Better than their first kiss? Luke and Lorelai have fought, made up and flirted over countless cups of coffee — but according to Scott Patterson, who plays the grumpy but lovable diner owner, the best is yet to come. The actor revealed exclusively to Us Weekly Video that the beloved TV couple’s best scene ever will be in Netflix’s Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. Find out what he said in the video above!
“We did it in one of these four chapters,” Patterson, 57, told Us of his favorite scene between the pair. “There are two that are penultimate Luke and Lorelai scenes. It will be the scenes to end all Luke and Lorelai scenes. They are just fantastic. I haven’t seen them, but I’ve been told.”
Patterson and Lauren Graham played Stars Hollow’s favorite “will they/won’t they” couple in the original Gilmore Girls series from 2000 to 2007. Fans last saw the two getting back together in the series finale. But one question remains: Could a baby be on the way? (This week, Netflix posted a photo of an apple on Lorelai’s kitchen table. She’s previously said that she craved apples when she was pregnant with Rory.)
“I can’t say,” Patterson told Us. “[If they did coparent I] think it would be exactly as we are without a child,” he added. “Maybe with a little bit of a power struggle but with love and some understanding. Maybe a couple of blowouts just like everybody else has. I don’t think it would be different than anyone else.”
As previously reported, the reboot will be broken down into four 90-minute episodes and premiere on Netflix in November. Patterson couldn’t wait to reunite with the cast, but he learned on set that getting back into character after nine years takes time.
“It wasn’t easy. I put the hat on and I put the shoes on, the clothes and everything, and when I got on set to film the first scene that we were doing, just rehearse the first scene we were going to be doing in the diner, I didn’t feel like Luke,” the musician explained to Us. “So I just stopped the whole thing and I went to [cocreator Amy Sherman- Palladino] and I said, ‘Let me take a walk around Stars Hollow or the set and try to get the whole feeling and scent back.’”
After regrouping, he eventually transformed into the rough-around-the-edges, bad-tempered but reliable owner of Luke’s Diner who so many continue to adore.
“[Luke’s] a throwback character. He’s the kind of a guy who I don’t know if we see enough of anymore on television or in real life,” Patterson said. “He’s the kind of guy where he’s going to be there for his loved one. He’s got everybody’s back. He’s loyal and he doesn’t want anything in return except maybe a little bit of respect or love back. He’s that strong-and-silent guy. That, to me, is very appealing to play.”
Patterson and his costars returned to the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California, in February to shoot for three-and-a-half months. They wrapped in May, but Patterson hopes that more episodes are on the horizon.
“I don’t see why not. I can’t say too much about how it ends up, but for me personally, it seems like there is room, yes, absolutely,” he told Us. “I would love to do it.”
For more with Patterson, read his Q&A in our Now and Then series:
US WEEKLY: What was your favorite part about returning to Stars Hollow?
SCOTT PATTERSON: Just getting back together with the cast and having a great time. We really didn’t get a chance to have any kind of closure when the original series ended, so it was nice to be able to regroup. And maybe, if this was the last time we were going to be together, we [were able to] savor all of those moments in the three-and-a-half months that we had together. It was just a really sweet homecoming.
US: What was your audition like for Gilmore Girls?
SP: It was the second of three auditions that I had for the day. I was just in a rush. I was late for the other one, and I just went in and did one scene quick and the whole vibe felt really good. And then I left and they were saying, ‘Where are you going? There’s another one.’ … [The second scene] said Duke. There was a misprint so I didn’t prepare that second scene … By the time I got home, there was a message on my machine that I got the job.
US: What are your thoughts on flannel and baseball caps after wearing them on set for so many years?
SP: I wear flannel shirts but I don’t wear the blue cap [in real life]. I wear other caps, but I don’t want to walk around looking like the character!
US: How do you relate to Luke?
SP: Obviously he’s a bit of an outsider; I’ve always been that way too. Also, his sense of loyalty and his sense of deep unexpressed and emotional love for those that he does love. And I love to cook.
US: Are you Team Jess or Team Logan?
SP: Oh, absolutely Team Jess. [Milo Ventimiglia and I] ride motorcycles together in L.A. Matt [Czuchry’s] got to come back with something better than that! That’s some tough competition.
US: What’s one of your favorite Luke and Jess scenes?
SP: I think pushing him in the lake, because we had only one take to do it. Milo is such a pro that he just said, ‘Push me as hard as you can.’ And I did. Great kid.
US: Will Luke’s daughter, April, be in the reboot?
SP: Yes! And love her. Love Vanessa [Marano], love the character. I know she’s a controversial character, but she does great work and is great to have on set.
US: Did you reunite often with the cast before the Netflix series?
SP: A couple of them! We all kind of travel around in the same circles. Like I said, Milo and I have a motorcycle gang called the Scott and Milo MC. We kind of think that we’re bad but we’re not. We go around Malibu. We have a good time, then go to breakfast, that kind of thing. Real tough-guy stuff.
US: If you could play another character on the show, who would it be?
SP: Probably Jess because he reminds me so much of me when I was that age during the original series.
US: Have you kept any other props from the show?
SP: Oh yeah, tons! I backed up my pickup truck and loaded it up one night. Warner Bros. security didn’t stop me. … All the hats. I have some chairs from the diner. I have framed pictures. I just have all kinds of paraphernalia from that set.
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life debuts on Netflix on November 25.
When not in Stars Hollow, Patterson performs with his band, Gordon. For more info, go here. Find out more information about his upcoming gig here.
