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Alicia Witt at the NBC TCA Press Tour All-Star party held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. on July 17, 2007.
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Alicia Witt has joined the cast of the 7th season of USA Network’s Law & Order: Criminal Intent, as Detective Nola Falacci. Cold and calculating in her investigative methods, no one -- not even authority figures in the criminal justice world -- intimidates the happily married mother of three young kids, who has transferred from Brooklyn North to partner with Detective Mike Logan (Chris Noth) in Major Case.
Having made her film debut in David Lynch’s Dune, the flame-haired Witt went on to play memorable roles in such films as Last Holiday, Two Weeks Notice, Mr. Holland’s Opus and Urban Legend, among numerous others, and recently wrapped production on 88 Minutes, out in 2008. The 32-year-old Massachusetts native talks to MediaBlvd Magazine about working on a series that takes viewers into the minds of its criminals.
MediaBlvd Magazine> Having been trained as a classical pianist, did you ever have intentions to become a musician, or was acting something you had always wanted to do?
Alicia Witt> I started taking piano lessons the same year that I did my first movie, when I was 7. I did study classical piano for many years. My original intention, when I was really little, was that I would do both. But then, I started realizing that, as much as I loved music, I loved acting more. If I had to choose one or the other, I knew that I wasn’t going to give up music, but that I didn’t really want to be a classical pianist. If you want that life, you have to put everything into it. It’s one of the most grueling disciplines that you can possibly choose to dream of. So, I moved out to L.A. when I was about 14, and started auditioning and getting a few jobs. I actually played the piano at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel for 2 ½ years to support myself. It came in handy, as my day job, while I was trying to make my mark, as an actor. And, now, I’ve played the piano in a couple of jobs, recently. I did this play in London last fall, where I played a pianist. It was actually written for me and this other girl because the writer knew about the classical piano training. That was amazing. And, now I’m spending a lot of my time writing and singing songs. So, I’ve always had music as a really big part of my life. But, acting is something I don’t think I could ever live without.
MediaBlvd> Was there a particular moment when you made the decision that acting was what you wanted to pursue, as a career?
Alicia> I knew, at the age of 7, on the set of Dune. I thought it was incredible. It was such a magical thing to get to do for a living. And, I started begging my parents, from the time I was about 10, to let me move out to L.A., so I could be an actor, but they were not keen on that idea. So, I didn’t have another job until I was 14. I wasn’t auditioning for anything and I didn’t have an agent, or anything like that. It was just a fluke that I got the job in ‘Dune,’ but it was something I wanted very much, from the moment that job came up.
MediaBlvd> How did you come to Law & Order: Criminal Intent?
Alicia> I’m the replacement for Julianne Nicholson, while she’s out on maternity leave. I was up in Williamstown doing a play this summer, and I got a call saying that they wanted me to do this gig. And, I just thought it was the neatest situation possible because I get to play this very cool character, but I’m not doing it for years on end. It’s only six episodes, and if I ever recur or come back, it will be on an episode by episode basis. My big trepidation about doing TV has always been that I don’t want to play the same character for years because I have a tendency to get really stir crazy. I like to keep moving and traveling and doing different things. So, this was great. Plus, it shoots in New York, which gives me the chance to spend five months living in New York, and I’ve just been loving that.
MediaBlvd> What kind of person is your character?
Alicia> She is really a bit unusual for a detective on this show. She’s kind of funky. She doesn’t dress in a conservative way. She’s very in-your-face, and not very polite, all the time. She has a tendency exactly what’s on her mind, and she can be misinterpreted as being very rude, but that’s not her intention. She just wants to solve the case, as expediently as possible, and figure out who the bad guy is and move on. She’s got three kids at home, and is married. That’s an interesting color to her. She’s not somebody who’s always saying something impolite because she’s bitter. It’s quite the opposite. I think she loves her job, but she also loves being a mom. I’m really liking her.
MediaBlvd> Will viewers get a chance to see her home life at all?
