Most television shows set in high school go to ridiculous lengths to keep the characters together long past graduation day (see: 'Beverly Hills, 90210' and 'Gossip Girl'). But when the time comes for the high school-ers on 'Friday Night Lights' to move on -- most of them actually do.For season 4, which aired on DirecTV last fall and premieres tonight on NBC, 'Friday Night Lights' has introduced a new set of characters played by Michael B. Jordan, Jurnee Smollett and Matt Lauria. The three talked to TV Squad about joining the critically-acclaimed show.
Last season, after being forced out at Dillon High School, Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) went over to the other side of town to field a team at the newly-reopened East Dillon. Jordan (who may be best known as Wallace on 'The Wire') plays troubled quarterback Vince Howard, while Lauria's Luke Cafferty is a star running back. Smollett's character, Jess Merriweather, has history with Vince, but also forms a friendship with transfer student Landry (Jesse Plemons).
Vince and Luke, Friday Night LightsJordan, Lauria and Smollett chatted with me about the big shoes they had to fill, love triangles and doing their own stunts. (Note: I saw the first run on DirecTV, but there are no major spoilers ahead.) Read a season 4 preview here.
How did you guys feel coming on this already-established show as the "new generation"?
Lauria: It's a huge honor, for sure. I'm a huge fan of the show and I've watched all the episodes leading up to the fourth season. To go and become a part of it is really a dream come true. Definitely when we first started, I had this huge feeling of responsibility to try and live up to the standards of myself and so many other fans.
Were you worried about being accepted by fans who'd grown to love the original characters?
Jordan: You can't really think about that ... you can't really get that inside your head, because people are going to blog, people are going to comment. Everyone has their own opinions, they have their own favorites and what not. But, you can't compare yourself to other characters on the show because everybody has their own thing, their own way and they bring something different to the table. I think for us, it was just [about] coming in and figuring out our characters and being true to who they are.
Lauria: The writers did an amazing job of transitioning from Dillon to East Dillon really smoothly. I've found that all the die-hard fans of the show have even said that to us at different times. They said, "I didn't know if I'd like the new school, or the new characters," but it just happened so seamlessly that they love it. They've all been rallying behind us and really wanted to see this underdog school succeed. [The fans] are eased into it. Some of the characters graduate and move on, but many of the really awesome characters that we all love are still on the show. Landry and Matt Saracen, Tim Riggins, even Lyla shows up for a little bit and of course Aimee Teegarden's Julie is going to be around, even in the fifth season. There's some of the new, but it's not like they got rid of the old. All the stuff that we love about 'Friday Night Lights' is still there and it's back.
Kyle Chandler, Michael B JordanDid you guys feel like you integrated easily into the cast? Was it difficult to fit in at all?
Smollett: Thanks to the cast and crew, it was seamless, honestly. They made such an effort to make us feel at home, they went above and beyond the call of duty just to make us feel like one of them, one of the 'Friday Night Lights' family members. When we landed, there was a huge cast dinner where the producers and the cast got together to welcome all of us. They described what it's like and they just pumped us up, almost like coach was giving us one of those --
Jordan: Pregame speech?
Smollett: Yeah, yeah! He was giving us a pregame speech or something and it was great. It completely broke the ice and we were so fired up that we just wanted to get in and get our fingers wet.
Jordan: Exactly. The more they talked about it -- it didn't really do it any justice because you can't really explain what it's like to shoot a scene for 'Friday Night Lights' until you're actually in it and you're actually doing it because there's nothing like it. Any job that I've done prior to this just doesn't come close.
Sometimes, in shows that feature high school-age characters, they try to keep everyone together. Maybe they all happen to end up at the same college, even that's not realistic. But 'Friday Night Lights' didn't choose to go that route ...
Smollett: I think it speaks volumes about the level of integrity the writers and creators try to maintain on this show. No one is trying to just write things for the sake of drama, it's really about searching out what's truthful and what's not. Some of the characters graduate this year, we're going to graduate. That level, that tone is set from the top and it just trickles down to everyone who is part of the crew, all of us as actors. We all just try to search for our own individual truths and maintain that kind of credibility with the show.
Jurnee Smollett, Michael B JordanDo any of you identify with your characters? Are you able to relate to them?
Lauria: It's interesting, because Mike plays a character who is really, really athletic and really masculine and tough. I mean, it couldn't be further from the truth in reality. [Laughs] No athletic ability whatsoever -- no, I got to give credit where credit is due. He does a lot of his own stunts, he's really learned how to play football and throw the ball. He's got a cannon and I'm a little jealous [laughs].
Smollett: We can definitely relate. As an actor though, there's always something in your character that you see yourself in ... I know that the kind of dynamic I have with my siblings and my brothers, I definitely can relate to the way I tease them and joke with them and the way I kind of sometimes feel like I'm one of the boys. I have four brothers in my own life and my character has three brothers, it's kind of those dynamics where they tease me about who --
Jordan: Who you're dating?
