Post by Finaddict on Aug 23, 2007 5:09:59 GMT -5
From the Washington Post and Dallas Herald
'Law & Order'star Meloni talks acting, family and crime
TV: Christopher Meloni talks acting, family and crime
12:00 AM CDT on Saturday, August 18, 2007
By KATHY BLUMENSTOCK The Washington Post
Playing a serial killer is easier than playing a hero.
Just ask Christopher Meloni, whose roles include Detective Elliot Stabler on NBC's Law & Order: SVU and the darkly quirky Chris Keller on the now-defunct HBO series Oz.
"For two years I was doing the characters at the same time," he said. "Stabler is more difficult for me to play. A hero, the square-jawed guiding-light fellow, doesn't resonate with me, [but] with Keller, his spectrum of behavior was pretty much wide open. I mean, it was pick it, he'll do it. He was loads of fun to play."
Mr. Meloni, a Washington, D.C., native, also has displayed a lighter touch in movie roles, playing a football coach who fumbled the hand of Julia Roberts in Runaway Bride and a maniacal mechanic named Freak Show in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.
"With acting, you're always looking for the next thing," he said. "God bless this Law & Order gig. Even if you [as an actor] don't want to admit it, there is such an omnipresent feeling of desperation. You are the circus performer in search of a circus."
Last season's balancing act included the maternity-leave departure of Mariska Hargitay, who plays Stabler's partner, Detective Olivia Benson. (Connie Nielsen joined the cast for six episodes as a temporary partner for Stabler.)
With the show set to return for its ninth season Sept. 25, Mr. Meloni talked about his role, his family ... and Jerry Lewis.
The give-and-take between Stabler and Benson always raises the question of whether, and when, they'll ever get together.
I think that everyone involved doesn't want to mess with the chemistry between Stabler and Benson. And for our relationship, that tension is good. You don't want it to get sexual. That's an inherent part of the tension of the show.
SVU deals with such brutal crimes, including crimes against children. How do you keep all of that from getting to you?
When I started the show, I was a married guy – just me, Chris, and my wife. Now we have two kids and they have helped me escape from it all, but [the show] is more difficult now, too. I can't watch any crimes that have to do with kids. I don't watch it on the news or anywhere. My kids are such a great source of joy, and of getting me away from all that.
What's the magic formula of this show?
Telling the story, following a crime. The crime is one of the characters in the story. Then, along with that, you get to understand the mechanics of the people who want to solve crimes.
The show often has interesting guest stars, including Jerry Lewis as a homeless man this past season.
Jerry – the guy's a living legend. He was the Beatles before the Beatles!
And did you know he has patents on so many things? He invented video playback so he could direct himself in The Bellboy and all those movies. The best part is, he genuinely loves our show. He was able to tell me things that I had forgotten.
Were you a fan of the original Law & Order?
I didn't watch. I really don't watch too much TV.
What do you do for fun?
I just started my childhood three years ago, now that there's money to afford my childhood. My wife and I love to water ski, and I want to learn to kite surf.
What's the best part of doing SVU?
I'm a working actor being paid very well, and on top of that, you are seeing and doing something far greater than yourself. And that goes to [executive producers] Neal Baer and Dick Wolf and the writers. They have a 6-inch binder of research on topics and issues that they cull, and take up whatever they want to tackle. Everything is based on something real, and then you wrap it around what comes out of their imaginations and words.
Does your show's deeper appeal, for you and for viewers, stem from the reality of the story lines?
One of the reasons people watch is that we are shedding light on a dark area. These are the boogeymen, but now you get to see them and people, victims, have to know there is no shame in any of [what happens to them].
A woman came up to us [during a shoot] and said, "Thank you for signing my picture, and I love that you catch the bad guy because the guy who molested me didn't get caught. I want you to know that [the show] is very healing."
