‘Gilmore Girls’ Keiko Agena Wishes She ‘Had More of a Friendship’ With Alexis Bledel

As is often the case with friendships on television, Gilmore Girls actress Keiko Agena admitted that she and co-star Alexis Bledel weren’t particularly close in real life. Agena was a guest on fellow Gilmore Girls alum Scott Patterson’s podcast I Am All In With Scott Patterson, and she explained that they weren’t exactly Rory and Lane. “I wish we had more of a friendship,” Agena explained. “That was probably a lot to do with me not making as much of an effort as I should have.”

Agena also admitted that she tiptoed a bit around Bledel and co-star Lauren Graham because they were both so busy starring in the popular show. “I also think I was so — worried is the wrong word — but, you know, they worked so many hours that their off-set time, I thought, was so precious to them,” Agena said. “I didn’t want to insert myself into that time of their lives.” Despite lacking closeness, Agena had only kind things to say about Bledel after Patterson said their onscreen friendship seemed “effortless.”

“Alexis is such a wonderful person, and I do think that as soon as I met her as a person you just recognize that she’s an intelligent, special individual,” Agena replied. “And I think that there’s part of me that felt protective of her right away as a fellow actor and someone that recognizes how unique of a person she is. So maybe some of that is just instinctual. I think that probably shows in how our characters related to each other — that we liked and respected each other right off the bat.”

Could they ever get a chance to revisit this onscreen friendship? After the success of the revival, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, on Netflix In 2016, many are wondering if Stars Hollow will ever be revisited. Patterson is all for it and even pitched an idea to Us Weekly. “[Rory] has the baby,” he began, referencing the revival’s cliffhanger ending. “If it’s Logan (Matt Czuchry) or whatever, then, you know, he flips out and goes away. History repeats itself a la Christopher (David Sutcliffe) and Lorelai. And then [Rory] goes off to pursue a huge opportunity in Europe for her writing and dumps the baby in our lap. And we get to raise the kid a little bit while she’s off pursuing that and she comes back.”

Graham has spoken in the past of her willingness to return to the role of Lorelai Gilmore, revealing that she has a “Gilmore Girls clause” in all of her contracts. “I put that window into all my new jobs just in case,” Graham explained, but she was quick to shut down any rumors of another revival season. “And it’s not — I don’t want to start any new rumors — it’s not for any concrete reason.” Ultimately, Graham credits her closeness with showrunner Amy Sherman-Palladino for her willingness to potentially return to the role. “I have a loyalty and an openness to working with her, first of all. And because we could never have predicted [a revival] in the past,” she continued. “So that door is open. Is it creatively warranted? Is it, you know, something? I don’t know. I don’t know. But yes, technically yes.”