Gilford will not know for a few months but in the meantime, he phoned Movieline to discuss this transitional phase of his career, his aversion to cowboy boots and the outdoor sport that even his girlfriend is willing to try.
Hey Zach. Congratulations on the new show Off the Map. It must be an exciting time for the cast.
Thanks! It is exciting just to have a show on TV. I know my parents and grandparents are super excited.
Did you get to watch the premiere with them?
My parents are in Chicago. My grandparents are in Florida and I'm back and forth between California and Hawaii. So I didn't get to watch it with them. Actually I haven't even watched the premiere myself.
I'm sure your family had wonderful things to say about the new show but did they have any criticism as well?
[Laughs] No. They're my grandparents and parents! They thought it was the greatest thing they had ever seen.
Some parents can be very forthcoming with criticism and advice.
It's actually funny you say that. I did a lawyer pilot awhile ago and my dad, who is an attorney, got super stoked about it. He thought he'd get to coach me through the whole thing. He came to set one day and just looked at me and said, "What are you wearing? Are you kidding me? If you're a first year lawyer, you would not have a suit that nice." Of course, they had me in like a Gucci suit because on TV, everyone has to look super nice. That really made him mad because it was so unrealistic. He kept complaining, "I've been a lawyer for 30 years and I don't even have a suit that nice!"
That's cute. You need to buy your dad a Gucci suit now.
I know. One day.
Well do you look outside of your family for feedback on Off the Map? Have you been reading the reviews and message boards?
Not really. I think I learned early on with Friday Night Lights -- which critics loved but was always on the bubble -- not to stress about it because it would make me crazy. Those things are out of my control. I try to just stress about coming to work each day and doing my best there. And with reviews, even if you read ten nice things about yourself and then come across one article saying that you suck, it feels horrible! You start obsessing, "Why doesn't that person like me?" It can ruin your day.
Do you remember reading one particularly bad review that turned you off?
No, I don't have any distinct memories but it's like in high school when you hear people talking sh*t about you. "That guy in the school play, Zach Gilford -- I don't like that guy. He's a jerk!" I'll just obsess over why these people think I'm a jerk.
It hurts.
It does hurt! I'd rather that the critics just call me and tell me what to work on rather than talk sh*t. I was actually on the phone with another journalist the other day and I just flat-out asked, "Do you have any constructive criticism? Is there anything you think I should be working on because I will work on it. I promise."
So you're basically trouble-shooting your own performance with journalists.
I am!
I saw that you guest-starred on Grey's Anatomy a few seasons ago. Did you or Shonda Rhimes know at that point that you two wanted to work together again in the future?
I mean, I knew that I would have loved to work with her again but at that point, I was on Friday Night Lights still and wasn't sure what was going to happen or if I was going to be leaving the show. I had been watching Grey's Anatomy for years, and had been a fan of the show, so it was just exciting to go over there and be a part of it. And then when this show came around, and I knew that Shonda was involved with it, I was excited to work with her again on a project that not only seemed like it could be a success but one that was going to be a quality product.
You mentioned leaving Friday Night Lights. I know that fans will definitely mourn the show once it ends, but did you yourself go through a mourning period after filming the finale?
Definitely. I think we all did. But five years is a great run for any show, especially one that has a bunch of high school-aged characters. We prided ourselves on being authentic and you know, people leave small towns. Coaches get bigger and better jobs and leave. To keep it authentic we had to introduce new characters every season but I think people were very much attached to the core cast, and to keep this show real, we had to wrap it up. Just like any great show, it has to come to an end. You can't just bottle people or characters their entire lives.
Do you have any good stories from the wrap party?
The wrap party was great. The whole cast and crew went line dancing and was up late. After the bar closed, we actually all went over to the field, broke into the field house, stole a bunch of footballs and ran around the field playing football until like 4 in the morning.
Back up please. Who is the best line dancer on the show?
You mean after me? [Laughs] Anyone on the crew since they are actually from Texas. The cast isn't from Texas so we all pretty much suck.
Whenever I hear that someone is going line dancing, I assume that they will be dressing like a character from Urban Cowboy. Were you wearing cowboy boots?
No, I have these hiking boots that I wear everywhere. I actually wore these boots -- which I hiked across Alaska in -- on every episode of Friday Night Lights. Those were the only shoes my character wore besides cleats. But, early in the first season, I decided to go get cowboy boots. So I went to the store, tried them on and then I realized that I would be such a poser if I bought them. Even if I lived in Texas for ten years, I will never be a cowboy.
Fair enough. I was scrolling through your credits and saw this one bizarre film you starred in awhile ago called The Handbook to Casual Stalking...
[Laughs] Oh yeah. That was from college. I don't know if it's online anywhere or anything but it was like a 15-minute short. I didn't write it. My friend did.
Were you the stalker or the stalkee?
I was the stalker. It was me and another girl as the stalkers. It was really comic book-y and goofy. Completely idiotic. But we filmed it while we were in college so of course we thought it was hilarious.
Would you be embarrassed if it popped up on YouTube?
No, not at all. I mean, I made it when I was 21 years old. It's something I did. I don't even know the last time I watched it but I'm pretty sure I laughed.
Yeah, I was in Belize for like ten days with Tom Brokaw, Michael Keaton, Bill Klyn and Tom McGuane. It was for Buccaneers & Bones for the Outdoor Channel, these fishing programs about conservation. We were basically tagging these fish as we caught them. It was super fun. We're going to do another season in the Bahamas and Liam Neeson will be there as well.
That's quite a cast.
Yeah, it's funny because I was watching it with my girlfriend and the show is clearly targeted towards people who like fishing. I think by bringing me on, they were hoping to catch, if you will, a younger crowd, which I hope it does. And my girlfriend, who has never fished in her life was saying "fishing looks fun!" after seeing the first episode. Of course, the channel cut down ten days on a boat into a half hour program. You're not seeing the hours of, you know, me and Tom Brokaw just sitting on a boat in silence.