Checking in with ERIKA CHRISTENSEN
“Life goes on in the world of a series.” So says Erika Christensen, the “Parenthood” alum who’s glad to experience that again with her latest television character: police detective Angie Polaski in “Will Trent,” ABC’S Tuesday mystery inspired by bestselling novels by Karin Slaughter. The job has meant changes in Christensen’s own life, since she’s brought her family – cyclist Cole Maness and their two daughters – to Atlanta with her for the show’s on-location filming.
“I know different families work it in different ways,” she says, “but for us, it didn’t make sense to do it any other way than to bring the whole gang. We’ve even got the dogs, so we are living here for the time being. Commuting back and forth (to Los Angeles) on weekends wouldn’t fly with me ... no pun intended.”
While she hadn’t done weekly TV work in a while, Christensen turned up on such game shows as “Celebrity Family Feud” and “The $100,000 Pyramid.” Being a contestant on such programs, she explains, is entirely in keeping with her nature.
“It’s a part of me that doesn’t shut down, but it really comes out given the chance,” she muses. “That is when I get to go full-blown, but ultimately, the stakes are not very high – so it’s perfect. The cameras just make it feel the stakes are higher.”
Christensen also took part in a celebrity edition of “American Ninja Warrior” staged in 2017 as part of the Red Nose Day fundraising initiative. “I was pretty recently postpartum then,” she recalls, “but I was like, ‘This is my chance. This is my shot.’ Man, that was so fun.”
Birthdate: Aug. 19, 1982
Birthplace: Seattle
Current residence: Los Angeles
Marital status: Married to cyclist Cole Maness; they have two daughters
Other television credits include: “Ten Days in the Valley,” “To Have and to Hold,” “Confirmation,” “Wicked City,” “My Boyfriends’ Dogs,” “Parenthood,” “Lie to Me,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Six Degrees,” “Robot Chicken” (voice only), “Wuthering Heights,” “That ‘70s Show,” “The Geena Davis Show,” “The Pretender,” “Time of Your Life,” “Touched by an Angel,” “3rd Rock From the Sun,” “Frasier,” “The Practice”
Movie credits include: “Cheaper by the Dozen,” “Kimi,” “Clover,” “How Sweet It Is,” “The Tortured,” “Veronika Decides to Die,” “Mercy,” “How to Rob a Bank,” “Flightplan,” “The Upside of Anger,” “Riding the Bullet,” “The Perfect Score,” “The Banger Sisters,” “Home Room,” “Swimfan,” “Traffic,” “Leave It to Beaver”