Background
Gilford was born in Evanston, Illinois, the son of Anne and Steve Gilford.
Gilford was born in Evanston, Illinois, the son of Anne and Steve Gilford.
He graduated from Northwestern University and Evanston Township High School.
He is of half Swedish and half Russian Jewish descent. He served 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 Young Men’s Christian Association 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, in which he played the role of Matt Saracen in the main cast, from Season 1 to 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). In 2009, he co-starred in Post Graduate opposite Alexis Bledel and in Dare opposite Emmy Rossum.
In 2010, he joined the cast of American Broadcasting Company"s medical drama Office The Map which premiered in January 2011 but was cancelled after 13 episodes.
In 2011, he appeared in Taylor Swift"s music video for "Ours", in which he played her love interest. In 2012, he was cast in another medical drama, The Mob Doctor, on Fox, opposite Jordana Spiro. However this was also cancelled after 13 episodes.
In January 2013, he appeared with Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Last Stand.
He co-starred in the horror film Devil"s Due (2014), set in New Orleans and the Dominican Republic, and released on January 17, 2014. He also co-starred in the film sequel The Purge: Anarchy, released on July 18, 2014.