Friday Night Lights Cast: Where Are They Now?

Clear eyes, full hearts... can't get a job?

Friday Night Lights Jesse Plemons
NBC

Friday Night Lights is one of the great dramas of our time, a show that really had it all. An abundance of warmth but a knack for stories that dealt with the harsh realities of life, a great sense of humour, some of the most stirringly emotional scenes ever seen on TV, and an incredible ability to make even the least sporty viewer deeply invested in football.

Most of all, it had one of the great ensembles in the medium’s history. Every role was cast perfectly, with the show taking what looked like archetypes, and instead developing each character into something whole and rounded. With the benefit of some tremendous actors and actresses, FNL assembled a brilliant cast - and then did it again with an almost entirely new one after season four’s shift in focus to the other side of town.

Some of the performers deservedly went on to become household names, box office draws and the stalwarts of successful shows. Others don’t get around so much anymore, for reasons understandable and otherwise. But the majority of them got their break coming out of Dillon, Texas.

12. Scott Porter (Jason Street)

Friday Night Lights Jesse Plemons
NBC

Jason Street, the all-American quarterback and most talented member of the team, seems set up to be the show’s star, but a terrible injury in the first episode swerves FNL and Scott Porter’s character in another direction. Street’s story is one of overcoming adversity and accepting the hand life deals you.

As his character wound down, Porter quickly made the transition to recurring roles in similarly worthy contemporary dramas, with a year’s worth of work in each of Battlestar Galactica prequel Caprica and legal procedural The Good Wife. He has also appeared briefly in Parenthood - not a role of note, but the show was seemingly compulsory for FNL alumni.

More recently, he has carved out something of a niche for himself as a voice actor on comic book properties. He played Scott Summers in a couple of X-Men dubs, and was a main cast member on season four of Ultimate Spider-Man. He provided his services to the Avengers Assemble animated show, and is currently voicing Flash on the acclaimed Harley Quinn series.

Contributor
Contributor

Yorkshire-based writer of screenplays, essays, and fiction. Big fan of having a laugh. Read more of my stuff @ www.twotownsover.com (if you want!)