‘Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life’: Scott Patterson Says Luke Is Lorelai’s Gibraltar
Gilmore Girls” is returning to TV via Netflix on Nov. 25, with four new 90-minute episodes titled “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.” Variety spoke with the cast about their favorite “Gilmore” memories and what we can expect from the new episodes.
Scott Patterson has been there from the beginning. Literally — he appears within the first minute of the “Gilmore Girls” pilot.
“My first day I walked into the rear of the set of Luke’s Diner and was watching the two girls having a scene in the diner, and it was a cold day, but it all just felt right,” Patterson tells Variety. “After I finished shooting that first scene I knew it was going to work. That tuning fork goes on in your soul.”
For the next seven seasons, that tuning fork hummed. Patterson was one of the earliest agitators for a revival. “I just thought the fans got a little stiffed there at the end of the seventh season,” he says. “And I just know from my perspective, if I hang in there for seven years and I don’t get the full monty, I’m going to ask for a refund.”
Stepping back into Stars Hollow and Luke’s skin after such a lengthy hiatus wasn’t easy, though the impeccable set recreation helped. “It took a little adjustment to get back into it, but you get there,” Patterson says.
Patterson is a little looser than Luke. The appeal of playing a character like Luke Danes, love of Lorelai Gilmore’s (Lauren Graham) life, was his throwback nature, for Patterson. “He’s loyal, he’s loving, and maybe one of his best qualities is that he doesn’t change. He’s resistant to change,” he says. “He has this Gibraltar-ish sense of comfort he can give.” Lorelai needs that stability in these new episodes, as she attempts to cope with the loss of her father.
“They are still together, they’re figuring out their next steps in life together,” Patterson says. “He is that rock for her. But there are many curves and twists in the road, and rocks falling from above, and no guardrails, and thousand-foot drops. It’s treacherous sledding in these four episodes for old Luke-y.”
One thing that hasn’t changed is Luke’s aversion to new technology. Even in the age of the smart phone, the infamous “no cell phones” policy at Luke’s Diner still stands — “I think it’s an even bigger sign,” Patterson says.
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