Scott Porter, Nora Zehetner
Fresh off his recently wrapped run on NBC/DirecTV's just-renewed Friday Night Lights, Scott Porter has joined the cast of Masterwork, a Fox drama pilot about an FBI agent (Aussie actor Matt Passmore) who tracks down stolen antiquities. (Think Indiana Jones with a badge.)
Porter will play ...
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Scott Porter
The first episode we got to know and love the character of Jason Street on Friday Night Lights could have very well been our last. Right after we met the gifted quarterback of the Dillon Panthers, he was struck down by a brutal football game injury. In an instant, the hometown hero became a quadriplegic. But the show took a surprise direction, following Street, played by Scott Porter, through rehab, breaking up with his girlfriend, finding purpose and joy in quadriplegic rugby, moving out to live on his own and miraculously becoming a father.
After such an amazing two years on the show, Porter was surprised when producers announced his storyline would end midway through the third season. TVGuide.com spoke with Porter about Jason's journey of becoming a father, his bond with cast members, his emotional final scene and what's next...
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Gaius Charles by Mitchell Haaseth/NBC Photo, Scott Porter by Mitchell Haaseth/NBC Photo
Friday Night Lights regulars Gaius Charles (aka Smash) and Scott Porter (Jason) will be spending some time on the bench, having been bumped to recurring status for Season 3.As reported by EW's Ausiello, exec producer Jason Katims had to make this tough call in part due to budgetary reasons, but is committed to bringing both players' stories to a proper conclusion. FNL returns Oct. 1, on DirecTV's 101 channel. — Matt Mitovich
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You mean Landry? Jesse Plemons, Kyle Chandler by Bill Records/NBC
Guest blogger Casey Marsella (Heroes) here! Leah couldn't make it tonight, but I'll do my best to recap this amazing show!Landry! Landry! Landry!Jesse Plemons made Dillon (and FNL fans) stand up and cheer tonight. His performance is what I love about this show. I’ve always noticed that the people who seem "out of place" are usually the ones most comfortable in their own skin. Landry used to be the goofy, one-liner sidekick, but he was always sure of himself. Tonight he proved that. His halftime speech was the highlight of the episode: "We can win together or lose alone." It was the perfect lead-in to: Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can’t lose!So, who’s together and who’s alone?Let’s start with the Taylors. Tami is thrilled to have her husband back, but not enough to give him the "green light." Coach was gently shot down and forced to sleep on the couch so Tami could finally get a good night’s sleep. The next day, the bags under his eyes initiated an unwanted ...
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MacGregor is out and Taylor is in. Chris Mulkey by Bill Records/NBC
Episode Recap: "Backfire"Who didn't have a little flutter in his (or her) heart when Coach Taylor, back in his Dillon Panther blues, stood up in front of that room like nothing had changed and said, "Let's go. Let's have some fun today"? What a way to end an episode that already just seemed to fly by.Aside from that weird, Mafia-like threat from Coach MacGregor ("I have a family, too, and you just remember that. I'll be seeing you again"), Eric's homecoming was nothing less than joyous. Julie and Tami are well on their way to patching things up, especially now that it looks like the grungy Swede might be out of the picture. Matt Saracen has someone back on his side again, and Buddy should probably be considered the town hero.Ah, Buddy. We may have just been witness to the only game in Panther history that Buddy honestly wanted his beloved team to lose. It was quite a sight to watch him hold back a grin as Smash got blocked again and again, leaving Dillon with a humiliating loss on t...
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Eric hopes he can get his old job back. Kyle Chandler by Mitchell Haaseth/NBC
Episode Recap: "Are You Ready for Friday Night?"Is this show about football or hockey? There was so many smackdowns (verbal and physical) tonight, that I think I'm forming bruises in sympathy. What does it say about a show when the characters who are doing the best at the moment are the ones who recently committed murder?That's right, you Tyra and Landry fans — the deed has been done, is probably going to be done again. And it seems like they're genuinely in love. Dillon's former bad girl — who seems to have passed on her particular brand of anger to Julie, but more on which later — is in a relationship with a guy that respects her and won't take advantage, so it's just too bad that the entire foundation of their love is that they killed someone. Their watch-shopping scene was the sweetest and lightest of the night ("it really doesn't look anything like [the old watch] except that they are both watches and have hands and tell time"). Definitely a welcome respite fro...
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Minka Kelly and Scott Porter in Friday Night Lights by Paul Drinkwater/NBC Photo
Friday Night Lights' Minka Kelly, Adrianne Palicki and Scott Porter are among the host of fresh young faces currently taking part in director George Miller's two-day marathon casting session for Justice League of America, says the Hollywood Reporter. Miller has some 40 up-and-comers on his radar for the comic-book-based film, which is looking to fill the costumes of Superman, Wonder Woman (Jessica Biel "passed"), Batman, Flash, Aquaman, Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter. Others on yesterday and today's short list include Adam Brody (The O.C.), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Grindhouse), Michael Anganaro (Will & Grace), Teresa Palmer (Wolf Creek) and rapper Common.
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Matt tries to figure out how to deal with the women in his life. Zach Gilford by Bill Records/NBC
Episode Recap: "Bad Things"Regular readers of this blog know that this show make me cry on a pretty regular basis. Tonight's episode was no exception, though I'm not sure what part was most affecting. You'd think it would be Jason still coming to terms with his paralysis after recovering some muscle function, but that's really just par for the course on this show. As usual, Connie Britton's flawless portrayal of a new mother with a crumbling psyche was wrenching to watch. Was there any scene in which she wasn't desperately trying to swallow her sobs? And the thing is, it all seemed so completely organic — there was no screaming or a melodramatic "Why me?" moment. It's hard not to love a show that allows its characters to fully comprehend the ridiculousness of their choices, and when Glenn (the guidance counselor in need of guidance) asked Tami why exactly she and Eric were living apart, her acknowledgement of, "I don't know, that was just my idea, it was just a stupid idea," wa...
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The Taylors adjust to their new situation. Connie Britton, Aimee Teegarden, Kyle Chandler by Bill Records/NBC
Episode Recap: "Last Days of Summer""Welcome back to another glorious year of Panther football." I'm not ready to classify the football as glorious just yet, what with this new Coach McGregor (the anti-Eric Taylor) and all, but the show itself is certainly back and in sublime form.Let us first welcome into the world Miss Grace Taylor, second daughter of Eric and Tami, sister to suddenly moody teen, Julie. Now Eric has another daughter to defend against football players and Swedes; too bad he's a plane ride away in Austin. His new coaching job at TMU is having a deleterious effect on his family and (I'm not even being dramatic when I say this) the entire football-loving community in Dillon, but more about that in a bit. Julie won't talk to him because she considers him to have been an absentee father for the last 8 months, and Tami — Connie Britton, proving yet again how wrong the Emmy voters got it with her incredible performance tonight — is absolutely destroyed that he c...
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Question: Do you think the Emmys should do like the Daytime awards and have a younger/newcomer actor and actress award? I've watched Friday Night Lights since Episode 1, and I tend to forget that Scott Porter is not really handicapped and Zach Gilford probably does not stutter in real life. It just seems a shame that the Hugh Lauries and Michael Chiklises of the world get all of the attention.
Answer: As I've said before, younger performers often do get unfairly overlooked at the Emmys. But I'm not a big fan of expanding the number of categories in an already overcrowded system. And there seems to be something condescending about singling out the work of younger actors (or actors who are playing younger) and segregating them in their own category, as if they're operating on a different level than the grown-ups. If only the grown-ups could see that the younger actors are doing award-worthy work. It's a dilemma, but I'm not sure this is the solution ...
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