Even though she was bitten by the acting bug at the age of five, Toledo, Ohio native Adrianne Palicki didn’t get her start in the business until high school. Now, at 23, after a string of memorable guest appearances on such popular TV shows as Supernatural, Smallville and CSI, Palicki has had to relocate to Austin, Texas so that she could play bad girl Tyra Collette on the hit NBC series Friday Night Lights.
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By Christina Radish
Even though she was bitten by the acting bug at the age of five, Toledo, Ohio native Adrianne Palicki didn’t get her start in the business until high school. Now, at 23, after a string of memorable guest appearances on such popular TV shows as Supernatural, Smallville and CSI, Palicki has had to relocate to Austin, Texas so that she could play bad girl Tyra Collette on the hit NBC series Friday Night Lights.
Expanding on the hit feature film of the same name, this poignant series centers on the small rural town of Dillon, Texas, where the coveted state football championship rings are held in the highest regard. Dillon’s promising high school team, its star quarterback and newly appointed head coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) feel the mounting pressure of the town’s pride and honor riding on their shoulders as a new football season kicks off.
Comprised of mostly new, fresh faces, the cast also includes Scott Porter, as team captain and first-string quarterback Jason Street; Gaius Charles, as feared running back Brian “Smash” Williams; Taylor Kitsch, as running back Tim Riggins; Connie Britton, as Taylor’s supportive wife, Tami; Zach Gilford, as third-string quarterback Matt Saracen; and Minka Kelly, as Lyla Garrity, Panther cheerleader and Street’s girlfriend.
“At first, I thought, ‘Oh, Tyra’s the slutty character. She’s the bad girl,’” Palicki tells MediaBlvd Magazine. “But, the thing that [executive producer] Pete Berg wanted to bring to life was that these aren’t just ‘what you see is what you get’ characters. They’re in-depth. The reason that my character is a little bit of a tramp, and is a little cynical, comes from somewhere, which you find out later. So, the fact that it wasn’t going to be a stereotype is what drew me to the character. Progressively, you find out the reality in these characters. That’s what interested me. And, she’s also completely different than I was in high school, which is a lot of fun.” Palicki doesn’t see Tyra as just the ‘bad girl,’ but rather as someone who lives by the seat of her pants. “She doesn’t care what people think about her. She’s pretty much given up on the world, but she has good intentions and a heart of gold. Everything that she says, even if it seems mean, comes out of good intentions.”
Having been a fan of both the film and the book, Palicki had also shot the pilot for Aquaman, at the same time that she got Friday Night Lights. Had both shows been picked up, things might have turned out very differently for the rising star. “I’m a huge comic book fan and Aquaman was a huge deal. I tested for it for about a month. And then, Friday Night Lights came along. It was really shocking when Aquaman didn’t get picked up because it was one of those things that seemed like it would happen for sure. But, I’m really lucky and I can’t even explain how excited I am about Friday Night Lights.”
 Initially off to a bit of a rocky start in the ratings, now that the show has been picked up for a full season, the cast can rest a little easier, and focus more on fully developing their characters. “The misconception is that the show is about football, which it is, to some degree. It’s the vehicle that motivates all of these characters, and brings them together into one storyline, but it’s very realistic because it’s shot documentary style, and it’s very gritty. It’s not your average, over-the-shoulder camera show. When people are having sex, it’s almost cutting edge. There’s drugs and violence. It’s not just Hollywood’s idea of what’s realistic.”
Feeling fated to have won the role, since her high school mascot, school colors and cheerleading uniforms were the same as the ones for the show, Palicki says that viewers can look forward to a lot more development, not just for her character, but for all of the characters. “You’ll definitely see where she comes from. You’ll start to see why she is the way she is, which really adds so much life to the character. You’re like, ‘Why is she so cynical? Why is she so angry?’ But then, you really experience where she comes from and you see why. I think that will be very interesting.”
Palicki also hopes that Tyra will find someone other than a football player to date. “I don’t know who I’m going to end up with. Obviously, the Riggins storyline isn’t dead because they have a lot of history. But, I’d like to see her steer clear of all the characters, just because it’s a little too close to home.”
Hoping that people will not just write it off as another teen high school drama, like One Tree Hill or The O.C., Palicki believes that the realness of Friday Night Lights will help it find its audience, especially now that the show has moved to Wednesday nights. “I knew Tyra in high school. I was friends with her. None of these characters are what they appear to be. And, it’s not drama, just for the sake of having drama. It’s drama for the sake of realism. It deals with pressure, and it deals with things that I think people are afraid to go to the next level with, or push the envelope with. It’s frustrating when people compare us to teeny-bop shows because it’s not just for teenagers. It’s for everybody.” Since her career began, Palicki has played a love interest for some of the most popular young male actors on television, including Tom Welling and Jared Padalecki. Pointing out that each one of the experiences was very different, she admits that she certainly loves her job and would gladly reprise her role on either Smallville or Supernatural, if the opportunity arose.
“I’ve been really lucky. I’ve gotten to work with some amazing people. I don’t think I’ve worked with one bad person in my entire career. It’s really nice to just be able to kiss hot guys all day. It’s tough to get paid to do that.”
After three failed TV shows — Aquaman, The Robinsons: Lost in Space and South Beach — Palicki says that it makes the success of Friday Night Lights that much sweeter. “It’s nice that I’m not thinking about the next thing. It’s nice that I can settle back and enjoy where I’m at right now. As an actor, you never know. For the first time, I can relax and be like, ‘Okay, so I’m on a show, it’s doing well, I love doing it and I’m just going to enjoy this.’”
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