Smollett: Yeah, like with Vince. My character is dating two football players -- or in a love triangle I should say -- and that I can't relate to, that's not me, but ...
Lauria: I think that each of us has ways that our characters probably -- I mean there are things about our characters that attracted all of us to them and those are the parts that really shine because we can rally behind them. It's the same way that you as a fan relate to some characters ... I definitely am inspired by my character's passion and drive. It's easy to be inspired by these characters.
Jesse Plemons, Michael B. JordanJurnee, as you said, your character is involved in a love triangle. Can you see both sides of it or do you have a favorite in your head?
Smollett: [Laughs] My character, Jess Merriweather -- it's interesting because she's the daughter a former football player and my father never went pro, so he hates the game, yet he loves the game. He doesn't want her dating football players, he doesn't want her around them. She ends up in a love triangle with two of them and I guess this is how life works some times. It's crazy, when I'm in the scenes, I feel so bad for Jess, because she really, genuinely has a connection with both guys. I would always try and heckle the creators and the writers to try and find out who she goes with. There's such friction and history between Jess and Vince. He's broken and she likes to fix things [laughs].
Matt and Michael, did you play football before? And Michael, are you really doing your own stunts?
Jordan: I never played football before I got the role and came down to Texas. I threw the football around maybe five or six times before, honestly. Once I got down there, I just took responsibility and tried to step up and do the part justice. That's one of the joys of being an actor -- you wear so many different hats. You learn different trades that you never would have done or you never would have experience doing one thing or being in one occupation. Michael B. Jordan as Vince HowardI kind of enjoy the fact that I can become this high school football star. So, yeah. Doing my own stunts, yeah.
Lauria: Yeah, people are impressed. Me on the other hand, the only teams I've ever been on growing up were track teams and also soccer. I played a lot of backyard football, but never actually wore pads and stuff. That was something to get used to. All of a sudden you're a lot wider, you've got a heavy helmet on. Now I'm used to it, but I remember us hugging a bunch of people on set, like the ladies who do your make-up or whatever, and then clocking them in face with our shoulder pads. [Laughs] But, no, it's a lot of fun. The thing I love about being on a football show is it's like being in a war movie or something like that. There's something tangible that you can fight for right in front of you. It's like instant drama, instant obstacles, so it's pretty exciting.
Smollett: Nice way to put it, Matt!
Lauria: I wrote it down.
Matt, you're involved in a pretty heavy, dramatic storyline when your character, Luke, gets into a difficult situation with a girl, Becky (Madison Burge). Without spoiling anything, it's a storyline that could be somewhat controversial.
Lauria: Yeah, Luke finds himself in trouble with a lady. [Laughs] without giving too much away, it's just like Jurnee said, the writers of this show never compromise the truth and if that means dealing with the hard issues, that's what they do.Matt Lauria and Madison Burge They do it in an honest way and I don't think that they sugar coat it. What I loved about this challenge with this young lady, was that these kids are just 16, 17 years old and it's not going to be easy. They're not going to have all the answers, they're going to make mistakes and they're not going to have the most smoothly-operated course through those mistakes. There's a lot of learning on the way and so I think I was privileged to be able to play the part with these two kids who are struggling to make it work, to figure things out and in a situation that's well over their heads. For an actor, that's the exciting part, that's the fun stuff, that's the stuff that lets you get dirty and have fun.
You guys are filming season five?
Jordan: Yes, we're currently shooting season five right now.
What's the mood on set, since it's probably the last season?
Jordan: Nah, we'll be back, we'll be back. They say that all the time.
Smollett: We're fired up!
Jordan: We're on episode five right now in the fifth season, it's going pretty quick, pretty fast. We have eight more to go. We'll knock 'em out.
Matt Lauria, Taylor KitschLauria: The mood on set -- I mean everyone loves to come to work on this show. It's the greatest, most artistic and unpressured atmosphere except for when Mike's --
Smollett: Being a diva.
Lauria: He's a diva. She said it, not me. But the mood on set when I'm --
Jordan: That's what I've got to do to end the conversation? Next. [Laughs]
Smollett: See, we have so much fun. It's criminal to work on 'Friday Night Lights.' [Laughs]
Lauria: I've got to give a shout out to our caterers, the food that we eat here is the best.
Well, you are in Texas.
Jordan: Very true, very true.
Smollett: Another great thing is we are in Texas. Honestly, one thing that Nan [Bernstein, producer] was saying to all of us was like, "Isn't it great to fly to Dillon and see what Dillon would look like?"
Jordan: You can't get this in L.A. The commodities, the atmosphere -- you can't fake it, you have to be in it.
Smollett: The weather? it's hot.
Jordan: Yeah, it's hot down here.
Michael, do you still get recognized for your role on 'The Wire'? Do people still come up to you and ask "Where's Wallace?"
Jordan: All the time! I learned to answer to Wallace quite frequently, that's just the proof of the pudding. A show like 'The Wire,' everybody is a fan, it's a good show, people don't forget it. 'Friday Night Lights' is one of those shows that people won't forget for years to come, what we're doing will never be forgotten.
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