Zach Gilford Reflects on Losing the Role of Reid on ‘Criminal Minds’
Zach Gilford has quietly established one of the most intriguing character-actor careers of his generation. Transitioning from the earnest small-town quarterback in ‘Friday Night Lights’ to a chilling cult leader in ‘Midnight Mass,’ he has managed to do so without becoming a household name. This impressive range has made him a perfect fit for morally complex roles that linger with audiences long after the credits roll.
His current role may be the best testament to that range yet. Since 2022, Gilford has portrayed Elias Voit, the central antagonist in ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution,’ a character that has made him one of the most talked-about additions to the franchise in years. What many fans may not know is that his connection to the show goes back much further than his official debut.
Gilford shared that he originally auditioned for the franchise’s very first pilot in 2005, reading for what he believes was the role of Dr. Spencer Reid, a part that ultimately went to Matthew Gray Gubler and helped define the character for fifteen seasons. At that time, he didn’t even receive a callback, a rejection that stung considering how confident he was about securing steady work for years ahead.
Reflecting on it now, Gilford has come to terms with how things unfolded, and perhaps even more. He noted that landing that original role would have been less exciting, explaining to Entertainment Weekly that playing evidence-focused Reid for years wouldn’t have provided the same creative opportunities he has explored as Voit.
This insight highlights the contrast between Gilford’s career trajectory and the path he initially envisioned for himself. Instead of spending over a decade as a beloved but relatively straightforward genius profiler, he has crafted a résumé filled with morally ambiguous and unsettling characters in projects like ‘Midnight Mass’ and ‘The Midnight Club,’ experiences that arguably better equipped him for the complexities of portraying a franchise villain.
Voit has emerged as one of the more unique antagonists in the ‘Criminal Minds’ universe—an operations analyst who secretly manages a network of serial killers while leading an ordinary family life, completely unaware of his dual identity. Gilford has described his portrayal of the character as intentionally likable on screen, despite Voit’s genuinely dark nature, a choice that has made him far more unsettling than a typical villain.
Gilford has also been open about the bittersweet nature of finally joining a franchise that almost launched his career two decades ago. He has admitted to feeling conflicted while watching the original series over the years, knowing how close he came to originating one of its most iconic roles before ultimately missing out.
His return to the franchise sixteen years later has brought its own full-circle moments, including working alongside longtime cast member Joe Mantegna, an actor Gilford has expressed admiration for since childhood. This relationship, combined with his unexpected history auditioning for the original pilot, has made his experience on ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ feel more like fate than mere coincidence.
As the show continues to delve into the complexities surrounding Voit’s psychology, Gilford’s presence has become one of the reboot’s most consistently praised aspects. While missing out on Reid years ago may have been painful at the time, it’s hard to argue that the right actor ultimately landed in the right role.
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