Regardless of how long the Law & Order franchise, particularly Criminal Intent — which came dangerously close to cancellation earlier this year before NBC decided to move it to cable — lasts, its newest cast member certainly will keep on moving ahead.
When CI shifts over to USA Network to begin its seventh season on Oct. 4, Alicia Witt joins the team in a six-episode story arc (replacing Julianne Nicholson, who is on maternity leave). Witt plays detective Nola Falacci, whom the actress laughingly describes as “sort of a hip chick.” In other words, not your average, buttoned-down TV detective.
“I really like her,” says Witt. “She doesn’t really care that much about politeness and tact. She just joined the major case squad, and she’s impulsive, which is an asset and a detriment. She doesn’t care so much if she offends people, and it’s actually part of her method of extracting information to say things that are somewhat rude and unexpected. The really cool thing about her [is] … she isn’t showing up to work wearing suits and little blazers. She’s wearing like rock-star shirts and jeans, and big belt buckles and big jewelry. Yet she’s married and has two young kids, so she’s got that other side to her. And I think she loves her job, loves the idea of having to solve these complicated cases and do a great job, and then get home to her little ones.”
With her attitude and attire, it sounds like Falacci could rub some of the other detectives the wrong way, and Witt admits that there is some of that with Ross, the character played by Eric Bogosian. “In the first episode, she definitely doesn’t back down when he reprimands her a little bit for having been slightly out of line, because she insists that she did the right thing. … [But] I think she’s got a good rapport going with Logan [Chris Noth’s character], like they identify with each other on some level, and they work really well together — it seems to me — from the first.”
And how did Witt herself, coming into a well established team much like Falacci is, find herself welcomed?
“Everyone’s been really great,” she says. “It’s sort of a win-win situation to be part of this established franchise. I feel like I’m stepping into it, but I’m only here temporarily, so it’s like I get to be their ‘breath of fresh air’ or something like that! … I do like the fact that I’m not all that familiar with Criminal Intent as an entity, and it makes sense for Falacci, too, because she’s coming into a situation with people and protocol that she’s not familiar with, so I made a decision to not familiarize myself that much with the show. I didn’t feel like it would actually serve me in any way. … I’ll be going into it like a new person [as Falacci is]. … And I get to bring my dogs to the set!”
The situation is a little different from the time she guest-starred on Ally McBeal. “That was actually a show I was obsessed with,” laughs Witt, “and I did watch it every single week for the entire time that it was on. And it was such a strange experience to guest star on that, because I felt like I was shrunk into the TV set, like everything was so familiar to me.”
Regarding the possibility of coming back to Criminal Intent, or television in general, on a permanent basis, Witt is not too keen. “[It’s] not in the cards for me. I actually don’t know what episode No. 6 is going to be; I have no idea what the arc is. They haven’t written it yet, and we don’t start shooting [that episode] until December. There’s always the possibility of coming back for a couple.
“[But] I love the lifestyle of feature films, as well as what it’s like as an actor working on them, to focus on one character for three months, and then move on to new characters. I find that really stimulating. I love the unexpectedness; you can be sitting at home and get a phone call, and suddenly you’re on a plane to South Africa. I’ve gotten to spend time in some really fantastic countries and made friends that I never would have made otherwise.
“For me, I like the challenge of not playing the same part for years on end. [Criminal Intent], for me, is actually ridiculously perfect. I get to develop this character kind of like if you were doing a film, but there’s no commitment, no six- or seven-year contract that you have to sign, which is generally what scares me about TV! But this is great.”
