Gaius Charles News

Ever since Friday Night Lights' Season 3 renewal, many fans such as ourselves have been waiting for the other cleat to drop.

Now, Michael Ausiello of Entertainment Weekly reports, two of the series' stars, Gaius Charles (Smash Williams) and Scott Porter (Jason Street), have been taken off contract and will only appear on a recurring basis.

In a statement, executive producer Jason Katims said:

"Peter Berg, myself and our fellow producers have enormous respect for Scott and Gaius both as actors and individuals. In short, we love them. However, both of their characters have now graduated and in the creative spirit of the show, we have decided to give them powerful four episode arcs that will observe their characters as they launch themselves into the next phase of their lives. We certainly will keep the door open for both actors to return in the future, depending on the actors' availabilities. We know both Scott and Gaius will go on to have enormous success and we wish the best for both of them."

It's a big disappointment, but at the same time, not a complete surprise.

Regarding Smash, Katims conceded long ago that finding a way to justify hanging onto his college-bound running back would be difficult.

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NBC has released promotional photos of the Friday Night Lights cast in advance of Season Two, which premieres October 5. We've got them all here!

Zach Gilford (Matt Saracen)

Follow the jump for the rest of these great Friday Night Lights cast pics ...

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In anticipation of Season Two of Friday Night Lights, we're taking a closer look at each of the principal cast members, most of whom you might not know too much about. And you should, because they rule.

Yesterday, we profiled the adorable Aimee Teegarden. Today, we'll tell you a little bit about 24-year-old Gaius Charles, who plays the brash, star tailback Brian "Smash" Williams on Friday Night Lights.

A 2005 graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, Gaius received his B.F.A. in drama, graduating magna cum laude. He performed in productions such "The Wild Party," "Candide," and "Spunk," the first all-black production in the conservatory's 100-year history, while at Carnegie Mellon.

Gaius Charles also appeared in the Princeton Shakespeare Festival productions of "Romeo and Juliet," as Mercutio, and "A Comedy of Errors." He also wrote, performed and produced a one-man show, "Meet Me in Iraq." In television, Charles guest starred in the short-lived NBC drama Book of Daniel.

Despite playing a star running back on TV, Gaius Charles gave up the track team in real life to devote more time to the school theater in high school.

He sprained his foot getting in shape for his Friday Night Lights audition and wound up in the ER, which, ironically, gave him extra time to prepare and he nailed the audition a week later, landing the role of Smash Williams.

Off the field (and TV set) Charles has a passion for aviation and hopes to become a licensed private pilot one day. He is also heavily involved with Youth Ministry, and has been for the past decade.

Gaius Charles was born May 2, 1983 in New York City, and raised in Queens, New York and Northern New Jersey. He currently resides in Teaneck, N.J.

When shooting for Season Two began in July, it was like the first day back to school for the returning cast of Friday Night Lights, reports the Austin American-Statesman.

Probably compounding that feeling this feeling was the fact that they were shooting at an Austin alternative school.

Though the show only earned two Emmy nominations, spirits remain high on the set.

Taylor Kitsch (pictured, who plays Tim Riggins), returning from shooting an independent film called Gospell Hill, said he was glad to be back and was happy to slip back into Riggins' evolving world of problems.

"It feels funny. It feels good," Kitsch said.

"We are all so lucky."

Taylor, who recently bought a condo in South Austin near the Alamo Drafthouse on Lamar Boulevard, is taking the show script by script.

He said he wasn't bitter about the show's Best Drama snub, but there's no doubt members of the cast were, in fact, snubbed.

"Truthfully, Kyle Chandler really deserved it. He's the spine of the show." Kitsch said. "Hopefully it will give the show more fuel for the fire. It hasn't taken away from the confidence we all have in each other."

Spoken like a true leader on the football field.

Meanwhile, Adrianne Palicki (Tyra Collette), who spent time back home in Ohio and in L.A. with Connie Britton for the summer, says a lot of loose ends get tied up in the first two episodes of Season Two, including the return of the character who tried to sexually assault Tyra.

Palicki says she's getting lots of positive feedback from fans, especially those who appreciate the show's strong female characters.

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Super sleuth Michael Ausiello of TV Guide was recently asked to clear up a very good question regarding the cast of Friday Night Lights: Which players, if any, will be entering their senior season this fall?

It's a valid inquiry, seeing that high school football players can only play four years, and their status in this regard is infrequently mentioned, if at all. Apparently, the only senior among the big guns is Smash Williams.

This raises another interesting question - does Smash's recruitment by a major college mean Gaius Charles will be written off Friday Night Lights, should it be lucky enough to be extended to a third season by NBC?

Maybe. Maybe not.

While Friday Night Lights executive producer Jason Katims wouldn't rule out that possibility, Gaius Charles offered another possibility:

"If they can make Coach Taylor work as a character outside of [Dillon], I don't see any reason why they can't make my character work that way," Charles said. "I trust the writers."

Indeed, Eric Taylor is now at the helm of TMU, not Dillon High School, with a new coach hired to replace him. How long he stays there is uncertain, however, and he will remain the focal point of the show regardless.

It will certainly be interesting to see what the writers have in mind for Smash, but it's good to know that most of the regulars have at least two years left!