People: For him, it’s a natural ‘Order’
When Jeremy Sisto got his first glimpse of the updated “Law & Order” opening, there he was, in a courthouse setting alongside his castmates, just like so many who had come before him.
Sisto hums a few bars of the “Law & Order” theme, and recalls with a laugh: “There I am, walking with the others. And I thought, ‘What’s he doing there?’ “
The 33-year-old actor has played Jesus and Julius Caesar, a high-school hunk who catches Alicia Silverstone‘s eye in “Clueless,” and, in the recent “Waitress,” Keri Russell‘s loutish husband.
Last season, he tracked down abductees on the short-lived drama “Kidnapped.”
Among his most memorable roles: Billy Chenowith, a gifted photographer and tormented manic-depressive on the HBO series “Six Feet Under.”
Now he’s joining “Law & Order” for its 18th season, which opens tonight on NBC with two back-to-back episiodes (9 p.m., KHQ-6 in Spokane).
Sisto plays Detective Cyrus Lupo, new partner to Detective Ed Green (series veteran Jesse L. Martin).
Also joining up is Linus Roache as Chief Assistant District Attorney Michael Cutter, who succeeds Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston), himself the newly appointed district attorney.
Sisto and Roache become the 23rd and 24th actors to fill the show’s six slots for cops and prosecutors.
“Law & Order” survived its own near-death experience last May. It was almost canceled, the victim of a sharp ratings drop.
Having won a reprieve, it’s now back in the chase to overtake “Gunsmoke” (20 years) as TV’s most-enduring prime-time drama.
“It’s classic ‘Law & Order,’ but it’s been reinvigorated,” Sisto says of the new season.
The premise: After four years abroad working undercover intel, Detective Lupo is summoned to New York when his brother is found dead. Lupo joins Green to crack the case.
Unlike many of Sisto’s roles, Lupo is a somewhat understated personality.
“It’s a different kind of acting, this ‘Law & Order’ thing,” he says. “They want two partners who can play off each other well and are fun to watch, but depth of character is not necessary in this job.
“Too much character gets in the way of the story. This is a very specific gig.”
Sisto fell under acting’s spell growing up in Chicago, where his mom, an aspiring actress, brought him along to her auditions.
“Then someone would say, ‘Does your kid want to read for a part?’ I did some plays and had a great time,” he says.
When he was 16, he landed his first film, the drama “Grand Canyon,” playing the teenage son of Kevin Kline and Mary McDonnell.
“That got me a foot in, to come out and have a life in L.A. in this business,” Sisto says. “It could very easily not have happened for me.
“To be an actor takes a lot of courage, but the way I did it takes less courage. I was very lucky.”
The birthday bunch
Actress Wendy Phillips is 56. Actress Gabrielle Carteris (“Beverly Hills, 90210”) is 47. Actress Tia Carrere is 41. Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. is 40. Model Christy Turlington is 39. Actor Taye Diggs is 37. Actor Dax Shepard is 33. Actress Kate Bosworth is 25.