Tough Guise
By Lisa Schafer
People, February 3, 2003
Thanks to Penny for the scan and Beth for the text

Even a multiple murderer has tender moments, as Christopher Meloni discovered playing an inmate on HBO's gritty prison drama Oz. Serving out the show's final season, Meloni jokes that a recent kiss with costar Lee Tergesen "was sweeter than honey, softer than velvet-nothing but pure joy with a 5 o'clock shadow."

But their lip-locking, which started in 1998, did take some getting used to. "We're old hats at it now, but that first kiss, we were so keyed up," says Meloni, 41, who also costars on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. "We looked at each other like, 'Let's just do it.'"

So did his wife, Sherman, offer any helpful advice? "She suggested I shave my legs," Meloni says. "But I didn't think Lee would be running his hand up and down my leg."


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