The original “Law & Order” series (which was on the air from 1990 to 2010) may be cancelled, but that doesn’t mean the characters from the show are completely gone. Linus Roache is reprising his role as bureau chief Michael Cutter, by guest-starring on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” whose Season 13 premiere is set to air September 21, 2011, at 10 p.m. Eastern/Pacific Time on NBC. Stephanie March, who has played Law & Order: Special Victims” assistant district attorney Alexandra “Alex” Cabot off and on since 2000, also returns to the “Law & Order” franchise with a guest-starring stint on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”
Season 13 of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” marks the beginning of a new era for the show, since it is the program’s first season without Christopher Meloni, who played police detective Elliot Stabler. Executive producer Neal Baer, who was with the show since its second season, is also gone, and he has been replaced by Warren Leight. (Meloni and Baer each left “Law & Order: SVU” voluntarily.)
Two new cast members have been added as detectives on the show: Danny Pino (who plays Nick Amaro) and Kelli Giddish (who plays Amanda Rollins). In a September 19 telephone conference call with journalists, March and Roache talked about being the not-so-new kids on the “Law & Order: SVU” block and what they think about the major shakeups on the show.
How many “Law & Order: SVU” episodes are you both doing? Can you talk about the changes this season?
March: I am certainly doing five episodes. And as far as the changes this season, we have a few new characters and a new team of writers so it has a familiar feel but it’s invigorated with a lot of good, new blood. It’s been a wonderful place to work so far.
Roache: As far as I know, I’m doing four episodes. And likewise with what Stephanie is saying, it feels like things are being mixed up in a very creative way and there’s some interesting crosspollination going on. So I wouldn’t be surprised if we also see a lot of other characters from the past appearing through this season and making the most of all the much-loved characters from the “Law & Order” franchise.
What is done on the set and in your homes to be more eco-friendly?
Roache: I actually don’t know what’s going on, on this set at the moment. I’ve seen some recycling bins. I remember on the last show, we had a whole policy where we got rid of plastic water bottles. I’m not sure if that’s happening on this season but that would be a great idea. And at home I’m just a very keen and zealous recycler.
March: I would agree with Linus. They’ve implemented quite a lot of recycling. I know that I haven’t seen a lot of plastic water bottles around and I know when I last worked on the show they had banned that as well. And personally, I just built a LEED-certified house with my husband. We actually have Gold LEED certification as a private residence. It’s one of the first in the Long Island area. We’re pretty excited about it.
People have been kind of coining the term “SVU 2.0” and because the new cast members. What else hat makes this season different than the other seasons?
Roache: What makes this season different? Well I think we’re going to find out over time. I don’t have the ultimate answer. I think [“Law & Order: SVU executive producer] Warren Leight would give you probably the best answer to that question.
But my sense is that the show is evolving very nicely, bringing in some more dynamic characters with Danny Pino and Kelli [Giddish] playing the other detective. So we’ve got new blood bringing old blood back into new situations. For example, my character’s not just coming back as an executive ADA [assistant district attorney]. He’s now got an extra responsibility.
So I think there’s a sense of how the show is moving into new territory with the characters, but I think what will stay the same is the emotional strength of the piece. I was thinking over the weekend that I suddenly realized that of the [first] three “Law & Order” shows [“Law & Order,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”], that the mother ship was like the moral philosophical show that dealt with the moral issues of the law often and “Criminal Intent” was dealing with the psychological. And “SVU” has really been very powerful because it stays very true to the emotional and I think that will continue to be its hook for the audience.
March: Yeah. I think that’s an excellent answer. I’m in complete agreement. I don’t think we know exactly how the whole season is going to unfold but it does feel like a leaner, faster machine which is a great thing to be a part of.
Danny Pino and Kelli Giddish are new to the “SVU” cast. Have you offered them any advice?
Roache: Personally, no. They just look like they’re great actors and they know what they’re doing.
