Anthony Anderson : Movin' On

May 27, 2008 11:30:20

5/18/2008

For Anthony Anderson, this must seem like the neverending TV season.

He started it as the star of one TV show (“K-Ville”) and ends it starring in another (“Law & Order”). He started on Fox and ends on NBC, started in New Orleans and ends in New York.

Throughout it all, he’s remained a cop. TV likes cops.

“I love cop shows,” said Dick Wolf, the “Law & Order” producer, “because it’s the ultimate stakes, which are life and death.”

Still, cop shows vary as widely as the cities they’re set in. “K-Ville” was all about post-flood New Orleans.

Anderson, who grew up in Los Angeles, found it fascinating.

“The spirit of the people in New Orleans is unlike any other,” said Anderson, 37. He worked with Habitat for Humanity and planned to stay.

“I was just about to buy a home there,” he said. “And then the strike happened; that stopped me from doing it.”

The writers’ strike lingered and “K-Ville” never returned. A new opportunity surfaced: With Jesse L. Martin leaving after nine “Law & Order” seasons, Anderson could take over.

For this one, the streets of New York are key. “I just love the city,” Anderson said. “I love the vibrant lifestyle.”

He

plays police Det. Kevin Bernard, who reluctantly worked in Internal Affairs. He first showed up to investigate Det. Green (Martin); now he has Green’s old job.

All of this may surprise people who once pegged Anderson a funny guy. He had his own situation comedy (“All About the Andersons”), plus a string of comic roles in movies.

“Comedy is something that just comes second nature to me,” Anderson said. “It was what hit for me first. And I just rode that wave.”

Now comes the drama side. This doesn’t surprise Wolf, who has hired comedy actors (including Richard Belzer) before. “It’s a lot easier to be a dramatic actor in many ways,” he said.

Anderson was a complex villain on “The Shield,” but Wolf said it was his brief work in the Oscar-winning “The Departed” that convinced him. “I said, ‘I got to get this guy.”’ Still, Anderson also takes comic roles.

“I’d like to say thank you to Dick for those kind words,” he said. “But ‘Kangaroo Jack’ and ‘Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle' didn't do it for you?"