Post by domenicaflor on Aug 18, 2004 12:27:52 GMT -5
From the Australia Herald-Sun Guide, 8/18/2004.
HEADLINE: HARD NUTS
BYLINE: Robert Fidgeon and Darren Devlyn
BODY:
It's a case of good cop, mad cop for Vincent D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe, write Robert Fidgeon and Darren Devlyn
VINCENT D'Onofrio is an intense and commanding presence on screen. Almost threatening.
His Law & Order: Criminal Intent cop Robert Goren is a bit of a weirdo. A bulky, shambling figure with more than a hint of arrogance.
Always a bit left of centre, Goren leaves murder suspects an emotional mess with his verbal taunts.
"Sure, he's a bit crazy," D'Onofrio concedes.
"That's what I like about him. That's how I decided he'd be. That's how I made him."
Away from the camera it's D'Onofrio's formidable physical presence that strikes you. But there's certainly no arrogance.
Quite the opposite. The actor is shy, gentle and clearly uncomfortable with the scrutiny that has come with being star of a TV series.
"Yeah, I'm happier acting than talking about it," he says, shrugging.
When it comes to parenting, he's an absolute pussycat.
The girl who melts his heart is his 12-year-old daughter, Layla, from his marriage to actor Greta Scacchi.
D'Onofrio and Scacchi lived together in Sydney's Coogee for four years in the late 1980s-early '90s.
"Layla's wonderful," D'Onofrio says, walking through the huge Manhattan sound stage that houses the series.
"We get together as often as we can, but it's not always easy. I'm based in New York and Layla lives with her mum in England.
"But she's a terrific little lady and an absolute joy."
When Law & Order creator Dick Wolf approached D'Onofrio to play Goren in Criminal Intent, the actor wasn't particularly interested in moving to TV.
"I was a movie character actor who needed to make four of five films a year to make a decent living. But I didn't want to do TV. Yet when Dick described Goren as a modern-day Sherlock Holmes and said I could make him how I liked -- well, for an actor that's a hard offer to pass up.
"So I made him different -- this odd-ball, shade crazy kinda guy. But arrogant, all the same. Edgy, but confident.
"When it comes to TV storytelling, crime stories are crime stories. With ours, the real point of difference is Goren."
D'Onofrio enjoys playing alongside Kathryn Erbe.
"She's great. A great lady. In this business, you've got to like who you work with, otherwise it's s . . .
"TV is hard work. Sure it beats digging ditches, but if you don't get on with the person you spend up to 14 hours a day working with, it's hell."
Erbe, who plays Det. Alex Eames, credits the show with setting new parameters in TV drama.
Her passions are aroused by the fact the show is gritty and realistic, allowing her to traverse a wide emotional arc as an actor.
Erbe is acutely sensitive, however, to accusations that the show can seem a little too real. Producers were labelled insensitive and irresponsible when an episode illustrated how a terrorist created a bomb.
Erbe, 38, scoffs at the idea that such a storyline can inspire copycats.
"We were very concerned about that episode and we are upset that people questioned how we played it.
"We made sure we gave incorrect information about making a bomb, in case anyone watching the show tried to copy it.
"The episode that really moved all of us was one where there were children murdered.
"At the time of shooting, Vince fell very sick, our families were sick. We felt like we were being cursed in some way for making an episode about something so dreadful."
HEADLINE: HARD NUTS
BYLINE: Robert Fidgeon and Darren Devlyn
BODY:
It's a case of good cop, mad cop for Vincent D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe, write Robert Fidgeon and Darren Devlyn
VINCENT D'Onofrio is an intense and commanding presence on screen. Almost threatening.
His Law & Order: Criminal Intent cop Robert Goren is a bit of a weirdo. A bulky, shambling figure with more than a hint of arrogance.
Always a bit left of centre, Goren leaves murder suspects an emotional mess with his verbal taunts.
"Sure, he's a bit crazy," D'Onofrio concedes.
"That's what I like about him. That's how I decided he'd be. That's how I made him."
Away from the camera it's D'Onofrio's formidable physical presence that strikes you. But there's certainly no arrogance.
Quite the opposite. The actor is shy, gentle and clearly uncomfortable with the scrutiny that has come with being star of a TV series.
"Yeah, I'm happier acting than talking about it," he says, shrugging.
When it comes to parenting, he's an absolute pussycat.
The girl who melts his heart is his 12-year-old daughter, Layla, from his marriage to actor Greta Scacchi.
D'Onofrio and Scacchi lived together in Sydney's Coogee for four years in the late 1980s-early '90s.
"Layla's wonderful," D'Onofrio says, walking through the huge Manhattan sound stage that houses the series.
"We get together as often as we can, but it's not always easy. I'm based in New York and Layla lives with her mum in England.
"But she's a terrific little lady and an absolute joy."
When Law & Order creator Dick Wolf approached D'Onofrio to play Goren in Criminal Intent, the actor wasn't particularly interested in moving to TV.
"I was a movie character actor who needed to make four of five films a year to make a decent living. But I didn't want to do TV. Yet when Dick described Goren as a modern-day Sherlock Holmes and said I could make him how I liked -- well, for an actor that's a hard offer to pass up.
"So I made him different -- this odd-ball, shade crazy kinda guy. But arrogant, all the same. Edgy, but confident.
"When it comes to TV storytelling, crime stories are crime stories. With ours, the real point of difference is Goren."
D'Onofrio enjoys playing alongside Kathryn Erbe.
"She's great. A great lady. In this business, you've got to like who you work with, otherwise it's s . . .
"TV is hard work. Sure it beats digging ditches, but if you don't get on with the person you spend up to 14 hours a day working with, it's hell."
Erbe, who plays Det. Alex Eames, credits the show with setting new parameters in TV drama.
Her passions are aroused by the fact the show is gritty and realistic, allowing her to traverse a wide emotional arc as an actor.
Erbe is acutely sensitive, however, to accusations that the show can seem a little too real. Producers were labelled insensitive and irresponsible when an episode illustrated how a terrorist created a bomb.
Erbe, 38, scoffs at the idea that such a storyline can inspire copycats.
"We were very concerned about that episode and we are upset that people questioned how we played it.
"We made sure we gave incorrect information about making a bomb, in case anyone watching the show tried to copy it.
"The episode that really moved all of us was one where there were children murdered.
"At the time of shooting, Vince fell very sick, our families were sick. We felt like we were being cursed in some way for making an episode about something so dreadful."
