Months before landing a starring role on NBC’s “Friday Night Lights,” Taylor Kitsch was homeless in New York City. For almost two weeks, he lived in the subway tunnels.

 

Now he lives in Austin while “Friday Night Lights” (Friday at 9 p.m. on WHDH, Ch. 7) is rolling.

 

The acclaimed NBC drama returned this month with a handful of new episodes. How much do you know about the cast? 

One’s not much of a drinker. Another uses his spare time to take high school students on wilderness trips. One was arrested for shoplifting.

Here’s a look at a few of the show’s popular actors and how they stack up against the characters they play:

Taylor Kitsch portrays Tim Riggins, star high school football player and hard-living teen.

What he has in common with his character: Both were abandoned by their fathers and subsequently searched for them. “My dad was never around,” Kitsch said. “He worked construction. I can relate to Tim in that way, that absence of some sort of figure in our lives.”