Zach Gilford Is Having the Time of His Life Playing a Fan-Favorite Serial Killer on ‘Criminal Minds’
From trolling fans to ad-libbing hilarious dialogue, Zach Gilford is truly thriving as serial killer Elias Voit on Criminal Minds: Evolution.
"Any role I do, my goal is to make the audience like me. So, I don't care how bad or evil I am, I'm like, 'I need to make people like me.’ Then they'll want to watch me on screen," Gilford, 42, exclusively told Us Weekly about his approach to the Paramount+ series and all of his other projects.
Gilford was able to make Voit a fan-favorite character through his memorable performance — but he also had some help from the writers' room.
"They were so smart [because] they very consciously in the first season [made it so] you didn't really see Voit do anything bad," he pointed out. "One of the reasons why Voit stands out is because it's different. [If this was a] case-of-the-week bad guy, you're going to be like, 'Can we just catch him already?' So, I think they gave me such a gift of a role in [Voit being a season-long villian]."
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The first season of Criminal Minds: Evolution (a.k.a season 16 of OG Criminal Minds series) introduced Voit as the main antagonist. The BAU spent the entire season hunting down the prolific killer, who they nicknamed Sicarius after linking him to 62 murders — and for being the mastermind behind setting up an online network of fellow serial killers.
"[His crimes were] all alluded to or there was a flashback — but you didn't actually even see anything. What you really saw Voit doing was trying to protect his family," Gilford noted. "So you're like, 'Well, I know he is the serial killer. I know he has done all these things — but I've never seen him do it. But what I've seen him do is be a loving father.'"
Voit was ultimately caught by the end of season 1 after taking his family hostage and shooting the FBI's deputy director, Doug Bailey (Nicholas D'Agosto??). He wasn't booked for the Sicarius crimes, however, due to lack of physical evidence. A killer from Voit's network named Benjamin Reeves also took the blame before he died.
"I find that now in my real life, people will talk to me about the show and they'll be like, 'Oh, well, you're a serial killer.' I'm like, 'Alleged [killer] because nothing happened. I don't know what you're talking about,'" he joked to Us. "I'm not even this kind of actor, but I'm so protective of Voit because I've loved this role so much. So, when people are joking about me playing a sociopathic serial, I'm like, 'Benjamin Reeves confessed to that. So I don't really know what you're saying here.'"
Gilford has also used Voit's traumatic childhood as a defense, quipping, "He was f—ked up as a kid. It's not his fault he was locked in a closet with a dead cat. This poor guy. What would you do if you were locked in a closet with a dead cat at age 7? You'd probably do some nefarious stuff."
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Criminal Minds: Evolution, which returned for season 2 in June, pushed the story along by having Voit be a professional criminal consultant for the BAU while he's still behind bars. Gilford had a blast leaning into the "super fun" elements that came with seeing "a whole other side" of Voit.
"They gave me a very long leash," he said about the freedom he had to ad-lib some of Voit's one-lines throughout season 2.
While most of them didn't make it into the final cut, Gilford graciously shared some with Us.
"I had this idea where — I didn't want to put it in the script, I wanted the cast to be on their toes — where I just call them different names all the time," Gilford recalled about how he used nicknames such as Jenny, Jennifer, FBI Barbie and Tight Pony for AJ Cook's character, JJ Jareau.
Adam Rodriguez, who plays Luke Alvez, was bestowed with names such as "Lucas or Lukey." Gilford added: "I never refer to them as their names unless it's very clearly condescending."
Gilford later took Rodriguez "off guard" when he started delivering his lines in Spanish. "He goes, 'I don't even know what language you're speaking.' I was like, 'Espa?ol.' So, it's that kind of stuff where they're like, 'Oh, my God, I love it. Just go for it,'" he said about the never-aired scenes. "Who knows what ends up in the episode or what doesn't. But it's been such a fun side [to the character]."
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The antics have extended beyond the confines of the Criminal Minds: Evolution set. Gilford has found a way to joke around with fans despite not being too active on social media.
"Whenever I do check in on it, there's so [many comments asking], ‘Where is Matthew Gray Gubler?’" Gilford noted about the actor, who played Spencer Reid from 2005 to 2020. "[The fans say that] Reid would catch Voit. And I love to just lean into the Voit of it and be like, 'No, he wouldn't. He's scared. He's too scared of me. He's hiding.' And I get to just troll the fans."
All these highlights remind Gilford how thrilled he is to be a part of the Criminal Minds franchise.
"I don't know how I got so lucky. I've been really lucky in my career, but it's been cool. Everyone who comes on that set says, 'This is the best set I've ever been on,'" he told Us. "It's so fun to get to work with your friends and they're really the best group of people. Then, cast aside, our crew is f—king awesome. They're so dope, they're so cool, they're so funny, they're so chill and so good at their jobs. I am appreciative to be on a set [where] this is the vibe. It all trickles down from the showrunner, Erica Messer."
Criminal Minds: Evolution has been renewed for season 3 and episodes are currently streaming on Paramount+.
