Today, most actors would do anything for the chance to star in a Taylor Swift music video, but 11 years ago, one of her costars didn't even know who she was. On Jan. 24, Friday Night Lights star Zach Gilford revealed on the LadyGang podcast that he didn’t remember Swift while making her “Ours” video in late 2011 name.
“I was just so out of touch with reality,” he explains. "They were filming all the behind-the-scenes footage on that music video and they were interviewing me, and I'm really bad with names and I'm not sure if her name is Taylor or Taylor." To solve his problem, Guilford cleverly They call her Ms. Swift. "I would go, 'Ms.' Swift, she's amazing. She's so lovely. She's so great to work with," he recalled. "If I said her name wrong, I'd be the first one to get canceled."
Despite forgetting her name, Guilford spoke candidly about his experience working with Swift, even revealing that she gave him a sentimental gift after filming ended. "That was the best thing, she gave me a handwritten note with things to do in Nashville," he said. "It's so sweet and thoughtful and I think there's some little heart above the 'i'."
While Guilford may not know the singer entirely, she definitely knows who he is. In a 2011 interview with Taste of Country , Swift explained why she chose the actor to play her love interest in the music video. “All the characters he plays are so likable,” she said. "I've seen him in the movies and TV shows he's been in, and I'm always impressed when he's on screen. He's always full of enthusiasm, and that's what I wanted in this character."
Over the years, Swift's ability to perfectly cast her partners in her music videos has only grown. Her Grammy-winning video for "Bad Blood" alone featured more than a dozen big-name guest appearances, including Selena Gomez, Ellen Pompeo and Mariska Hargitay, who The feat was repeated again in 2019's "You Need to Calm Down" video, this time featuring Katy Perry, Ryan Reynolds and a host of LGBTQ+ stars. Most recently, she featured Laura Dern, Dita Von Teese, and HAIM in her Bejeweled video, and she's gearing up to release her Lavender Haze video, which features transgender model and actress Lay Laith Ashley co-stars as her love interest. If Swift decides to stop making music (God forbid), she has a bright future as a casting director.
