While Friday Night Lights was not Taylor Kitsch’s first big job, it’s safe to say it was his breakout role, and to this day it’s one of the projects he’s best known for. Back in 2006, he was cast as Tim Riggins in Peter Berg’s show based on the film of the same name, and now the two creatives have reunited, 17 years later for Netflix’s Painkiller. While discussing this new drama, Berg opened up about seeing Kitsch grow as an actor over the course of nearly two decades, and he explained to CinemaBlend why he’s loved seeing him “shed the Tim Riggins legacy.”
Both Friday Night Lights and Kitsch’s performance as Tim were critically acclaimed and wildly popular. The tortured football player was a constant among the Dillon Panthers. While he wasn’t a regular during the show’s final season, Tim Riggins still played an important part in the story, and to this day the actor behind him is known for the role. However, Berg noted that after the NBC drama came to an end, The Terminal List star was determined to not play a version of Tim Riggins over and over again. During the Painkiller junket, the director spoke to me about his relationship with the actor, and how he’s loved seeing him grow up and past the Dillon Panthers running back. He said:
