For years, scenes in CBS’ Criminal Minds would show off Matthew Gray Gubler and his penchant for wearing mismatched socks. The move seemed to be a quirk of the character he played for a long time on the series, Dr. Spencer Reid, who had loftier things to think about than whether or not his socks were in perfect pairs. However, that wasn’t a characteristic the writers came up with for the series. In fact, there’s a real-life story behind why the actor wears mismatched socks in real life.
Matthew Gray Gubler’s Socks Are A Nod To His Grandmother
In interviews, at events, and sometimes even out on the streets, Gubler could be seen wearing two varieties of socks. As fans caught on to the actor’s love of shoe accoutrements that may not be the same size or color, he started periodically being asked about the sock thing in interviews. As it turns out, it’s not just Spencer Reid who loves mismatched socks. In fact, he once said in an interview (via Tumblr)
My grandmother told me at a very early age that it was good luck to not wear matching socks, which I’ve come to interpret as bad luck to wear matching socks.
It's a fun behavior that has continued even to this day.
Gubler Also Feels Mismatched Socks Are Lucky
In the same interview, Matthew Gray Gubler detailed that after he started wearing mismatched socks, he became very superstitious. On occasions where he tried to wear socks that looked like perfect pairs, he anecdotally noted that something bad would happen.
An example of this occurred when he was filming The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou early in his career. Gubler said at the time he wore socks that matched and ended up with an ankle injury that landed him in the Emergency Room. It did not look pretty, but it did make it into the movie.
The one time I wore matching socks in ten years was when I was acting in this movie called The Life Aquatic. We were doing a moment where Bill Murray is leading us in exercises and somehow I managed to sprain my ankle on camera. It actually wound up being in the movie. I attribute that entirely to me wearing matching socks.
As one of "the interns" in the Wes Anderson movie, the actor took some of his own documentary footage and shared it in a behind-the-scenes movie he made, which included a look at his gnarly foot injury. Maybe it was bad luck ... and maybe it was the socks.
Meanwhile, he told Buzzfeed that, given his superstition, he always tries to do the mismatched thing – even if a role doesn’t call for it. He noted that during a break from filming Criminal Minds, he actually wore double socks to set.
I've occasionally worn them matching, but something strange always happens on those days, whether it be spraining an ankle or messing up a knee. I was in a movie over hiatus where I had to wear matching socks — I had shorts on. I had them over mismatched socks. To protect, protect that.
Some fans once even called him out for thinking he was wearing matching socks and he had to set the record straight:
no my socks where not matching in that last photo. fusia and red. I would never dare ride a wild steer like that in unlucky matching socksJune 1, 2012
Luckily, The Socks Thing Was Fitting For Dr. Spencer Reid’s Character On Criminal Minds
Fans who watched Criminal Minds during its initial run on CBS know that Gubler’s character Dr. Spencer Reid was possibly on the autism spectrum, and most certainly a bit of an eccentric (and a genius, but it’s the eccentric part we care about here). He occasionally sparked odd behaviors and missed some easy social cues on the show, but he was also incredibly smart and could parcel through a large swathe of information in one fell swoop. The sock thing was just one more facet that added character, even if it was really pulled from the actor’s own personal life.
Despite its real-life origins, his penchant for mismatched socks has become part of the Criminal Minds lore. It's not something that popped up in every episode or was oft talked about, but given occasionally Reid would be lying on a couch and his socks would pop up etc. fans caught on.
The whole thing has become so popular that Reddit threads popped up and there's even a bit of a TikTok community that is devoted to the fashion of Matthew Gray Gubler. While Gubler didn’t return for the Criminal Minds reboot, he did leave a lasting mark on the fandom. And Paramount even sells a pair of Spencer Reid socks in his honor. (Though those tragically match.)
