For those of us who have watched and loved the last three seasons of Friday Night Lights, it's been incredibly frustrating to watch the Television Academy snub the show and its superlative writing, acting and directing time after time. Connie Britten and Kyle Chandler, as well as supporting cast members like Taylor Kitsch and minor players like Brad Leland and Louanne Stephens, are so naturalistic that I sometimes think that the Academy voters must be confused and mistake the show for a documentary. Like The Wire, it's too good for its own good.
But my hands-down favorite character on the show is Matt Saracen, and Zach Gilford, who portrays him, has broken my heart to pieces and repaired it again too many times to count. He's my age, but his stuttering, mumbling delivery and sideways glances are so believably teenage that it hurts to watch. Last week's episode of the show focused heavily on Saracen, who was struggling with the news of his father's death in Iraq and the subsequent social rituals of wake and funeral that are difficult even for adults with large, supportive families. I knew I was in for a powerful episode of the show from the beginning, but I hadn't banked on crying so much - and remaining affected after the closing credits. Gilford absolutely nailed every moment of the episode. He resisted the temptation to go for full-on scenery chewing and instead stayed true to Matt Saracen. His stoicism, slowly increasing angst, and eventual breakdowns in the episode were earned. And his acting should earn him an Emmy.
Obviously the Hollywood Suggestion Box isn't alone in this opinion, and the good folks at PopEater have taken it on themselves to do something beyond just praise his performance. They've started a Facebook push to get Gilford an Emmy nom, and you can read more about it here. So log on to your Facebook and weigh in. Let's make this suggestion a reality!
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