March: Yeah. There’s not much advice to give to people who are already so great at what they do. Just try not to forget the online password because it changes all the time. You can’t use a computer at work if you do.
Linus, you were a cast member of the original “Law & Order.” Is it true that you thought that there was going to be another year of the show?
Roache: Yeah. We did at that time. Yeah. Tou can never predict anything in this business as we all know. It’s a very unpredictable thing. We definitely had a sense that we were going to be moving into the 21st season, because it was going to be the record breaking season for the show. So we all were a bit surprised and there was a rumor going around that we kind of had it in the bag. So that just teaches you that you’ve never got it in the bag until it’s actually happening.
How did you end up guest starring in “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”?
March: For me, it was the usual good fairy touching me on the shoulder and saying, “Would you like to come back and have a little bit of a visit?” And I said, “Sure. Why not?”
Roache: Yeah, same with me. It was quite a surprise but it was a nice surprise. I thought when my agent called up and said, “They’re interested in bringing you into ‘SVU,’” I thought, “What? As a killer? As a murderer?”
You never know. But it was nice. And also why I was intrigued to do it as well was because I got a chance to take the character into a new dynamic as someone who’s having to take more responsibility than he was before and he can’t just be so cavalier. So there was a kind of interesting challenge as well as an actor to do something different with the role as well.
Neither of you had to move away from New York City, where “SVU” is filmed?
March: No, in fact it moved closer to us. Linus and I both live about three blocks from the set.
Roache: Yeah, I live just across the street. It worked out very well. Yeah.
What can you tell us about your specific dynamic in the “SVU” Season 13 premiere? It seems there’s a little bit of tension between the two of your characters.
Roache: Yes, but there’s also a lot of respect. I’m really looking forward to working more with Steph. We’ve only just done one episode together, but I’m really looking forward to doing more together. I really like the fact that suddenly I find myself on the other side of the desk telling someone who’s very passionate to do the right thing that maybe they shouldn’t do it but actually wanting them to do it. So I find myself standing where Jack McCoy was standing before a little bit and that was very interesting and I’m really looking forward to taking the dynamic further because I really love working with Stephanie. It’s going to be fun to continue.
March: It’s very mutual and I should tell you something about Linus. He knows his lines so well that he doesn’t even bring the pages to rehearsal. That’s how professional Linus is. And working with Linus has been so much fun and it really is nice to revisit a familiar character, working in a new capacity, because you get to texture and layer a role that you’ve been working on for a long time with more authority, more passion, more politics. It’s a real world application of what happens as people rise in the professional ranks and I really enjoy it. It makes a character that I have been working on for a long time. It adds a new dimension and I enjoy it
This first episode of Season 13 is inspired by the Dominique Strauss-Kahn rape case in New York City. Were there changes the script made since the charges against him in real life were dropped?
March: We’ve been working on it the way we would probably work on any episode which is adapt to what we believe would be a better story, making our interactions with each other a little bit more nuanced, but I would not say it changed dramatically. And we always tweak a storyline. As usual, the show will be a reflection of what is happening in the news but not exactly what is happening in the news, and it will provide maybe an alternate perspective that I think the audience will find very interesting.
Roache: I think that’s a great answer and I think that word at the end that Stephanie just used is actually these dramas. They’re very valuable and the fact that they can reflect and give a different perspective on something that’s actually happened is an important way I think of exploring the current situation within the law and how effective is it and how does it work.
So drama has actually quite an important role. Documentary has an important role but sometimes we get so as you empathize with people through drama and can appreciate maybe another perspective on the case that we haven’t seen before just through the news but obviously ending up in the end with the caveat that this is fiction so we can explore whatever we want.
Are going to see a little bit more of the ADAs or it there be equal screen time between the ADAs and the detectives?
Roache: I don’t know.
March: I don’t think anyone knows yet. We’ll find out. We’re all going to find out as it unfolds together.
