Digging deep to tell real stories
Law and Order: Special Victims Unit returns to our screens for season 17. Alyssia Birjalal caught up with Kelli Giddish (Detective Amanda Rollins) to find out what we can expect from her character
YOU play Detective Amanda Rollins. Where do we see her pick up in season 17? Well, she is still the same character that you know. This is my fifth year playing Amanda and I think it’s the best season of Law and Order: Special Victim Unit that I have done so far. So you are in for some very exciting things. You have been on Law and Order since 2007. I know you were a guest star and then you officially joined in 2011 in the 13th season. What is it that keeps you on the show? It’s not like any other cop show, it’s got real emotional depth because of the subject matter. We get to shine a light on issues that are sometimes really hard to talk about, my character specifically. I just love her because she is a badass in her own way. She messes up sometimes, but I like characters that aren’t perfect. How did you prep for this role? Did you have to go for training, did you shadow anyone? I had just come off another show called Chase on NBC, which I trained for with marshals in terms of police work and the actual physicality of holding and shooting a gun and clearing a house.
As for specifics of how the police department’s special victims unit works, we have a consultant here who we can ask questions. I also try to be as involved as I can in Mariska’s charity work. We hear a lot of survivors’ stories, which helps bring home the reality of what we explore every week. Having spoken survivors of sexual assault… brings it really close to home. Do the storylines – being so gruesome – affect you emotionally, even though they are fictional, and if so, how do you cope? Well you know, when I first started this job, I had horrible nightmares, because these are the meanest things that someone can do to someone else – and that’s what we are exploring every week. You have to just leave it at work, because you can’t deal with it all the time. But although I get to leave it at work, the victims don’t. They have to deal with it day in and day out. My heart feels for them and I do everything I can to represent it as truthfully and with as much respect as I can. Having a child now (I have a 3-year-old) makes it a whole lot less easy to leave it at work. Are there any similarities between you and Amanda? Yes, we are both from Georgia. When I first got to the show, I think my character was supposed to be from Philadelphia or Pittsburgh. But when I got the role they were like, “Okay, we will make her from Georgia.” And there is definitely a certain sensibility, a certain toughness, I believe certain women have because of who raised them. If you had the opportunity to change one thing about Amanda, what would it be and why? That she wasn’t so good at talking law school stuff, because I’m not. I hate working with computers. What can the viewers look forward to on season 17? Amanda is pregnant, so you will get to see me get fatter and fatter. That is exciting (laughs). Also, you get to meet Amanda’s mom, and her sister comes back. I think that’s always a treat for audiences. I know when people meet me on the street they love to talk about how much they hate my sister – she’s someone people love to hate. I love it when Lindsay Pulsipher (Kim Rollins) comes on. It’s a lot of fun to work with her. What has it been like to work with Mariska Hargitay, Danny Ping, Ice T and the rest of the cast and crew? It’s awesome. I have been through a lot personally on the show and I think Ice-T is one of the wisest people I have ever met. It has been great to really get a friendship going with him, (his wife) Coco and their daughter Chanel, because Coco and I were pregnant at the same time. When he starts talking, you sit down, shut up and listen. It’s great to just hear him talk – about anything.
Mariska is one of the kindest people on the planet. I am very lucky to call her a friend. Danny Ping is the best gentleman on Earth and Peter Scanavino is also one of my closest friends. I couldn’t ask for a better place to work. They’re very supportive and everybody has a great sense of humour here – even though we’re putting our heads together to tell a story that is kind of hard to tell from week to week.
Season 17 of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premieres on Universal (DStv Channel 117) on September 4 at 8pm.