Taylor Kitsch News

Mark your calendars, Dillon Panthers fans.

NBC has, at long last, announced the network premiere date for Season 3 of Friday Night Lights! It all begins Friday, January 16 at 9 p.m.

New episodes of this critically acclaimed fan favorite have been airing on DirecTV's 101 Network on Wednesdays, and those of us who've seen them can assure you Season Three of Friday Night Lights is definitely worth the wait.

Just to sweeten this good news a little more, here's Taylor Kitsch (Tim Riggins) on the FNL set in Austin, Texas, talking about going shirtless...

Friday Night Lights star Taylor Kitsch (Tim Riggins), will play Gambit (Remy LeBeau) in the new movie, X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Taylor Kitsch signed a three-picture deal and will be joining the X-Men stars Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Liev Schreiber (Sabretooth), Danny Huston (William Stryker), Lynn Collins (Silver Fox) and Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool).

We're psyched - X-Men Origins: Wolverine is set to open May 1, 2009.

Taylor Kitsch, who plays bad boy Tim Riggins on Friday Night Lights, spoke to BuddyTV about the new developments with his character. Excerpts below...

BuddyTV: First, why don't you start by telling us about your character?

Taylor Kitsch: Oh, where do I start, that's the thing. He's this kid who deals with alcoholism. There's lack of a family. His brother has kind of turned his back on him this season. He's just a kid that's been jaded and he's lacking a sense of purpose. All these things that have happened in his life have kind of impeded the growth or his decision making. And the repercussions, he's still just not understanding them. So, it's a really fun character.

BuddyTV: Right. So you know he is kind of the "bad boy" on the show. Are we going to get to see him grow up and mature a little this season?

Taylor Kitsch: Absolutely. I think even in episodes three to seven, Tim Riggins goes to Mexico with Jason Street and he's just trying to do the right thing, you know? And again, he's learning probably slower than normal just because of the trust factor and everything that impedes it. But slowly but surely, he's trying.

BuddyTV: Let's talk about the show in general. It almost didn't get a 2nd season and so once it was renewed, did the writers and producers decide to change the tone to attract more viewers?

Taylor Kitsch: I don't know. I think we all kind of stuck to our guns. If anything, we're more intense and we can do darker stuff because we are on Friday nights. So I think it's evolved for the better. The stories are great, and soon they're going to intertwine, which in my opinion is the best part of this show.

BuddyTV: One of the notable storylines is Landry and Tyra's that we saw at the beginning of the year. Do you think the writers are being true to the characters?

Taylor Kitsch: Absolutely. I was talking to Jesse Plemons who plays Landry, because everyone one was like, "Man, does this actually happen?" It happened weeks before they actually shot it. So we're staying very true to these characters and I'm sure they'll tell you the same. Even the things that are happening with Riggs and his family and everything else ... it happens, you know? And I think that's why people can connect so closely with these characters.

Follow the link to continue reading Taylor's interview ...

Taylor Kitsch talks about the return of Friday Night Lights (tonight), as well as his charity work, why it's important to be a role model for kids, and how he motivates himself to work out in the new Men's Health.

In his breakout season as the volatile fullback Tim Riggins, Taylor Kitsch appeared on the cover of Men's Health in January, showing us how to eat our way to a six-pack.

Last month, he took part in the Nautica Malibu Triathlon, which benefits Children's Hospital Los Angeles, but not just to show off his abs. Taylor is out to support fitness activities for kids.

In an interview with Men's Health, Kitsch talks about childhood obesity and the magazine's new initiative, Men's Health FitSchools. His advice can also help you shape up, too.

Men's Health: What can we expect in the premiere of Friday Night Lights?
Taylor Kitsch: Some intense stuff happens in the first episode with Landry (Jesse Plemons) and Tyra (Adrianne Pilicki). It's going to shape their characters for the rest of the season. I'm excited to see it myself.

Men's Health: How about the rest of the season?
Taylor Kitsch: Episode 2 might be more intense than the first. Tim Riggins is even more lost this year. He goes to Mexico with Jason Street (Scott Porter) and he lets loose. Last year, Riggins was very dark, but there's better balance this year. At times, he's comic relief, but there's also a serious matter with his best friend who has an idea to go for stem cell surgery, which he thinks will probably make him walk the next week. His friend has tunnel vision, so he's trying to figure out how to get through to him.

Men's Health: Is the mood as intense on set as it is in the show?
Taylor Kitsch: We have a lot of fun when we shoot the football scenes. Kyle Chandler (who plays Coach Taylor on Friday Night Lights) and I chuck the ball around in between takes. Just yesterday I was thinking, 'Man, I'm getting paid to throw the ball around and run routes.' I just laughed. It's really fun.

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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 look at each of its primary cast members, many of whom you probably don't know all that much about. Well, that's about to change.

Friday, we profiled the sexy Minka Kelly. Today, we'll take a look at a guy who got a lot of screen time with Kelly in the first season of Friday Night Lights - the brooding but handsome Taylor Kitsch.

Taylor Kitsch was born April 9, 1981 in Kelowna, British Columbia. A former hockey player, Kitsch has two older brothers and two younger sisters.

He moved to New York over five years ago after receiving a rare opportunity to pursue modeling with IMG and study acting there as well. After two years, he signed with production company, Untitled Entertainment.

Taylor Kitsch, seen here in 2006, first started acting in 2002.

As a model, Taylor Kitsch posed for publications such as CosmoGirl, YM, Teen Vogue, Super and N'uomo Vogue, while appearing in advertisements for Abercrombie & Fitch, Deisel, Clairol, Liz Clairborne and Osmos.

While living in New York, Taylor Kitsch also became certified as a nutritionist and personal trainer in addition to his acting.

Kitsch appeared in three successful movies - The Covenant, Snakes on a Plane and John Tucker Must Die - in 2006. He was also in the Pilot episode of Kyle XY and guested on the Canadian series Godivas.

Sprrrrrring Breeeeeeeak!!!!

Well, not really. But a Friday Night Lights film production unit was in Brownsville and popular party spot (and natural wonder) South Padre Island, Texas, last week to shoot scenes for the series, according to news reports.

Cast and crew spent a fews days filming in Cameron County parks on the Island, said assistant county parks director Joe Vega, who took in some of the action.

"We're glad they are going to feature our beautiful beaches on their show, even though (this episode) is supposed to be set in Mexico," he said.

This is for the episode in which Tim Riggins, Lyla Garrity and Jason Street decide to take a road trip south of the border. While South Padre is still in Texas, it's remote and about as close (geographically) to Mexico as one can get.

Austinite John Patterson, locations manager for the series, said his group includes more than 80 people. Three of the show's stars - the three who take the trip - came with the crew: Taylor Kitch, Scott Porter and Minka Kelly.

"Ninety-five percent of our crew are Texans," said Patterson, a graduate of the University of Texas in Austin, where the show films the majority of its footage. "It's possible we may shoot more sequences here in Texas."

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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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