Zach Gilford

Gilford is the son of Anne and Steve Gilford. His mother is Lutheran, and his father is Jewish. He graduated from Evanston Township High School and Northwestern University. He worked as a trip leader for Adventures Cross-Country and has led wilderness and adventure trips for teenagers to Alaska, British Columbia, California, Hawaii, and the South Pacific. Gilford also worked as a staff member for YMCA Camp Echo in Fremont, Michigan.

In 2005, he appeared in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In 2006, Gilford landed a regular role in Friday Night Lights: the part of Matt Saracen in the main cast, from Season 1 through Season 3. In 2009, Gilford was switched to the recurring cast in Seasons 4 and 5. That year, he also made his feature film debut, co-starring in The Last Winter (2006). He had a cameo in the film Rise: Blood Hunter and guest starred in an episode of Grey's Anatomy. In 2009, he co-starred as Adam Davies in the romantic comedy Post Grad opposite Alexis Bledel. He also starred as Johnny Drake in the romantic drama Dare opposite Emmy Rossum. In 2010, he starred as Gus in the indie drama film The River Why alongside Amber Heard. He had a cameo in the movie Super. In 2010, he joined the cast of ABC's medical drama Off The Map which premiered in January 2011 but was cancelled after 13 episodes. In 2011, he appeared as Taylor Swift's love interest in her music video Ours". He played the role of Evan in the drama film Answers to Nothing. In 2012, he starred as Seth in the indie drama film In Our Nature alongside Jena Malone. In 2012, he was cast in another medical drama, The Mob Doctor, on Fox, opposite Jordana Spiro; this was also cancelled after 13 episodes. In January 2013, he appeared with Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Last Stand. He played the role of Matthew Iris in the film Crazy Kind of Love. He co-starred alongside Allison Miller in the horror film Devil's Due (2014), set in New Orleans and the Dominican Republic, released on January 17, 2014. He also co-starred in the film sequel The Purge: Anarchy, released on July 18, 2014. He guest starred in shows such as Drunk History, Tim and Eric's Bedtime Stories and Kingdom. In 2016, he starred as Danny Warren in the ABC drama series The Family. In 2017, Gilford starred as Conner Hooks in the YouTube Red futuristic web series Lifeline. In 2018, Gilford was cast in the recurring role of Gregg in the NBC series Good Girls. In 2019, he was cast as Ben Walker in the Bad Boys spinoff drama L.A.'s Finest. Zach also held a leading role in Midnight Mass released in 2021. In 2022, Gilford was cast in the recurring role of Elias Voit, a series unsub in Criminal Minds: Evolution. His then real life spouse Kiele Sanchez joined the series as his wife Sydney Voit. By January 2026, he was cast in the horror film Evil Dead Wrath from director Francis Galluppi.

In the spring of 2010, Gilford began dating actress Kiele Sanchez, whom he met on the set of the television pilot for the TV movie Matadors. The couple became engaged in November 2011, and married on December 29, 2012. The couple also co-starred in The Purge: Anarchy. In August 2015, Sanchez announced that she and Gilford were expecting a son in November. In October 2015, they announced that Sanchez had suffered a late-term miscarriage. The couple have one daughter, born in November 2017 through surrogacy, and a son born in June 2021. Gilford filed for divorce from his wife on April 19, 2025.