|
EVERYBODY WANTS Christopher Meloni
By Liz Smith
NY Post, March 8, 2000
|
||
 |
And everybody seems to know Christopher Meloni (When it slipped we were interviewing him, women, men and household pets wanted to "tag along.") After a frustratingly lengthy apprenticeship toiling in the showbiz vineyards, Meloni is suddenly TV's hot number, and gathering a sizzling head of steam among movie industry types. He has made a tremendous impression as the treacherous, seductive sexual predator of HBO's prison drama "Oz" and as the co-star of NBC's getting-stronger-every-week "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." In that, he and his partner, the admirably gritty Mariska Hargitay, cope with the ugliest of sex crimes. But moviegoers remember Meloni's comic turn in Julia Roberts' "Runaway Bride."
Over coffee at the SoHo Grand Hotel, Meloni says, "I hate to be so clich d as to say small-town boy makes good in big city' -- especially since I'm from Washington, D.C. -- or that it's all like a fairy tale -- but that's the way it seems right now." Chris is tall, dark, ruggedly handsome, solidly built. (He has been seen to excellent advantage in the altogether on "Oz.") But despite the tough guys he has played -- often in forgettable TV movies -- in person the actor is ingratiatingly soft-spoken and happily bemused by his new status. "I went to the Oscar de la Hoya pre-fight party. All these great people like Jimmy Smits and James Gandolfini acknowledged me. It was like Wow! I guess this is what making it feels like.'" Remembering that night, Meloni seems almost on the verge of blushing at his own good fortune. He'll consider feature work carefully. He doesn't want to be typecast as "the intense guy." In fact, he'd much rather do lighter stuff on the big screen -- romance and comedy. Meloni has done stage, including a production of "The Rainmaker." He recalled, "That was one of the hardest, and ultimately the most satisfying things I ever did, because my character doesn't come on for a full half hour, but he has to arrive as a completely formed personality. You have to convey all his energy at once, from the moment he appears!" But of course we spoke of his dark duplicitous persona on "Oz," Chris Keller, who revels in an ambiguous sexuality and is so adept at messing with people's minds, "The interesting thing is that I found people were very moved and intrigued by the one moment of remorse Chris showed, after he had seduced Beecher (played by Lee Turgensen) and then broke his arms and legs. I had more comment on that one flicker of humanity than anything else he's done!" Meloni began work on the new season of "Oz" this week. He grinned and said, "Something bad will happen, and that will allow me to be off for a spell, and work on Law & Order'" (Both series film here.) "What kind of bad?" "Oh, you'll just have to watch and find out," he teased. Episodes resume in July. As for "Special Victims Unit," the show, after a shaky start, now seems to have found its groove. Meloni has high praise for his co-workers, the production staff and the writers-especially the writers-on both shows. Before he heads off for a day of Sunday shopping and chores, he beams, "Look, I hate to sound like Pollyanna, but I literally can't wait to get to work in the morning. I've got steady jobs, I've got my health, and I'm here in the greatest city in the world. I'd be a pig not to be grateful." |
|