That has happened to me at least 10 times, and it's guys and girls both who say it. I feel privileged that they feel comfortable enough to share that with me.Law & Order: SVU
'Law & Order'star Meloni talks acting, family and crime
TV: Christopher Meloni talks acting, family and crime
12:00 AM CDT on Saturday, August 18, 2007
By KATHY BLUMENSTOCK The Washington Post
Playing a serial killer is easier than playing a hero.
Just ask Christopher Meloni, whose roles include Detective Elliot Stabler on NBC's Law & Order: SVU and the darkly quirky Chris Keller on the now-defunct HBO series Oz.
"For two years I was doing the characters at the same time," he said. "Stabler is more difficult for me to play. A hero, the square-jawed guiding-light fellow, doesn't resonate with me, [but] with Keller, his spectrum of behavior was pretty much wide open. I mean, it was pick it, he'll do it. He was loads of fun to play."
Mr. Meloni, a Washington, D.C., native, also has displayed a lighter touch in movie roles, playing a football coach who fumbled the hand of Julia Roberts in Runaway Bride and a maniacal mechanic named Freak Show in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.
"With acting, you're always looking for the next thing," he said. "God bless this Law & Order gig. Even if you [as an actor] don't want to admit it, there is such an omnipresent feeling of desperation. You are the circus performer in search of a circus."
Last season's balancing act included the maternity-leave departure of Mariska Hargitay, who plays Stabler's partner, Detective Olivia Benson. (Connie Nielsen joined the cast for six episodes as a temporary partner for Stabler.)
With the show set to return for its ninth season Sept. 25, Mr. Meloni talked about his role, his family ... and Jerry Lewis.
The give-and-take between Stabler and Benson always raises the question of whether, and when, they'll ever get together.
I think that everyone involved doesn't want to mess with the chemistry between Stabler and Benson. And for our relationship, that tension is good. You don't want it to get sexual. That's an inherent part of the tension of the show.
SVU deals with such brutal crimes, including crimes against children. How do you keep all of that from getting to you?
When I started the show, I was a married guy – just me, Chris, and my wife. Now we have two kids and they have helped me escape from it all, but [the show] is more difficult now, too. I can't watch any crimes that have to do with kids. I don't watch it on the news or anywhere. My kids are such a great source of joy, and of getting me away from all that.
What's the magic formula of this show?
Telling the story, following a crime. The crime is one of the characters in the story. Then, along with that, you get to understand the mechanics of the people who want to solve crimes.
The show often has interesting guest stars, including Jerry Lewis as a homeless man this past season.
Jerry – the guy's a living legend. He was the Beatles before the Beatles!
And did you know he has patents on so many things? He invented video playback so he could direct himself in The Bellboy and all those movies. The best part is, he genuinely loves our show. He was able to tell me things that I had forgotten.
Were you a fan of the original Law & Order?
I didn't watch. I really don't watch too much TV.
What do you do for fun?
I just started my childhood three years ago, now that there's money to afford my childhood. My wife and I love to water ski, and I want to learn to kite surf.
What's the best part of doing SVU?
I'm a working actor being paid very well, and on top of that, you are seeing and doing something far greater than yourself. And that goes to [executive producers] Neal Baer and Dick Wolf and the writers. They have a 6-inch binder of research on topics and issues that they cull, and take up whatever they want to tackle. Everything is based on something real, and then you wrap it around what comes out of their imaginations and words.
Does your show's deeper appeal, for you and for viewers, stem from the reality of the story lines?
One of the reasons people watch is that we are shedding light on a dark area. These are the boogeymen, but now you get to see them and people, victims, have to know there is no shame in any of [what happens to them].
A woman came up to us [during a shoot] and said, "Thank you for signing my picture, and I love that you catch the bad guy because the guy who molested me didn't get caught. I want you to know that [the show] is very healing."
That has happened to me at least 10 times, and it's guys and girls both who say it. I feel privileged that they feel comfortable enough to share that with me.Law & Order: SVU