AGENT IN PLACE
TV vet Jeremy Sisto suits up for bulletproof role on ‘FBI’
FBI Tuesday, 9 p.m., CBS
J EREMY Sisto has crossed paths with Dick Wolf before. In the final three seasons of NBC’s “Law & Order,” he played Detective Cyrus Lupo, partner of Jesse L. Martin’s Ed Green and Anthony Anderson’s Kevin Bernard. Now, the versatile actor from Grass Valley, Calif., is one of the ensemble cast of Wolf’s latest hit, “FBI,” which has been picked up for a full season by CBS. Sisto plays Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jubal Valentine, one of the squad leaders behind the scenes. After a long career playing crazy brothers (Billy Chenoweth on HBO’s “Six Feet Under”), religious leaders (Jesus in a 1999 CBS miniseries of the same name) and even a divorced dad (“Suburgatory” from 2011 to 2014 on ABC), Sisto, 44, was eager to find out how Wolf, who built a TV empire off of one procedural, was going to reinvent the format again — and how Sisto might fit into the picture. He spoke to The Post at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in LA.
When you were getting ready to do the show, did you meet anybody from the FBI office in New York City?
Yes. There are different departments. Our show is encompassing a lot of them, placing them in one office. I hung out with a guy that my character is based on and really got to see the space the bureau works in, which is a big part of the FBI. When they’re fighting a threat, be it an active shooter or a bombing, members from different governmental organizations all crowd into this room that has screens on every wall. Every bit of information, every bit of technology, all the access that all of these organizations have are plugged into this nerve center. It’s not a high-end-looking place. They’ve got a piece of paper taped with “NYPD” written on it [on the door]. But all of the money and energy is going into making this beast operate thoroughly.
How does Jubal Valentine fit into the picture?
My character is charged with orchestrating all of these elements, to make it work smoothly, to make very difficult decisions in a way that can be handled and managed piece-by-piece. He is someone who can operate under extreme duress. It’s a really special skill.
How did you feel when Wolf contacted you for the part?
I was excited. I wasn’t certain what it was. But then we got together and I heard the take. I didn’t know how the FBI operated. Once it was explained what the show was — that he was planning to do something that he did with “Law & Order,” which is to create a structure and a storytelling method that can remain through different social and political eras and survive maybe for decades — whether I’m a part of it for decades or not, to be part of that process has been interesting.
Will the stories on the show be taken from the FBI files?
I don’t know how much of the show is going to be “ripped from the headlines,” but what I’ve seen Dick do is use this police theme but also figure out what tools are going to feel new. The one we’re doing this week is about the kidnapping of a politician’s child but I don’t think it’s based on anything specific.
How many TV shows have you been on?
[Laughs.] They keep giving me roles. You never know when it’s going to stop. When I first came to the business I did movies [such as “Clueless” and “White Squall”] and you couldn’t do TV. But then I did get a pilot called “Loveland” that didn’t get picked up. I played Jesus, I played Julius Caesar [in a 2002 TV movie]. After that, I did “Kidnapped” and “Suburgatory.” Then I did “Wicked City” in 2015, which I rather liked. It didn’t get very good reviews.