All in all, Hennessy’s happy that Jordan crossed her path
In no particular order, here are some things Jill Hennessy loves:
“ Motherhood.
“ Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” which (along with “Sesame Street” and “Dragon Tales”) is about the only TV she has a chance to watch.
“ The sensory delight of robust, stinky cheese.
“ Getting back to Manhattan, like she is now to publicize her TV series, “Crossing Jordan.”
Hennessy is also pretty fond of “Crossing Jordan,” where she plays a headstrong, sassy medical examiner whose detective work extends beyond autopsies.
The NBC series is in its fifth season, and despite tough competition on Sundays at 10 p.m. from ABC’s new hit “Grey’s Anatomy,” it has rounded up viewers as doggedly as Jordan tracks down killers.
“She’s dysfunctional but also very strong, pro-active, comedic – yet dark,” says Hennessy, nibbling from an overripe cheese plate whose aromas could make Jordan’s corpses stand up and salute.
At 36, Hennessy is a TV veteran. A svelte brunette with an alto voice and a larky manner, she got her show-biz start in her native Toronto doing improv comedy.
She first won notice after coming to Manhattan and landing the role of Claire Kincaid, the brainy, straight-arrow assistant district attorney on “Law & Order.” She played Claire for three seasons before departing a decade ago (whereupon, in a scene that traumatized her fans, Claire died in a car crash).
Hennessy returned to series TV in 2001 after several years’ success in television and theatrical films. Even so, “Crossing Jordan” initially presented her with a complex mix of hopes and misgivings.
She had signed on expecting a quirkier, more comic show. Instead, the series seemed drawn “down a straighter, forensic-procedural path,” she recalls.
“But it’s always been a push-and-pull with the network,” she says. “They wanted more of a ‘Law & Order,’ ‘CSI’ feel. And (series creator) Tim Kring wanted more character, more comedy.”
While she’s proud of the show, she admits, “Sometimes it’s kind of terrifying, because you don’t know which way you’re gonna go and you feel powerless.
“I try to contribute as much as I can, but I also realize it’s not my show: I’m not the creator, I’m not the network. … It can be frustrating, it can be exciting. It keeps you on your toes.”
Also keeping her on her toes: Marco, Hennessy’s son with her husband, actor-businessman Paolo Mastropietro.
After Marco’s birth in September 2003, Hennessy was back on the set, but “nursing the baby every three hours. One of the PAs would come up and say, ‘Uh, Jill, milk alarm.’
“I’d nurse my son and then run back and shoot a scene. It really brought the crew together.”
The birthday bunch
Actor John Forsythe is 88. Actress Katharine Ross is 66. Actor Tom Selleck is 61. Actress Ann Jillian is 56. Talk-show host Oprah Winfrey is 52. Actress Diane Delano (“Northern Exposure”) is 49. Actress Judy Norton Taylor (“The Waltons”) is 48. Actor Nicholas Turturro (“NYPD Blue”) is 44. Director-actor Ed Burns is 38. Actress Heather Graham is 36. Actor Sharif Atkins (“ER”) is 31. Actress Sara Gilbert (“Roseanne”) is 31. Actor Andrew Keegan (“Party of Five”) is 27. Guitarist Jonny Lang is 25.