Alicia> I doubt it. So far, we haven’t, and I doubt that we will, just because they very rarely do that on the show. The nature of the show is that each episode is about a case, which is what makes the show very accessible. You don’t have to watch the entire series. You can pick out one episode and enjoy it. If you watch the entire season, then you’ll understand more of the exchanges between the detectives and realize their history with each other, but you don’t need to, to enjoy an episode.
MediaBlvd> Had you been a fan of any of the Law & Order series, prior to doing this?
Alicia> It’s the kind of show that I’ve seen a handful of times, just flipping channels. And, because each episode is contained, it’s the kind of thing where I’ve been able to watch an episode, here and there, and completely enjoy it and get wrapped up in it. But, I’m not a TV watcher, as a rule. I was a big fan of The Sopranos and I love Curb Your Enthusiasm, and there were a couple other shows I really liked. But, I’m not someone who sets my TiVo and watches a whole bunch of series. A lot of times, with the other shows, unless I happen to put it on at a moment that’s particularly thrilling, I don’t have anything to grab my interest because I don’t know what’s going on, unlike this show. So, I was familiar with the format, but not familiar with who the characters were, or what their idiosyncracies were. When I came into it, I didn’t make any attempt to familiarize myself with this particular show, ahead of time, because I thought it would be good, since my character is coming in fresh, if I came in fresh, too.
MediaBlvd> How has it been, working with Chris Noth? Had you known him prior to being cast, or did you spend any time getting to know him, before you started working on the show?
Alicia> No, it’s pretty much been just on the set. I have been singing at his club, The Cutting Room, though, which has been a lot of fun. He made sure to tell me about that, right off the bat, because he knew that I was a musician and was trying to get into singing more. He’s got this great club in Chelsea and, on Mondays, they have a jam session, so there are really great singers and musicians that turn up there and just jam until the wee small hours of the morning, and I’m in that now. That’s very cool. We’ve pretty much just gotten to know each other on the set. I think our characters balance each other out well, and we’re also kind of similar, in our blunt approach to things. I think Logan and Falacci enjoy one-upping each other, slightly. I think there’s a good rapport going on.
MediaBlvd> Was the fact that you only have to do six episodes, because this show has two separate casts that split the season, part of the attraction to doing this, since it will be less work for you?
Alicia> No, that was just a little bonus. I honestly didn’t know about that. When they told me they wanted me to do six episodes in New York, I said yes. I thought that sounded like a pretty great deal. But then, I found that it was even more time in New York than I imagined. Ordinarily, doing six episodes of a one-hour show would take half the time that it is. As it is, it’s five months. It just gives me more time in New York. But, that being said, it is a very grueling schedule. It’s 15 or 16-hour days, and we’re pretty much in every scene, so we are exhausted. It’s definitely welcome to have that week and a half off, in between episodes.
MediaBlvd> What did it feel like, being the new person on the set of a show that has been on for so many years? Was it nerve-wracking, or does that not phase you?
Alicia> That doesn’t make me nervous. Really, it’s just the best of every possible scenario to be on the show and have it be this well established, so that all the kinks are worked out and everyone has their rhythm. It makes it really easy on me. I just get to walk in and be the fresh face, and be the one that is new and unusual. It’s a great gig. I think I just got really lucky.
MediaBlvd> What’s the hardest aspect of doing this show?
Alicia> The most challenging thing about the show, for me, is the fact that it’s so procedural that you have to find the character within very little. You have to find glimmers and glances between you and your partner. There are a couple references to personal life, but they’re few and far between. It’s pretty much just keeping track of what you know, at that moment, in the scene versus what you know in the next moment, and how that new information affects you and whether you think the person you’re interrogating is guilty, at that moment. The challenge is to keep it interesting while you’re the person who’s doing the interrogating with all the colorful characters around you.
MediaBlvd> Beyond the six episodes, are you hoping return for more episodes, down the line?
