It didn't take Scott Patterson long to figure out how to play his character in the new direct-to-video production "Her Best Move." Patterson plays a winning-obsessed soccer coach who has a determined grip on the sports life of his teenage daughter (Leah Pipes).

"I saw a lot of people like that when I was playing baseball," Patterson says during a telephone interview. "The father of my biggest sports rival when I was growing up was just like this character."

Pipes plays a teen who must decide between her father's soccer world and life as an average high-school student. Her efforts to live both only complicate her life.

Patterson says his parents supported his sports pursuits but were more interested in his academics.

He attended Rutgers University to study comparative literature but dropped out to play baseball at community colleges in Florida and Ari- zona. Patterson played eight years of minor-league baseball in the Yankees, Braves and Rangers organizations.

Handling the soccer part of "Her Best Move" was no problem for Patterson.

"That was what we would play before first period," Pat- terson says about his young school days.

Playing the father of a teenage girl also was no problem. Patterson knew the moment he met Pipes that she was perfect for the role.

"She was so sweet and smart and endearing. She displayed no nervousness. Working with her was like being with your own daughter," Patterson says.

After Pipes left the audition for the movie, he looked at director Norm Hunter and said, "That is as good as it gets."

The interview for the video is taking place during an off day from filming The CW Network series "The Gilmore Girls." Patterson plays Luke Danes, the fiercely opinionated diner owner who has been the on-and-off love interest for Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham).

He sees the family-friendly movie as an extension of the kind of work he has been doing on the series.

"A change of pace for me would be a horror film or something with gratuitous violence," Patterson says. "I felt like this had the same high-quality script as 'The Gilmore Girls.'"

Good scripts have been the determining factor in many of Patterson's career decisions. The Philadelphia native had his own theater company in New York and was content to work on stage.

He had no intention of being part of a television series until he read the first script for "Gilmore Girls."

"I was just blown away. These characters are so well drawn. It is funny, smart. Not schticky. Not watered down," Patterson says.

How long he will get to play Luke is the question. Contracts of the major players on the show end this year. Patterson doesn't know if the studio or The CW is going to keep the series or end it.

"It is just too early to tell. But it is up to them. If they really want the show back, they can make it happen," Patterson says.

For now, Patterson can be seen on "The Gilmore Girls," which airs at 8 p.m. Tuesdays on KFRE, Channel 59, and in the just released direct-to-video movie "Her Best Move" available at www.HerBestMove.com.

Source: FresnoBee.com