“Law & Order: SVU” is now the only series of the “Law& Order” franchise that hasn’t been cancelled. What do you think that means?
Roache: Well, I’m kind of hoping that it pulls all the other audiences into the one show. That would be cool.
March: Yeah. Exactly. It would be great. It would be great if all the fans of the previous [“Law & Order”] shows would find a new home in “SVU.”
What do you think has been the key of the success of “Law & Order: SVU”?
Roache: I mentioned it earlier but I was thinking about this thing: what is the difference and why has this one been successful. And I think “SVU” is very visceral and emotional … Through Mariska [Hargitay’s] character, there’s a strong identity with really getting into the hearts of what it’s like to be a victim of these horrible crimes and how these people are fighting for justice. So I think there’s something about the show that’s kind of very visceral in that way and I think that’s been part of its attraction. I don’t know the answer that leads to its success but that seems to me to be part of it.
March: Yeah. I would say that Mariska's character — she’s such a draw and has so much empathy. The audience finds a voice through her and in her. I would also like to say that I think part of the genius of any of the “Law & Order” shows is and was our guest stars. We draw from some of the best people in the theatrical community in New York, on camera and off. I should say and they do such a wonderful job with these really meaty, juicy roles. I think we owe a lot of our success to their performances.
Roache: That’s a great point, Stephanie. And I think also just to add to that and then it made me think that the writing on all the “Law & Order” shows has been incredibly strong and if you look at the pace of any of the shows, they probably have more scenes in them than most television shows.
So you get a lot of content. There’s a lot of plot. There’s a lot driving each episode. It’s always been the case and the writing’s incredibly strong. It’s very lean. You’re only seeing things that you need to see that move things forward and that’s always been part of the whole franchise I think why they’ve been strong shows.
Linus, you’re in the “Titanic” miniseries, which ABC will televise in the U.S. in the spring of 2012. So how is that differing from James Cameron’s “Titanic” movie?
Roache: What’s the different between “The Titanic” that I did and Cameron’s? Probably about $140 million. But I have to say even though we didn’t have all that money, what we did have was a pretty incredible set and an amazing cast and the main point of this particular show. It was written by Julian Fellowes …
That was the idea: the cross of all the different classes of people that were on the ship — the Italians, the stewards, the whole thing. So it’s a huge ensemble piece. And that’s what will be different about it. And it’s four parts with different perspectives each night.
It couldn’t be further away from Michael Cutter if I tried. I play an English lord, an entitled lord in 1912, who was, towards the end of that period, before the fall of the British Empire, a good man but a very highly privileged man.
Stephanie, can you talk about your role in the movie “Predisposed”?
March: “Predisposed” is “a day in the life of,” and it’s staring primarily Jesse Eisenberg and Melissa Leo. She is a mother addicted to drugs who is an artist, and her son is a burgeoning artist and he finds himself maybe a bit predisposed to addiction as well.
They go on this crazy road trip to try and procure a bunch of drugs. They meet Tracy Morgan, who is the drug pusher, who is hilarious … Melissa Leo plays Trish … They stop off at [Trish’s] sister’s house. I play her baby sister, and we have an all-out family, knock-down, drag-out day of a war.
It was really fun to do. I’ve never had so much fun yelling in my whole life, plus working with Jesse and Melissa. They’re two of the nicest, most polite, most professional terrific people. And our director … he’s so young, and this is his first big project and he’s just fantastic. Phil Dorling is his name and I look forward to working with him a lot more.
When will “Predisposed” be released?
March: I think it’s in the festival circuit right now so I suspect it will be shopped around. Well, they’re probably editing now. I think it’s going to be shopped around over the holidays. I think we’ll see it in the spring. It’s going to get picked up. There’s no way it won’t. Not because of me.
Stephanie, you’re married to celebrity chef Bobby Flay. Do you do any of the cooking at home?
March: No way. I outsource it.There’s a division of labor, and that’s not part of mine.
For more info: "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" website
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