Friday Night Lights alum Zach Gilford shares shocking images following health scare

Criminal Minds actor Zach Gilford has shared a shocking health update to his Instagram story.

Without sharing a cause for what appeared to be an allergic reaction of sorts, Gilford posted a photo of his swollen face to the social media platform.

"Sooooooo... Yesterday was fun," he captioned the image.

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Zach Gilford shared a shocking health update on Instagram. (Instagram/zachgilford7)

In the photo, which has now expired from his account, the entire left side of Gilford's face is swollen, basically forcing his eye shut.

But it seems the star wasn't in too much pain, as he posted a second image poking fun at the situation.

In the photo, he wore a blue mask over his mouth, which seemingly only amplified the look of the swelling.

"Good thing we wrapped @criminalminds last week," he joked. 

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But he still has a sense of humour, posting a second image to poke fun at the situation. (Instagram/zachgilford7)

He later shared a third image where the swelling had appeared to have gone down, giving his concerned followers an update on the situation. 

"Thanks to all the nurses, doctors, and staff at @huntingtonhospital for coaxing my face back to normalcy," he shared.

He added that, although he is clearly on the mend, he still has "a little ways to go."

The Friday Night Lights star recently joined the cast of Criminal Minds as serial killer Elias Voit, even getting the chance to spend an episode behind the camera during his second season on the show.

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He later shared an update, sharing that he still has "a little ways to go". (Instagram/zachgilford7)

Gilford made his directorial debut with Criminal Minds: Evolution's season two, episode eight, North Star. 

"My least favorite part of my job is between action and cut," he told Entertainment Weekly in an interview published on July 18.

"I love everything else about it. I love collaborating [and] being around people, but anytime I'm saying lines, I'm like, 'No one's going to believe this. Everyone's going to figure me out. I'm a fraud'."

He explained that he got pretty lucky with the opportunity to direct, since his original contract was just for one season.

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Gilford was given the chance to direct an episode of Criminal Minds during his second season on the show. (Instagram/rjhatanaka)

"Part way through [the first season], they said, 'Look, we don't know what we're going to do at the end of the season, but we're not going to kill you. We want to bring you back'," he shared.

"I said, 'Great!' When they were negotiating my contract, I said, 'Can I direct an episode?' So it worked out."

For Gilford, directing has been a dream of his for a long time, telling Entertainment Weekly that it's something he's "always wanted to do".

"I've shadowed on almost every show I've ever worked on, and it's hard to get that slot, especially on something like this where there's only 10 [episodes]" he told the publication.

"But they're very supportive of the cast directing. Half the episodes were directed by cast this season. It was so much fun."

But, Gilford says directing the episode wasn't without his challenges.

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He said the biggest challenge in the new role was "just not knowing what I was doing". (Paramount)

"I think the challenge was just not knowing what I was doing," he laughed.

However, working on a set surrounded by plenty who had been in his shoes before, Gilford says it was handy having people he could rely on.

"I just work my ass off. I prepped so much. I would go in on Saturdays to walk through sets and make sure I knew what I wanted to do," he added.

"Because without fail, whatever you want to do when you get there, when it's time to do it, you're going to end up doing something else."

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