‘Friday Night Lights’ Director Didn’t Know Who Tim McGraw Was When He Auditioned

Before Friday Night Lights became a fan-favorite TV show in 2006, the H.G. Bissinger book – released in 1990 – was made into a hit movie. That film starred Billy Bob Thornton as Coach Gary Gaines and became a critical and commercial success in the fall of 2004. But prior to its production, director Peter Berg had never heard of Tim McGraw, who ultimately landed a role in the movie.

Tim McGraw plays Charles Billingsley in ‘Friday Night Lights’

McGraw, of course, had been a popular country music star for many years prior to Friday Night Lights. The singer released his self-titled debut studio album in 1993. He would go on to reportedly sell 80 million records worldwide, as one of the biggest-selling artists of all time. And eventually, McGraw would become an actor as well.

In Friday Night Lights, he plays Charles Billingsley, the abusive father of Garrett Hedlund’s Donny Billingsley. The TV series inspired by the film features different characters, such as Billy Bob Thornton as Coach Gary Gaines. Donny becomes the basis for Tim Riggins, whom Taylor Kitsch played throughout the show’s five-season run on NBC. So it’s easy to see how McGraw plays a pivotal role in the movie.

‘Friday Night Lights’ director Peter Berg didn’t know Tim McGraw

Although McGraw left a lasting impression in Friday Night Lights, he had essentially no acting experience prior to meeting with Berg. His only acting credits, in fact, were a guest role on The Jeff Foxworthy Show, an appearance as himself on Sesame Street, and a supporting role in the 2004 indie film Black Cloud. But McGraw was intrigued by the prospect of working on Friday Night Lights.

“When I read the Friday Night Lights script, I called up Pete Berg, who directed it, and he didn’t know me from Adam,” McGraw told Esquire. “He told me he’d already cast the part with another musician. I went and did my audition. We had to go to Paris, and as soon as we got in the hotel room, the phone rang. It was Billy Bob Thornton: ‘I just got a call from Pete Berg, who said, ‘Some country singer just came in here and blew me away.’ It was a good vote of confidence. But on the other hand, I was like, How the hell don’t you know who I am?”

Tim McGraw most recently starred in ‘Yellowstone’ prequel ‘1883’

With everything McGraw had accomplished in music prior to Friday Night Lights, his question about how Berg wouldn’t know him is valid. But even so, McGraw has delivered several more performances in both movies and television since playing Charles Billingsley. His movie roles include 2008’s Four Christmases, 2009’s The Blind Side, and 2015’s Tomorrowland.

On the TV side, McGraw has hosted Saturday Night Live, appeared on several reality shows, and served as a key adviser in The Voice Season 11. But perhaps his most notable acting role is as James Dutton on Yellowstone and its prequel spinoff 1883. The latter show premiered on Paramount+ in 2021, though it ended its limited, 10-episode run the following year.