As the curmudgeonly proprietor of Luke's Diner, Scott Patterson's "Gilmore Girls" character was Lorelai's primary supplier of coffee — and fittingly, we recently caught up with the actor over a cup of joe.
Patterson, currently touring coffee shops across the country with his band SmithRadio, reminisced with TODAY about some of Luke Danes' most memorable moments on the long-running series.
Naturally, some of his favorites involve Luke's rebellious nephew Jess, played by "This Is Us" star Milo Ventimiglia.
"You're going to think this is a little odd, but when I smashed the wall and told Jess 'This is your room,' I loved that moment because I love action," Patterson said.
"It seems to border on violence, doesn't it?" he joked of the pair's relationship. "Pushing him in the water was fun, because we only had one take to do it, and he did it flawlessly. We had to do 30 takes of the walk-up, but the push was fun."
He also reflected on the best scenes at Lorelai and Rory's favorite hangout, Luke's.
"I would put at the top of that list when I get to throw somebody out, or reprimand them," he said. "Those were favorite moments, and of course the subtly romantic moments with Lorelai. There were many. I think the Santa burger was nice, the pilot when I said, 'You have a problem.' The pilot, I just hold dear to my heart."
As for Luke's most romantic gesture to love interest Lorelai, he cited the episode where Luke presents Lorelai with a chuppah before her wedding to Max Medina in season two.
"That took a lot of work," he said. "He really risked a lot there because he crossed the line from friendship into something more obvious and I think he didn't care at that point, so I kind of liked that."
Netflix's 2016 revival, "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life," was emotional for longtime fans of the show — and also for the cast.
"It was just nice to come back and be able to savor each moment," Patterson said. "When we were canceled, we didn't know that would be it and we wouldn't be able to say goodbye properly, so this gave us a chance to savor it."
Patterson, who's been performing a set of heartfelt original songs on his "Atomic Love" tour, says music was always his first passion — he formed his first band in third grade. But he's also been pursuing another interest: developing his own coffee line, which he says was an obvious fit.
"I think if you're going to start a business, you look around you at the ecosystem and say, 'What would be the business to start?' And it would be something that you are passionate about and truly love," he said.
"Coffee is one of my passions. And I just get it, I understand the business and I love the people associated with the business. Every single person that I have dealt with and talked to has been a pleasant experience. Everybody has fun in the coffee business; they love what they do. It's like that old adage: Do something you love and it's not really work."