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Interview: Julianna Margulies on 'Canterbury's Law'
If you absolutely, positively needed a defense attorney to keep you out of jail, Elizabeth Canterbury would be a good choice, but if you were looking for somebody to hang out with for a casual evening, Julianna Margulies' win-at-any-cost character on the legal drama Canterbury's Law might not be so appealing. She's the sort of lawyer you see on FX or HBO or even TNT, but the show will be premiering on Monday (March 10) on FOX.
"What FOX said to me when I asked them why they would do this show and if they would keep true to its pilot, which I felt was a cable show, they said they wanted to bring cable to network, and they wanted network watchers to know that they could get the same quality in terms of a mature show for mature audiences that isn't just sort of the formulaic network drama, that they could bring a little FX to FOX," Margulies says, accepting the idea that Canterbury's Law is really more of a cable show than a network offering.
How does Margulies, both star and a producer on Canterbury's Law, quantify the difference between network and cable shows?
"I think the difference is that it's a little bit more realistic," she says on a recent conference call with reporters. "Things aren't tied up in little packages. It's messy. It's not so likable -- meaning the character. We're not afraid to be disliked. And I think what made things -- I can't compare it at all to The Sopranos or to Damages, two wonderful shows –- but those characters aren't so likable as much as they are compelling to watch. There are so many layers to them, they're three-dimensional, so I think that's what gives it sort of that dark cable feeling, and I think the producer side of me, the hardest part of being a producer on this show is going to be maintaining that."
For Margulies, one of the scenes that best illustrates her character's determination comes in the pilot when she storms into the men's restroom to accost a colleague (Ben Shenkman).
"Because it's what's important to her," she says, justifying that character choice. "To me, it's nothing's going to stop her from getting to the point. And if you're in the men's bathroom, I don't care. I personally, as Julianna, would have waited and waited, and then the moment goes by and then the person comes out and then you forget your whole point, you know? This is a woman who gets what she wants. She's diligent; she's unbelievably pushy and bossy. She doesn't care if anyone is in there; she wants to go and get what she's after. 'So I kind of loved the idea that –- it's just a bathroom, it's just a guy peeing, who cares. This is what's important; there's a man's life at stake. I love that about that character."
Viewers can check out Canterbury's other extremes on Monday night.
Other highlights from Margulies' chat with the press:
On bringing in Aidan Quinn to replace Linus Roache as her character's husband: We've worked together before, and when they asked me, do you have any thoughts –- this is the beautiful part of being a producer I never knew –- but they actually ask you your opinion on who you think would make a good husband, and I suggested him, and they said, 'We'll never get Aidan Quinn.' And I was like, 'I've worked with him, he's a friend of mine. Why don't you give it a whirl?' It's a match made in heaven for both of us because we're so comfortable with each other. We've known each other a long time and we've worked together before, and there's such an ease. I'm not afraid to try anything.
On taking on producing duties: [A]s an actor producing, the challenge was not to get too caught up in everything –- every aspect, from making sure hair and makeup was treated well, to the actors, to the wardrobe, to guest stars coming on. I would worry that they were getting home properly and that there was transportation from these strange places we were in Brooklyn, so -– I think next time I'll have to figure out a way to not take everything so literally and think that I have to make sure everyone's okay. It's mostly coming home and reading the new rewrites that would come in and being able to call and talk about, no, this works, this doesn't work; how are we going to get this person into this scene –- all that stuff, I have to learn not to take all of it on.
On why legal jargon is easier to adopt than the medical-speak she had to learn in her days on E.R. : I would look up in the medical dictionary what I was saying. I didn't know what Demerol was until I tried it, you know? I mean, you don’t really know what you're talking about, whereas with law you can sit there and understand, oh, okay, you do this, you get this. You understand what a sentence means, you understand what –- it's much more feasible to me than the medical profession. Also, by the way, when I trailed nurses in hospitals, I usually ended up in the hallway with my head between my legs because I was so nauseous from watching an intubation or smelling the... With law, I was just fascinated, also because it has to do so much more with the psychology of the human being, as opposed to medical.
In response to a question comparing fighting reptiles in Snakes on a Plane and fighting personal demons in Canterbury's Law: Is that really the question you want to ask? Snakes on a Plane was a fun jaunt. We had a ball making that movie. There wasn't a lot of extra thinking that went into that role in terms of character layers. This is probably... she's... I couldn't even compare them. Fighting personal demons is I think what we do in life, so many of us, and those of us that say we don't have them, I'm worried about. I think they're lying, and they're going to combust any minute, so don't trust anyone who says they don't have something lurking in the dark.
Great first episode! Julianna Margulies is a force to be reckoned with. Amazing actress!
Matt | Mar 10, 2008 7:24:05 PM | #Great first episode! Julianna Margulies is a force to be reckoned with. Amazing actress!
Matt | Mar 10, 2008 7:24:14 PM | #Very boring show. Won't come back again. Margulies was fine, but the show was just so plodding. You didn't care about any of the characters.
Josh | Mar 11, 2008 9:36:52 AM | #Julianna's not believable in any way and really not very likeable either. I guess non of the characters are very likeable. Perhaps the reason I kinda like it is because there's so much worse stuff on lately. But I can't see making a point to tune in
BROOKE | Apr 11, 2008 3:14:25 PM | #
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