetz@chicagotribune.com