Gilmore Girls' David Sutcliffe Resented The Way The Show Wrote Christopher

"Gilmore Girls," created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, focused on the mother-daughter relationship of Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel) for seven seasons from 2000 to 2007. While the titular Gilmore girls were always at the forefront of the action, there were plenty of supporting characters who played vital roles in the women's lives.

One of those major supporting characters is Christopher Hayden; played by David Sutcliffe, he is Rory's father and Lorelai's on-and-off love interest. Lorelai and Christopher dated in high school, leading to Lorelai's teenage pregnancy. When Lorelai's parents wanted the teens to get married, Christopher was on board with the plan while Lorelai was not. Lorelai ended up moving to Stars Hollow with baby Rory and starting a life for them there, getting a job at the local inn (where she eventually moved up to be the manager). Christopher would visit Rory from time to time, but he was never a constant presence in her life.

Throughout the series, Christopher tries to be more involved in Rory's life, and he and Lorelai even contemplate getting back together at times. Then, in Season 7, the two do get back together — leading to the (fan-hated) storyline of the two getting married.

All in all, it was clear from the get-go that Lorelai was never going to end up with Christopher — not with Luke Danes (Scott Patterson) in the picture, anyway. And, as it turns out, Sutcliffe wasn't always happy with the way that Christopher was portrayed.

In an interview with Today from 2021, David Sutcliffe reflected on his time playing Christopher on "Gilmore Girls" — including disclosing his personal feelings on the character's behavior. Right off the bat, Sutcliffe acknowledged the fact that Christopher was, to say the least, irresponsible (if also good-hearted). In fact, his characterization led to some mixed feelings from the actor.

Sutcliffe said, "I was always a little resentful of the writing when a new script would come out because he always seemed to be failing. And I was like, 'Can't he win? Can't he be a better guy?' Of course, you know, as the actor, you want your character to be a little bit more heroic."

Despite a part of him wanting Christopher to do better, Sutcliffe added that he also understood that his character's role was written to serve a certain function within the storyline. He explained that he understood the importance of his character's faults. The actor continued, "The disappointment that he was causing in Rory's life was actually an important theme in the show and also a theme, I think, a lot of the fans could resonate with because a lot of people are disappointed in their father."