Gilmore Guy's "Snob Mentality"

• Oct 12, 2004 04:00 AM ET
• by Ben Katner

Even before making his Gilmore Girls debut last week, Matt Czuchry knew very well how we would react to his character, Yale sophomore Logan. Not only does the smart-mouthed Ivy Leaguer push the buttons of America's sweetheart, Rory (Alexis Bledel), but his snobbery is rivaled only by that of her persnickety grandmother, Emily.

"I could tell people were going to hate me on sight," the baby-faced 27-year-old shares with TV Guide Online. "Logan is completely unapologetic. He'll go off in the summer and crash Daddy's yacht into a buoy, and his dad will fly him away in a helicopter so he won't have to deal with any of the consequences.

"Obviously, this guy is 180 degrees different from Rory and from her past boyfriends, so how could the audience not be kind of spun out when they see him come on? But," he adds with the snicker of a born pot-stirrer, "that's what we're going for."

To make matters worse for the newbie — or, on second thought, more interesting — his upper-crust counterpart seems hell-bent on coming between our heroine and Marty (Wayne Wilcox), the underdog who's been following her around like a puppy. "I don't think that's going to happen," Czuchry insists. "My understanding is that Dean (Jared Padalecki) is going to be in the picture, but so am I. So [fans] will be p---ed, but hopefully they'll also be like, 'Wow! Man, I hate this guy, but I kind of like him, too!' That's how Rory's feeling."

As if Logan's love of a great debate, resemblance to Chilton kissing-bandit Tristan (Chad Michael Murray) and obvious need for an attitude adjustment weren't enough to make him irresistible to Rory, he will also be able to introduce the small-town gal to some big-time intrigue. "She's not in Stars Hollow anymore!" Czuchry notes wryly. "We just filmed an episode about the secret society that Logan is in. It's different from anything Rory's ever seen, so it's really opening her eyes to a whole new world. The audience is going to love it... and hate it." We believe him. After all, he's been right so far.