Vincent D’Onofrio (Det. Bobby Goren, Law & Order: Criminal Intent)

The good actors that I’ve met – I’ve met some of the best actors that we’ll ever see – and I know for sure the one thing that we all have in common when we all look in each other’s eyes, is that we’re all struggling to achieve 100%. That’s all I see when I see another artist. All of us are trying to achieve 100% in our work. That’s all we struggle to do. We never do, but we never stop trying until the day we die. It’s that struggle to achieve 100%, that’s where our performance lies, that’s what the audience gets. They get the struggle.

The last 2 seasons were FULL of Goren-related drama on L&O: CI (currently shown on the USA network).  Bobby lost his fragile, schizophrenic mother (played by the fabulous Rita Moreno) and learned that his biological father Mark Ford Brady (Roy Scheider) was a serial killer.  Then his older/former junkie brother Frank (Tony Goldwyn) was found murdered- pushed out of his apt. window.  He made some uncharacteristic decisions, and took a BIG risk to help Frank’s son- his new-found nephew.   Wow, that’s a LOT to take in!  Bobby had to leave the job for a while, too.

Bobby is NOT your typical cop (unlike Eames)- he’s a criminal profiler with a genius IQ.  He can get into a perp’s mind; he’s very much concerned with the “why” of a crime.     

Goren is based on Sherlock Holmes but, instead of relying upon physical evidence like Holmes, D’Onofrio’s character focuses on psychology to identify the perpetrators, whom he often draws into confessing or yielding condemning evidence.  –IMDB

D’Onofrio (seen above in The Whole Wide World co-starring Renee Zellweger) has taken on MANY quirky roles over the years.  He’s known in the industry as an “actor’s actor.”  With Det. Goren, character is revealed bit by bit.  Bobby is not a “people-person,” so he keeps a LOT to himself.  But he’s not ALWAYS in control.  Because of his unstable childhood (including an often absent/distant father), Goren has learned to be self-sufficient.    

What a CUTE nose!  The towering 6’3″ D’Onofrio (seen above at a 1996 movie premiere) is an interesting actor to watch b/c he pushes himself to become a character.  Sometimes it may be TOO much- several years ago on the L&O: CI set, he was hospitalized for exhaustion.  D’Onofrio is a “method” actor.  (He gained weight for a movie re: Orson Welles.)  Zellweger thanked him in her Oscar speech- how cool is that!?   

Did you know?: D’Onofrio was born in Brooklyn, so he’s a REAL New Yorker!

Chris Meloni (Det. Elliot Stabler, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit)

A city like New York has clashing cultures and clashing ideas and big ideas, but these sorts of things weren’t being thrown in the air and bandied about where I came from.

Meloni has played a great cop (Stabler) AND a great criminal (Keller on Oz).  Both characters are intimidating, unpredictable, an have a strong physical presence.  Come on- that’s an AWESOME bod! 

When it’s mid-February, and it’s bitterly cold outside, I am really glad that I’m not working in construction anymore.

The above pic is from Oz, where Meloni played a sociopathic killer.   Unlike the manipulative Keller, El (as partner Olivia Benson calls him) has a VERY strong sense of right and wrong.  I’ve been watching SVU since it started!  I missed a FEW eps here and there, BUT am catching up.              

Elliot is especially affected by cases involving children/teens; he has gone through trials w/ his family as a result of his tough job.  He is a very loyal partner to Liv.  Meloni is an actor that you can’t pidgeon-hole into “good” or “bad” character; he’s in the gray area.  This makes him fun to watch! 

Did you know?: Meloni is half-Italian and half-French Canadian.  He’s often mistaken for (another fine actor) Elias Koteas.

Chris Noth (Det. Mike Logan, Law & Order / Law & Order: Criminal Intent)

The original L&O series has had MANY strong actors: Michael Moriarty, Jerry Orbach, and Sam Waterston to name a few.  But who looks and acts like a real-life cop?  It’s Chris Noth; he’s played Det. Mike Logan on 2 L&O shows.  

Wow, what a great profile!  I liked the longer hair, too.  Through the years, Mike has slowly matured and softened (somewhat) as a person and as a cop.  But, he’s still got a petulant/abrasive side.  Mike has worked w/ many partners, but will be leaving the L&O: CI soon.  (Jeff Goldblum will take over in the coming season.) 

I don’t know the politics of Hollywood. Am I hungry for great material? Every actor is. How I can get to it, that’s another story.

Noth achieved even greater success/notice when he got the role of “Mr. Big” on SATC (above pic).  Hmmm… I wonder what Big would think of Logan’s wardrobe?  Noth and Sara Jessica Parker had GREAT chemisty together!

Did you know?: Noth, unlike Logan who’s Irish American, is Jewish.

Related Links:

The Reel Vincent D’Onofrio (a fan’s blog):

http://www.thereelvincentdonofrio.com/reelblog/reelblog.html

Trailer for The Whole Wide World (an unconventional love story based on real events):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpUe7UBsWBk&NR=1

Chris Meloni’s Official Web Site (a VERY cool site!):

http://www.christopher-meloni.com/frame.html

A VERY cool desktop wallpaper design:

http://surreal-art.com/files/vincentcollage.jpg