Post by Patcat on Sept 3, 2006 13:16:09 GMT -5
New York Daily News - www.nydailynews.com
Logan's run
BY LAURA DeBRIZZI
Sunday, September 3rd, 2006
As Chris Noth strides through the West Village, he's anything but incognito - at 6-foot-2, the actor can't help but stand out. In a lineup at a crosswalk, he naturally draws the stares of passersby.
But Noth doesn't notice the attention and would probably feel uncomfortable if he did; he's just happy to be back in New York after some time away. This Saturday, Noth will host an event at Manhattan's Plumm nightclub to benefit the Rainforest Action Network, a cause he's close to, and he's currently into his sophomore year as Detective Mike Logan on "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." The NBC drama begins its sixth season Sept. 19 at 9 p.m.
Logan, of course, is the great survivor of the "L&O" franchise - a character that helped get the initial "Law & Order" series off the ground in 1990, appeared on the acclaimed mid-'90s series "Homicide: Life on the Street," returned in a hit TV movie, and now anchors "L&O: CI." From the get-go, Noth's interpretation made Logan one of the most popular TV officers since the days when suited law agents mingled with the uniformed squad on "Hill Street Blues."
"The police world is a brotherhood, of which Logan is very much involved," explains Noth of his character's appeal. "Logan's a solid guy who has learned a lot from his years on the force. He understands the bottom line: Lock up the bad guys."
And, just as he did last year, Noth - like his fictional counterpart - now faces a new set of crime unit co-workers.
Gone is Logan's partner, Detective Carolyn Barek, played by Annabella Sciorra, as well as actors Jamey Sheridan and Courtney B. Vance. The incoming law enforcers include Eric Bogosian as head of the Major Case Squad and Julianne Nicholson as Logan's new partner, Detective Megan Wheeler.
Given that series creator Dick Wolf's three-show "L&O" tent (which includes the still-strong original program, as well as "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit") goes through actors faster than cops go through coffee, the casting shakeup doesn't seem to have ruffled Noth.
"The fact that Logan has had so many partners over the years means he's not going to come right out and embrace Wheeler with open arms," says Noth. "It's not that he's hostile to her ... But what we'll see is how Logan and Wheeler deal [with things] on the job, how it defines them.
"And I think the show will be more visceral this year in terms of crime solving."
After first showing up on the scene partnered with George Dzundza on "L&O's" debut season, Noth was paired with Paul Sorvino and then with the late Jerry Orbach's beloved Detective Lennie Briscoe.
Noth left the show in 1995, replaced by Benjamin Bratt. But a 1998 TV movie about Logan, "Exiled," brought him back into Wolf's fold. Then, after six seasons as Mr. Big on HBO's "Sex and the City," Noth and his badge-carrying alter ego returned to prime-time police work last year.
Born in Madison, Wis., and a graduate of the Yale School of Drama, Noth says he has "no clue" as to how he ended up acting other than it "fit." (He's also part-owner of the Flatiron District music and performance club the Cutting Room, as well as an investor in Plumm). But long before his break on "L&O," he had a different New York job that might have caught the attention of real-life detectives.
"I was a bartender at a place on the upper West Side, and I always wondered why the men wouldn't sit at the bar," he says, smiling at the memory. "I knew there was an upstairs.... I knew a lot of gamblers and pimps came in ..." he trails off, adding, "But I didn't know... It wasn't until later that a friend of mine said, 'What are you, crazy? That's a whorehouse!'"
Patcat
Logan's run
BY LAURA DeBRIZZI
Sunday, September 3rd, 2006
As Chris Noth strides through the West Village, he's anything but incognito - at 6-foot-2, the actor can't help but stand out. In a lineup at a crosswalk, he naturally draws the stares of passersby.
But Noth doesn't notice the attention and would probably feel uncomfortable if he did; he's just happy to be back in New York after some time away. This Saturday, Noth will host an event at Manhattan's Plumm nightclub to benefit the Rainforest Action Network, a cause he's close to, and he's currently into his sophomore year as Detective Mike Logan on "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." The NBC drama begins its sixth season Sept. 19 at 9 p.m.
Logan, of course, is the great survivor of the "L&O" franchise - a character that helped get the initial "Law & Order" series off the ground in 1990, appeared on the acclaimed mid-'90s series "Homicide: Life on the Street," returned in a hit TV movie, and now anchors "L&O: CI." From the get-go, Noth's interpretation made Logan one of the most popular TV officers since the days when suited law agents mingled with the uniformed squad on "Hill Street Blues."
"The police world is a brotherhood, of which Logan is very much involved," explains Noth of his character's appeal. "Logan's a solid guy who has learned a lot from his years on the force. He understands the bottom line: Lock up the bad guys."
And, just as he did last year, Noth - like his fictional counterpart - now faces a new set of crime unit co-workers.
Gone is Logan's partner, Detective Carolyn Barek, played by Annabella Sciorra, as well as actors Jamey Sheridan and Courtney B. Vance. The incoming law enforcers include Eric Bogosian as head of the Major Case Squad and Julianne Nicholson as Logan's new partner, Detective Megan Wheeler.
Given that series creator Dick Wolf's three-show "L&O" tent (which includes the still-strong original program, as well as "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit") goes through actors faster than cops go through coffee, the casting shakeup doesn't seem to have ruffled Noth.
"The fact that Logan has had so many partners over the years means he's not going to come right out and embrace Wheeler with open arms," says Noth. "It's not that he's hostile to her ... But what we'll see is how Logan and Wheeler deal [with things] on the job, how it defines them.
"And I think the show will be more visceral this year in terms of crime solving."
After first showing up on the scene partnered with George Dzundza on "L&O's" debut season, Noth was paired with Paul Sorvino and then with the late Jerry Orbach's beloved Detective Lennie Briscoe.
Noth left the show in 1995, replaced by Benjamin Bratt. But a 1998 TV movie about Logan, "Exiled," brought him back into Wolf's fold. Then, after six seasons as Mr. Big on HBO's "Sex and the City," Noth and his badge-carrying alter ego returned to prime-time police work last year.
Born in Madison, Wis., and a graduate of the Yale School of Drama, Noth says he has "no clue" as to how he ended up acting other than it "fit." (He's also part-owner of the Flatiron District music and performance club the Cutting Room, as well as an investor in Plumm). But long before his break on "L&O," he had a different New York job that might have caught the attention of real-life detectives.
"I was a bartender at a place on the upper West Side, and I always wondered why the men wouldn't sit at the bar," he says, smiling at the memory. "I knew there was an upstairs.... I knew a lot of gamblers and pimps came in ..." he trails off, adding, "But I didn't know... It wasn't until later that a friend of mine said, 'What are you, crazy? That's a whorehouse!'"
Patcat