Alicia> I’m having a great time. The only thing, for me, is just that I don’t want to play the same character for years. But, if they ask me to come back for one or two, at some point in the future, that would be lovely because I really do like this character. It’s fun to walk down the street as Nola Falacci, so there will be a part of me that’s sorry to not get to play her, on my last day.
MediaBlvd> How was it to work with Al Pacino in 88 Minutes?
Alicia> Working with him is kind of indescribable. He was one of my favorite actors before we worked together, and now that we’ve worked together, he’s even more one of my favorite actors. He’s the warmest, nicest, most professional, most dedicated guy. I, honestly, loved every minute, working with him and getting to know him. I was blown away by how hard he still works and how much he wants every single scene to be the best it can be, even at this point in his life, when he’s probably the greatest living actor. He’s brilliant when he’s just sitting there, having dinner and running lines. He just still wants everything to be the best, not because he’s trying to show off, but because he loves acting. And, I thought that was so inspiring. I learned a million tiny little things about acting on film from him. I hope I was able to learn a little bit, anyway. I think I have. He’s so lovely that he manages to make you not feel intimidated, and I’d heard other actors say the same thing about him. It’s a universal experience, if you’ve worked with Al. He is, obviously, larger than life, but then you meet him and he isn’t. He’s just an actor. And, I stopped being nervous when I first auditioned with him. I was so nervous and so excited. I was freaking out at the fact that I had been asked to audition with him, and then I had to audition with him a second time. At both of those moments, I would have been happy. I didn’t really think I was going to get the job. And then, when I got it, it was just a dream. And, it remained that way the whole time, working with him. It was a real pleasure. He loves doing theater, too. He loves acting. That’s my impression, anyway. He just really enjoys creating characters, and the process of the whole thing.
MediaBlvd> You’ve done such an interesting variety of projects. What do you look for, when you’re picking projects that you want to be involved with?
Alicia> My ultimate goal is to just keep playing characters I haven’t played before. It’s what I try to do. And, I get such a happy feeling when I’m talking to someone about a movie and I say, “Oh, yeah, I was in that,” and they say, “Really? Who were you in that?” They’ve seen the movie and they remember the characters, and they’ll talk about the character that I played, amongst the other characters, and they don’t even realize that it was me. I think that’s very cool. That’s just as it should be. I just want to challenge myself and keep people guessing. I don’t want to be the actor that everyone can pinpoint or say, “Oh, yeah, she’s the one that plays X type of character.” And, I’m pretty pleased with that, so far. The work that I’ve done on film, combined with what I’ve done in the theater, has been pretty varied. In the play I did in London last year, I played a stammering, agoraphobic, mousy British girl, who was terrified of everything and could only express herself through music. And, I would have people coming up to me in the bar afterwards, when I’d have my make-up on and my cute skirt and boots, and they’d be like, “Were you in the play?”
MediaBlvd> With all the work that you’ve done in your career, is there something that you are most proud of, or that holds a special place in your heart?
Alicia> All of the jobs that I’ve mentioned are special to me. But, one of my first jobs, called Fun, which I did when I was 18, we shot it in seven days, and I played a manic depressive teenager who killed an elderly woman for the fun of it, was one of my favorite parts that I’ve played, and it’s not like anything else that I’ve done. It was about two girls who meet and become best friends, and they kill this elderly woman together. It was loosely based on a true story about these teenagers. And, we were both so young and so green, and we honestly didn’t know, sometimes, if the whole thing was super shady. I think it was SAG deferred, and I don’t think they even filed the right paperwork, but it ended up going to the Sundance Film Festival and the two of us won acting awards for it. It’s kind of what started my career. It was shortly after that, that I was able to quit playing the piano for a living. So, that film has a very special place in my heart because it was really the first time I got to play a big character, and it was so unexpected. It was the last thing that I ever thought was going to happen, when I was shooting it. It was so no frills and so simple. To me, that’s what acting is. It’s not all of the waiting around and the fancy shots and the hair and make-up, and all that stuff. It was just acting and playing a great character.
